Musical Theatre West Celebrates The Holiday Season With HOLIDAY INN At The Carpenter Center

Musical Theatre West celebrates the holiday season with the classic movie-turned- Broadway musical Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn December 6-15 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. Tickets are on sale now at www.musical.org, by calling (562) 856-1999, or at the Musical Theatre West Box Office. Tickets start at $20.

The 2017 Broadway musical features music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a new book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge, in an adaptation of the1942 Oscar-winning film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn features show-stopping dance numbers, laugh-out-loud comedy and a parade of hit Irving Berlin songs, including "Blue Skies," "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "Heat Wave," "White Christmas," "Shaking the Blues Away" and many more. The story follows Jim (Cameron Bond), who leaves the bright lights of show business behind to settle down on his farmhouse in Connecticut. He quickly discovers life isn't the same without a bit of song and dance. Jim's luck takes a spectacular turn when he meets Linda (Natalie Storrs), a spirited schoolteacher with talent to spare. Together they turn the farmhouse into a fabulous inn with dazzling performances to celebrate each holiday, from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July. But when Jim's best friend Ted (Jeffrey Scott Parsons) tries to lure Linda away to be his new dance partner in Hollywood, will Jim be able to salvage his latest chance at love?

Cameron Bond (Jim Hardy) most recently appeared on Broadway in the musical sensation Be More Chill and Finding Neverland. National Tours include Finding Neverland, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Regional credits include 3D Theatricals productions of Damn Yankees, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and Legally Blonde. Natalie Storrs (Linda Mason) credits include the National Tour of Sister Act, and Off-Broadway productions of Red Roses, Green Gold; and Urinetown. Storrs has starred in numerous regional theater productions, including All Shook Up, Rent, The Last Five Years, Legally Blonde, and First Date. Jeffrey Scott Parsons (Ted Hanover) returns to Musical Theatre West, where he has starred in a number of productions, including White Christmas, Catch Me if You Can, West Side Story, Cabaret and Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins. Regional credits include Crazy for You (San Diego Musical Theatre), Kiss of the Spider Woman and Cabaret, and Dames at Sea (42nd Street Moon).

Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn is under the direction of Daniel Pelzig. An acclaimed choreographer, he earned critical acclaim for his work on Broadway (Tony-nominated 33 Variations and A Year with Frog and Toad), Off-Broadway (Privates on Parade, Newyorkers, The New Moon), and numerous performances at the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Directing credits include Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins and My Fair Lady at Musical Theatre West, as well as Guys and Dolls at Maltz Jupiter Theatre.

Choreographer Christine Negherbon returns to MTW for her fifth production. As a performer, she recently performed in Disney's The Little Mermaid, Oliver!, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins (also as the associate choreographer). Negerbon directed/choreographed 42nd Street at the Norris in Palos Verdes and choreographed Billy Elliot for the Anchorage Concert Association. She is a master teaching artist with both Center Theatre Group and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is on faculty at Huston School of Music, Palos Verdes Performing Arts and an adjunct professor at Studio School.

Music Director Dennis Castellano is an accomplished conductor, accompanist, and vocal coach specializing in music theatre. In additional to serving as s the musical director for UCI's musical theatre department, he has waved the baton for such personalities as Carol Burnett, Donna McKechnie, John Cullum, Kaye Ballard, and a host of other Broadway talent. He has also worked with South Coast Repertory, Sacramento Music Circus, La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, Musical Theatre West, and The Laguna Playhouse.

MTW's production of Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn is made possible thanks to the support of the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles County Arts & Culture; Season Sponsors: Ackerman Family/Evalyn M Bauer Foundation, Kathy Baker Campbell and KC Wilson, Ken & Dottie Reiner, and Don & Marlene Temple; and Associate Producer: Avalee Wagner; and Youth Performance Underwriters: Ackerman Family/Evalyn Bauer Foundation and Kelly Janousek. Paul Garman serves as Executive Producer/Director of Musical Theatre West.

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