Angelina Ballerina The Musical Returns To NYC

Vital Theatre Company, the award-winning theatre company and producer of the long running family show PINKALICIOUS, THE MUSICAL, and HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality children's entertainment, are pleased to announce the return of ANGELINA BALLERINA^TM THE MUSICAL, with book and lyrics by Susan DiLallo, music by Ben Morss and directed and choreographed by Sam Viverito, based on the famous dancing mouseling and her friends created by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig. Performances will resume tonight, June 18th, 2011 at the DICAPO OPERA THEATRE Saturdays and Sundays at 1 pm.

Regular tickets are $29.50 and Premium tickets are $49.50 with $25 lap seats available at the box office on the day of the show for children under 1 year of age. The show is geared towards families with children, ages 3-12. For reservations call 212-579-0528 or visit www.vitaltheatre.org. DICAPO OPERA THEATRE is located at 184 East 76th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenues. For more information visit www.angelinathemusical.com.

In ANGELINA BALLERINA THE MUSICAL, Angelina And her friends, Alice, Gracie, AZ, Viki and even their teacher, Ms. Mimi, are all aflutter because a special guest is coming to visit Camembert Academy! Angelina And her friends will perform all types of dance, including hip-hop, modern dance, the Irish jig and of course, ballet and they are excited to show off their skills to their famous visitor. Angelina is the most excited of all, but will she get the starring moment she hopes for? Based on the CG-animated series, Angelina Ballerina The Next Steps on PBS KIDS®, ANGELINA BALLERINA THE MUSICAL is a family-friendly show that will have the entire audience dancing in the aisles.

ANGELINA BALLERINA THE MUSICAL had sold out its initial run October 2nd, 2010 through January 2nd, 2011 at Vital Theatre Company on the Upper West Side. On January 9th, the show moved Off-Broadway to the UNION SQUARE THEATRE where it ran through March 13th, 2011

ANGELINA BALLERINA^TM, a beloved publishing property for close to three decades, is a little star with big dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. This feisty little mouse works hard to reach her goals and along the way, always learns from her mistakes. When little girls share in Angelina's experiences, they're inspired to go after their big dreams too. In addition to the critically acclaimed story books created by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig, Angelina Ballerina dances her way into the hearts of young girls weekly on PBS KIDS® in the CG-animated series, Angelina Ballerina The Next Steps. For more information about Angelina Ballerina, please visit www.angelinaballerina.com.

Susan DiLallo (Book and Lyrics) is the recipient of the covetEd Kleban Award. Her libretto for an original musical comedy, IRON CURTAIN, earned her a Jonathan Larson Award, and was further developed during a residency at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Her book and lyrics to another musical, ONCE UPON A TIME IN NEW JERSEY, won both a Richard Rodgers Award and The Global Search for New Musicals Competition, Cardiff. Other credits include: the Mattel/Clear Channel production of BARBIE LIVE! IN FAIRYTOPIA (book, lyrics); THAT'S LIFE (Outer Critics Circle nominee); PINOCCHIO, A MUSICAL ABOUT ADOPTION (winner, KIDDstuff new play competition); and the revised libretto for the classic A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN.

Ben Morss (Music) wrote the music and lyrics for CINDERELLA'S MICE, which was produced by Vital in 2006. CINDERELLA'S MICE and his other children's musical, POP STAR, are published by Samuel French. He is an alumnus of the BMI Workshop, arranged the music for the stage version of Trey Parker's CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL and created music for ANANSI THE STORY KING at Georgetown University. He has played piano and arranged for platinum-selling bands such as Cake and Wheatus, and his playing was used in the films Sidewalks of New York and L.I.E. His new band, Onward Chariots, has been played on radio stations and praised on blogs from Greece to Brazil, has twice toured Europe, and has a record on Spanish indie-pop label Elefant Records. He leads the nine-piece crossover group, THE INFINATE ORCHESTRA. He earned his doctorate in ! music from the University of California at Davis.

The ANGELINA BALLERINA crew includes Director and Choreographer Sam Viverito, Assistant Director Lynn Sterling, Set Designer Kyle Dixon, Costume Designer Elisabeth Vastola, Lighting Designer Josh Bradford, Sound Engineer Martin Peacock and Production Stage Manager Shani Colleen Murfin.

HIT ENTERTAINMENT is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes properties, such as Thomas & Friends^TM, Angelina Ballerina^TM, Barney^TM, Bob the Builder^TM, Fireman Sam^TM, Mike the Knight^TM, Pingu^TM and Rainbow Magic^TM. HIT represents Chapman Entertainment's Fifi and the Flowertots^TM and Roary the Racing Car^TM in North America, as well as Wallace & Gromit^TM, Shaun the Sheep^TM, Timmy Time^TM and Aardman Classics from Aardman Animations. HIT also acts as representative for The Wiggles® in the UK. Launched in 1989, HIT's lines of business span television and video! production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. HIT is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, Sprout®. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.

Vital Theatre Company commissions new musicals for children each season. Since its founding in 1999, Vital Theatre Company has been honored with two AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE by the Off Off Broadway Review and has received high acclaim from audiences and critics alike for being "a wonderful place for parents to introduce their kids to the glories of live theatre, done well and at modest prices." Now in its 12th season, the company is dedicated to producing entertaining and educational theatre for young audiences. To date, the company has presented 50 original productions for over 160,000 children and their families.

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