Junie B. Jones Brings 'SURVIVAL GUIDE' Off-Broadway Tonight

This summer Theatreworks USA, the nation's leading not-for-profit professional theatre for young audiences, will present the Off-Broadway Premiere of Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School.

Thanks to the generosity of corporations, foundations, and donors, Theatreworks USA will be able to send over 12,000 underserved youth to the theatre for FREE!

Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School is a 60-minute, one-act musical recommended for children ages 5 and up. Performances will begin tonight, July 20th, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets). The Annual Opening Night Benefit is set for Wednesday July 27th (6:30 PM). This limited Off-Broadway engagement will continue through August 19th.

The cast, directed by Peter Flynn with choreography by Devanand Janki, features Sara Glancy (as May), Whit K. Lee (as Herb), Junior Mendez (as Sheldon), Brandi Porter (as Lucille), and Kristin Stokes (as Junie B). Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School has book & lyrics by Marcy Heisler and music & vocal arrangements by Zina Goldrich. The production features scenic design by Luke Hegel-Cantarella, costume design by Lora LaVon, lighting design by Grant W. S. Yeager, and sound design by Laura Brauner.

Now that JUNIE B. JONES has been going to school for over one-and-a-half years, who better to write the book on EVERYTHING you need to know? From bus rules to band-aids, carpools to cookies, Junie B. and friends deliver the definitive word on surviving and thriving in style. With a jillion tips, tricks and trip-ups, Junie B. shares her hard-won expertise and shows us all how school is sometimes scary, sometimes super-fun, and ALWAYS something to sing about! An all-new musical adventure based on Barbara Park's popular book, is having its Off-Broadway Premiere.

Marcy Heisler (Book and Lyrics) with composer Zina Goldrich, received the 2009 Fred Ebb Award for outstanding songwriting. She also received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for her Kennedy Center premiere of Snow White, Rose Red, (and Fred). She provided book and lyrics for Dear Edwina (produced Off Broadway by Daryl Roth, 2009 Drama Desk Nomination, Outstanding Lyrics), Dear Edwina Junior, and the Lucille Lortel Award-nominated Junie B Jones, produced by Theatreworks USA. Current projects include Ever After, a collaboration with Goldrich and director Kathleen Marshall; Freakin Fabulous, an original musical with Goldrich and bestselling author and stylemaker Clinton Kelly; The Great American Mousical, premiering at Goodspeed Opera House, and Screaming Like a Fool, a collection of romantic comedy songs. Alphabet City Cycle, a collection of her poems set to music by Georgia Stitt, was recorded by Kate Baldwin and released by PS Classics in 2008 She is also the co-author of Goldrich and Heisler, Songbook, Vol. 1, now in its fifth printing, and released both a new CD and Songbook Volume 2 in November of 2009. As a lyricist, Ms. Heisler has contributed songs for many Disney projects, including "Johnny and The Sprites" (Disney Television), "Pooh's Learning Adventures" (Disney Toon Studios), and "The D Show" (Disney Interactive). As an adaptor, she wrote new versions of 101 Dalmatians, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and The Jungle Book for Disney Theatricals. Other productions include Adventures in Love (Ordway Theatre), Allison Under the Stars (Workshop, Second Stage Theatre), and The Marcy and Zina Show, which tours around the country and Canada. Ms. Heisler was a co-recipient of ASCAP's 2002 Richard Rodgers Theatre Award, and was a Joseph Papp Artist in Residence at Second Stage Theatre. She recently collaborated with composer Michael Picton on songs for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus 137th Edition.

Zina Goldrich (Music) was honored with the 2009 Fred Ebb Award for excellence in songwriting. Along with longtime lyricist, Marcy Heisler, she is currently working on the musical adaptation of Ever After with director Kathleen Marshall. She earned a Drama Desk nomination for Best Music for her work on the Off-Broadway show Dear Edwina. She also composed the score for Junie B. Jones, which was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award and tours nationwide. She composed the score of Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred) for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, which was nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards. She has composed for numerous television shows, including "Wonderpets" for Nickelodeon, "Johnny and the Sprites" and "Pooh's Learning Adventures" for Disney, and "Third and Bird" for the BBC. She has also been a staff songwriter for Walt Disney Feature Animation. With Heisler, she is writing the score for Freakin' Fabulous, a new musical with book by stylemaker Clinton Kelly from TLC's "What Not to Wear." She has published Goldrich and Heisler Songbook Volume 1 (now in its fifth printing), Goldrich and Heisler Songbook Volume 2, and has recorded the album "Marcy and Zina: The Album" for Yellow Sound Label. Currently, she is composing music for The Great American Mousical, directed by Julie Andrews for Goodspeed Opera House.

Launched in 1989, the mission of Theatreworks USA's Free Summer Theatre Program is to provide New York City youth with their own theatre tradition that not only entertains, but also educates and fosters positive values and an appreciation for theatre. This summer 15,000 FREE tickets will be distributed to Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School thanks to the generosity of Theatreworks USA supporters.

Theatreworks USA is America's foremost professional theatre for young and family audiences. Theatreworks USA's mission is to create imaginative and sophisticated shows that are educational, entertaining, and thought provoking, and to ensure that these shows are accessible to audiences across America regardless of geography and socio-economic status. Since 1961, Theatreworks USA has reached over 93 million people in 49 states and Canada, and the company now performs for about three million young people annually. Every year, the company tours approximately ten shows from its ever-growing repertoire of 133 plays and musicals. In addition, Theatreworks USA has an extensive guest artist roster of multi-cultural storytellers, musicians, puppeteers, magicians and more.

Theatreworks USA's honors include a Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award, the William M. Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence given by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and the Medal of Honor from the Actors Fund of America. Past Free Summer Theatre productions at the Lucille Lortel Theatre include Skippyjon Jones Snow What; The Lightning Thief (Lortel Award nominee: Best Musical); Skippyjon Jones (Lortel Award nominee: Best Musical); The Yellow Brick Road (Callaway nominee: Best Choreography); We the People: America Rocks! (Lortel nominee: Best Musical); Click, Clack, Moo (Lortel nominee: Best Musical, Drama Desk nominee: Best Lyrics); and Seussical (Lortel and Drama League nominee: Best Revival of a Musical). Free Summer Theatre is entirely underwritten by charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and public support.

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