PINOCCHIO Begins Today at New Victory Theater

While "Mad March" kicks into life in Adelaide, Windmill Theatre and State Theatre Company's award-winning co-production, Pinocchio, is packing its bags for New York; bringing the wooden boy back to life for a US premiere season.

Pinocchio, which won 'Best New Australian Work' and 'Best Presentation for Children' at the 2014 Helpmann Awards, will play a two week season to US audiences at New York's New Victory Theater from today 12-22 March. The cast will rehearse at Windmill's new Sturt Street studios next week and the company of 18 actors, musicians and crew travel to the US the following week.

Pinocchio premiered with a highly successful season in Adelaide in 2012 and has since played critically acclaimed seasons in Melbourne in 2012 and most recently in Sydney, where it played to over 13,000 people at the Sydney Opera House in May 2014.

The Australian described Pinocchio as 'a dazzling production', and The Advertiser said 'Pinocchio delivers the goods and then some...simply wonderful.' The production has won two prestigious Helpmann Awards, received four Helpmann Award nominations and won a Ruby Award for Best Work.

Windmill Theatre's General Manager/Producer Teena Munn said "This is a dream-come-true for Windmill. While we have regularly toured our smaller scale work to the US, it is an absolute coup for us to be taking a work of this scale to such a prestigious venue."

State Theatre Company CEO / Producer Rob Brookman said "It's wonderful to see the life of a work of two of Adelaide's theatre companies live on with such successful seasons around Australia since 2012. To then take the production to the home of musical theatre is the stuff of legends."

Both Rob Brookman and Teena Munn were involved in the last Adelaide-created musical theatre production to tour to Broadway - the ground-breaking Adelaide Festival Centre/John Frost production of The King & I which played on Broadway in 1996.

Adelaide's own Nathan O'Keefe will once again play the title role, Pinocchio, alongside Jude Henshall as Kitty Poo and Jonathon Oxlade as Cricket. Joining the remarkable original cast is Helpmann Award winner Mitchell Butel (Avenue Q), who will play the role of Foxy alongside Paul Capsis as Stromboli. Paul Capsis recently performed in State Theatre Company's one-man show Little Bird, and also Calpurnia Descending for Sydney Theatre Company and Malthouse Theatre.

Based on the books by Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio is a contemporary celebration of the classic tale; boldly retold as a witty, gothic, rocking, family music theatre spectacular. The award-winning production is directed by Rosemary Myers, Artistic Director of Windmill Theatre.

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