42ND STREET Tour Comes to Merrill Auditorium Today

Portland Ovations brings the National Broadway Tour of 42nd Street to Merrill Auditorium for two performances at 2pm and 7:30pm today, October 17th.

The quintessential backstage musical comedy classic 42nd STREET will celebrate a 2-performance engagement at Merrill Auditorium with a sparkling new production, today, October 17th at 2pm and 7:30pm. 42nd STREET is directed by co-author Mark Bramble and choreographed by Randy Skinner, the team who staged the 2001 Tony Award® winning Best Revival.

42nd STREET is the song and dance fable of Broadway, with an American Dream story and some of the greatest songs ever written, including "We're In The Money," "Lullaby of Broadway," "Shuffle Off To Buffalo," "Dames," "I Only Have Eyes For You" and of course "42nd Street."

With book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, 42nd STREET is based on a novel by Bradford Ropes and Busby Berkeley's 1933 movie and tells the story of a starry-eyed young dancer named Peggy Sawyer who leaves her Allentown home and comes to New York to audition for the new Broadway musical Pretty Lady. When the leading lady breaks her ankle, Peggy takes over and becomes a star.

The original production of 42nd STREET was produced in 1980 on Broadway by David Merrick and featured direction and dances by Gower Champion. It played on Broadway for 3,486 performances, winning 1981 Tony Awards® for Best Musical and Best Choreography. The Broadway revival, which opened in 2001, played for 1,524 performances and earned two Tony Awards® including Best Revival of a Musical.

Mark Bramble (Director/Co-Author) began his theatrical career working for legendary producer David Merrick on many Broadway productions. He directed the 2001 Tony Award® winning Best Revival of 42nd STREET on Broadway for which he received a Tony Award® nomination, and has staged productions of the show in London, Sydney, Tokyo, Berlin, Amsterdam, Shanghai, and Vienna. Randy Skinner (Choreographer) choreographed the 2001 Tony Award® winning Best Revival of 42nd STREET on Broadway for which he received a Tony Award® nomination. He also received Tony Award® nominations for his choreography of Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Ain't Broadway Grand.

The design team includes scenic design byTony Award® winner Beowulf Boritt (Act One, The Scottsboro Boys, Annie), costume design byTony Award® winner Roger Kirk (The King and I, 42nd Street, Jesus Christ Superstar), lighting design by Tony Award® winner Ken Billington (Chicago, Annie, White Christmas) and sound design by Peter Fitzgerald (Movin' Out, Will Rogers Follies, 42nd Street). Musical supervision is by Todd Ellison (American in Paris, La Cage Aux Folles, 42nd Street).Casting is by Joy Dewing CSA, Joy Dewing Casting (Annie, Wonderland, 42nd Street). The tour is produced by TROIKA Entertainment, LLC.

The national tour will star Matthew J. Taylor as notorious director Julian Marsh, Kaitlin Lawrence as Broadway leading lady Dorothy Brock and introduces Caitlin Ehlinger as newcomer Peggy Sawyer. Also featured in the production are Britte Steele (Maggie Jones), Steven Bidwell (Bert Barry), Mark Fishback (Abner Dillon), DJ Canaday (Pat Denning), Blake Stadnik (Billy Lawlor), Natalia Lepore Hagan (Annie), Carlos Morales (Mac/Doc/Thug), Lamont Brown (Andy Lee), Rob Ouellette (Oscar), Vanessa Mitchell (Lorraine), Sarah Fagan (Diane) and Mallory Nolting (Phyllis).

The ensemble will feature Matthew Alexander, Emily Blake Anderson, Brittany Bigelow, Allison Blanchard, Molly Jean Blodgett, Stephanie Brooks, Taylore Burke, Mitchell Canfield, Joel Chambers, Kahlia Davis, Tricia DeSario, Lucia Foster, Kelly Gleason, Patrick Heffernan, Tommy Joscelyn, Brady Miller, Mandy Modic, Georgina Moore, Courtney Moran, Jocelyn Moss, Alicia Newcom, Tanner Outly and Michael Persson.

Tickets for 42nd Street are $40.50 to $63 for Ovations' Members and $45 to $70 for the general public. 42nd Street performances are sponsored by OceanView at Falmouth, Headlight Audio, Visual, Video and WGME Channel 13.

Maine Magazine, Maine Home and Design and Old Port Magazine are Media Sponsors of the entire Portland Ovations 2015-16 season.

To purchase tickets, visit www.portlandovations.org, contact PortTix at207-842-0800 or visit the box office window at Merrill Auditorium

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