Quality Hill Playhouse's TIN PAN ALLEY Opens Tonight

Quality Hill Playhouse opens its 21st Season tonight, October 2 with TIN PAN ALLEY, an intimate cabaret revue celebrating the first 50 years of American popular music.

This original production, conceived and arranged by Producing Artistic Director J. Kent Barnhart, is a salute to America's popular music composers who promoted their sheet music by way of "song pluggers" in New York City's Tin Pan Alley. During the first half of the 20th century, this famed block of West 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue was home to the music of ragtime composers such as Scott Joplin and Irving Berlin, blues and jazz composers the likes of Harold Arlen and George Gershwin, and film score composers like Johnny Mercer. Barnhart and vocalists Christina Burton, Tim Noland, and Stacey Stofferahn will take audiences on a journey through these foundational years of the Great American Songbook with favorites such as "Maple Leaf Rag," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Fascinatin' Rhythm," "Stormy Weather," "I've Got the World on a String," "Moon River," "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive," and more, plus lesser-known novelty songs and a few surprises.

Barnhart directs; he also performs as emcee, vocalist, and pianist. Ken Remmert on drums and Brian Wilson on bass complete the ensemble.

TIN PAN ALLEY runs through November 1 at Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th Street, Kansas City, Mo. Single tickets are $36, with discounts for students, seniors, and groups. For tickets, call 816-421-1700. To purchase tickets online or for more information, visit www.QualityHillPlayhouse.com.

The 21st Season, CENTURY OF THE SONGBOOK, continues the exploration of how American popular music evolved through the past 100 years with IN THE MOOD, featuring songs made famous during the Big Band era, January 22 - February 21, 2016; SING OUT, SISTER!, a celebration of women composers and lyricists, March 4 - April 3, 2016; A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING, a Tony Award-nominated revue conceived by Walter Bobbie featuring rearranged and reinterpreted classics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, April 22 - May 22, 2016; and THE DAWNING OF AQUARIUS, a groovy ride through American music of the 1960s and 70s, July 8 - August 7, 2016. The season also includes the Playhouse's signature holiday cabaret, CHRISTMAS IN SONG, November 19 - December 24, 2015. Season tickets are still available.

About Tin Pan Alley

Tin Pan Alley in its broadest sense is a nickname given to the music publishing industry of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. More specifically, it refers to the publishers who hired staff composers and lyricists to write popular songs and "song pluggers" to play these songs in the streets to solicit sheet music sales. Many of these businesses were located on West 28thStreet between Broadway and Sixth Avenue in New York City, which is where a plaque commemorating Tin Pan Alley still hangs today. The origin of the name is unclear, although the most popular belief attributes it to a journalist's derogatory comment referring to the din of numerous upright pianos sounding like people banging on tin pans. There is no official "end" of Tin Pan Alley, but many point to the rise of rock 'n' roll and the importance of a song's performance over its publication as bringing about its demise.

About the Performers

Christina Burton returns to Quality Hill Playhouse after appearing in last season's critically acclaimed season finale, JUDY BARBRA LIZA. She has appeared locally at Starlight Theatre, Unicorn Theatre and Musical Theater Heritage, and she has served as an adjunct dance instructor for the Conservatory of Music and Dance at UMKC. Tim Noland returns to The Playhouse after appearing in last season's WHAT THEY DID FOR LOVE. Tim was in the very first production Quality Hill Playhouse produced in 1995 and since that time has appeared at numerous theatres around the country. Stacey Stofferahn last appeared at The Playhouse in GREAT DUETS OF MUSICAL THEATRE in the summer of 2014. She holds degrees in Music Education, Choral Conducting, and Vocal Performance. Stacey maintains an active operatic career with professional engagements that have taken her all over the world.

About Quality Hill Playhouse

J. Kent Barnhart founded the producing company Quality Hill Productions in 1995 and secured the lease on Quality Hill Playhouse in the same year. The company regularly produces six cabaret revues and off-Broadway musicals each year, with a season running from September through July. The theatre has seven rows and seats 153, providing one of the most intimate theatre experiences in Kansas City.

For more information, contact Rick Truman, 816-421-1700, rtruman@qualityhillplayhouse.com.

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