Prospect House Entertainment to Encore New Musical MARILYN

Prospect House Entertainment, in association with Glendale Arts Productions, previewed the original musical MARILYN! On July 29 at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale, Calif.. The one-evening-only event was met with resounding audience feedback and critical acclaim from the sold-out theater, prompting Prospect House Entertainment to announce encore runs in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Tegan Summer, CEO of Prospect House Entertainment, also announced on the evening of July 29th that Hollygrove Orphanage will receive a percentage of MARILYN!'s proceeds in perpetuity, and MARILYN! Choreographer Ferly Prado's clothing line WearSuccess.com will be funded to clothe to the young women of Hollygrove.

"I could sense that our musical would uncover a special part of Marilyn Monroe's legacy," said Summer, who also wrote and directed MARILYN! "But I did not anticipate how deeply the musical affected the audience at our world-premiere. I look forward to seeing how audiences in Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, and China react to the show and our unique perspective on Marilyn's story."

Celebrities in attendance at MARILYN!'s world-premiere include Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick, Emmy winner Carolyn Hennesy, Pop musician Tiffany Houghton, Army Wives' Sally Pressman, Country star April Kry, The Fosters' Sherri Saum, Monroe's Actors Studio classmate James Karen, Monroe collector Greg Schreiner, and many more.

"We are honored and grateful that Tegan has made it possible for Marilyn Monroe's legacy to live on through this production as well as through his generous support of Hollygrove," said Kathleen Felesina, Director of Fund Development for Uplift Family Services at Hollygrove. "Hollygrove made a profound impact on Marilyn, and now the proceeds from the show he created will make an even greater impact on the hundreds of children in crisis we serve each year who, like Marilyn, need help and hope to realize their dreams."

"Being able to contribute to the hopes and dreams of the children at Hollygrove for the life of the musical means a great deal to me," said Summer.

MARILYN! is set in the present day - Michelle is a young journalist from England researching Marilyn Monroe to commemorate the actress' 90th birthday. She visits Charlie Page, one of Marilyn's drivers, who is now living a life of solitude. Two stories emerge as Charlie bonds with Michelle he recalls Marilyn Monroe's phenomenal life in flashback and reveals the real reason behind his living as a recluse for over forty years.

MARILYN! stars Kelley Jakle (Universal's Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2, Spring Awakening in Concert) as 'Marilyn Monroe'; Kelley Dorney (PBS Concert Special A Tale of Two Cities) as 'Norma Jeane'; and Samantha Stewart (CBS' Days of Our Lives) as 'Michelle Morgan'. Summer anticipates many of the original cast members reprising their roles in the newly announced engagements.

MARILYN! is directed by Tegan Summer (book, lyrics and directed by for musicals Loretta Young's Centennial Tribute, The Nicholas Brothers Tribute, feature films The Mystery of Casa Matusita, The Knights of Mary Phagan); book and lyrics by Summer; music and additional lyrics by multiple Ovation award winning composer Gregory Nabours (The Trouble With Words; Musical Direction for In the Heights, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Spring Awakening, Rent); choreography by Ferly Prado (Tina Turner, Beyonce) and Victoria Gracie (Rhianna, Glee).

Based in Burbank and Las Vegas, Prospect House Entertainment specializes in high quality stage musicals, feature films, and documentaries. The company's goal is to produce projects of distinction and innovation that maintain integrity and excellence. The team at Prospect House Entertainment strives for originality, seeking out true and untold stories of social relevance to bring to the stage and screen from around the globe. For more information, visit www.ProspectHouseEnt.com.

Hollygrove is the Los Angeles division of Uplift Family Services, one of the largest, most comprehensive mental and behavioral health treatment programs in California. Uplift Family Services at Hollygrove takes a state-of-the-art approach to the more than 1,200 children and adolescents with complex behavioral health challenges we serve each year and helps them recover from trauma such as abuse, severe neglect, addiction and poverty. For youth that exit our programs, more than 90 percent are living in the community, staying in school and remaining out of trouble. For more information, visit www.upliftfs.org/about/hollygrove/ and follow the agency on Twitter @upliftfamily.

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