THE CHOCOLATE SHOW! to Open Off-Broadway on Valentine's Day

Off-Broadway's tastiest new musical The Chocolate Show! opens tonight, Valentine's Day, February 14 at 7pm at the 47th Street Theatre, 304 West 47th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Audiences at the opening night performance will each receive the world's most expensive chocolate truffle by chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt. The Chocolate Show! is written by Alan Golub (book, music and lyrics) & Laura Goldfader (book and music), with direction by Dan Foster, choreography by Grady McLeod Bowman and under the music direction of Jeffrey Klitz.

Tickets for The Chocolate Show! are $39.50 - $59.50 and can be arranged online at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212.279.4200 or at the TicketCentral Box Office located at 416 West 42nd Street. The 47th Street Theatre box office (304 West 47th Street) will open 30 minutes before each performance.

On the final night of her reign as World Queen of the Cocoa Bean, the glamorous, often eccentric and hilariously unpredictable Cookie Conwell (Emily McNamara) fulfills her lifelong dream of hosting "The Chocolate Show!," where she must choose her successor. Who will be the next to wear the solid chocolate crown? How will Cookie handle the transfer of power? And, oh yeah, is chocolate really bad for dogs? These pressing questions and more are answered in this 90-minute, mouth-watering musical comedy celebrating the world's favorite obsession. Join Cookie and the fabulous Chocolate Layer Players for this joyful and delicious theatrical event filled with thoroughly catchy songs, hilarious comedy sketches, audience participation (volunteer-only) and, of course, lots of chocolate. In addition to McNamara, the cast includes Laura D'Andre, Talene Monahon, Andrew Pandaleon and James Patterson. And, while everyone LOVES chocolate, The Chocolate Show! will be most appreciated by chocoholics age eight and up. Scenic designer for The Chocolate Show! is Steven C. Kemp, the lighting designer is Jimmy Lawlor, costume designer is Orli Nativ and sound designer is Nick Kourtides. The production is produced by Golly Gee Productions.

To celebrate the opening night of The Chocolate Show!, sponsor Fritz Knipschildt will offer the world's most expensive chocolate truffle to each member of the opening night audience. Knipschildt, Maitre Chocolatier of Knipschildt Chocolatier, created this 42 gram1.5 ounce confection about two years ago. The sweet indulgence is hand-crafted using a dark chocolate, classic ganache and a French Perigord truf­fle. The ganache is made using 71% single Ecuador­ian dark chocolate mixed with fresh cream that has been infused for 24 hours with the flavor of vanilla pods and pure Italian truf­fle oil. The ganache is then shaped around the French Perigord truffle (the truffle alone costs up to $1,000 per pound/454 grams), then dipped in 71% single bean Ecuadorian chocolate and rolled in cocoa powder. What really makes the Madeline truffle so ex­quisite is the time and energy that goes into it. The ganache, for ex­ample, must be whipped repeat­edly to make it as soft and silky as possible, then it must be chilled so that it is easier to work with. It's a long and painstaking process, and when you realize how much work has gone into it, you real­ize that it is worth every penny. These special truffles are at least 2 inches in diameter and each is individually wrapped in a gold bag. Other sponsors of The Chocolate Show! include 2beans, City Bakery and Amy's Bread.

The Chocolate Show!, a tasty new musical, will opens tonight, Valentine's Day, at the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues) at 7pm. The schedule will be as follows: Saturdays at 2pm & 8pm; Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $39.50-$59.50 with premium seats at $79.50 (all incl. $1.50 service charge) and can be arranged online at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212.279.4200 or at the TicketCentral Box Office located at 416 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues. The 47th Street Theatre box office (304 West 47th Street) will open 30 minutes before each performance. There will be a limited number of $26.50 student tickets available daily at the TicketCentral Box Office (not the 47th Street Theatre Box Office) for that day's performance(s) only. Valid student ID required for tickets which are cash-only. For more information, please visit www.TheChocolateShowMusical.com.

EMILY McNAMARA (Cookie Conwell). Recently: Gettin' The Band Back Together at George Street Playhouse. New York credits include: NEWSical The Musical, The Awesome 80's Prom (also co-wrote), My Big Gay Italian Wedding, My First Time, Minimum Wage, The Karaoke Show, The Groove Factory (NYMF), Fantasy Football: The Musical? (NYMF), and Slut. Regional favorites include: Little Shop of Horrors, Fiddler On The Roof, Dreamgirls, Godspell, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and Chicago. Emily is also known for her various nightclub performances as a comic and host. She performs regularly at 54 Below, Joe's Pub, The Laurie Beechman Theater, and at her MAC award nominated show, Mostly Sondheim at The Duplex. More at EmilyMcNamara.com

LAURA D'ANDRE (Ensemble) is thrilled to be getting a sugar rush in The Chocolate Show! Broadway National Tours: HAIR, GREASE! (Rizzo),Favorite regional credits: Oliver!- Harbor Lights (Nancy), Legally Blonde - Ognquit (Vivienne), A Little Night Music - White Plains (Petra), Les Miserables - San Diego (Eponine). Native Californian, B.A. from UC Irvine. www.lauradandre.com

TALENE MONAHON (Ensemble). Professional credits include Emily in Our Town and Julie Jordan in Carousel (New London Barn Playhouse), Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest (Northern Stage), and Masha in The Seagull (Peterborough Players). Talene's solo show, All in Good Fun, was a bestseller at the 2013 United Solo Festival in New York. B.A. from Dartmouth College.

ANDREW PANDALEON (Ensemble) is thrilled to be returning to Off-Broadway with The Chocolate Show! NY Theater: The City Club (Chaz), The History Of War. Regional: Forever Plaid (Frankie), Sunset Blvd (Artie), Happy Days (Richie) at The Gateway, Romeo & Juliet (Paris), Laughter on The 23rd Floor (Brian), History Boys (Scripps), Play It Cool (Will). Andrew is a graduate of UCLA and teaches theater at The Gateway. www.andrewpandaleon.com

JAMES PATTERSON (Ensemble). Broadway: Beauty and the Beast, State Fair. NationalTours: Mary Poppins, The Drowsy Chaperone, Beauty and the Beast, Cats. Other: Henry Ford in Ragtime (Milwaukee Rep.), Le Comte Ory (Metropolitan Opera), Albert Peterson in Bye, Bye Birdie (NSMT), Gene Kelly in What a Glorious Feeling (ATF), Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls (Ogunquit Playhouse), Barnaby Slade in Sail Away (Carnegie Hall), Bert Barry in 42nd Street (Sacramento Music Circus). Thanks to friends and family, especially B.J.

LAURA GOLDFADER (Book & Music) has a diverse musical background, having worked in film, popular music, and the world of contemporary classical music, for which she has received numerous commissions. After being music coordinator for Michael Bennett's last two shows, she became inspired to someday write for the theatre. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Boston Conservatory of Music, graduated from Bennington College, and earned her Master's degree from the Yale School of Music. She is an alumnus of the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and a member of the Dramatists Guild. Laura is very happy to be married to a chocoholic.

ALAN GOLUB (Book, Music, Lyrics) has worked with such artists as Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs, Phoebe Snow, and Sir Tim Rice. He composed the score to an award-winning short film, Revenge of the Occupant, and has written commercial music for numerous companies including Zales Diamonds and Major League Baseball. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Alan continued his musical studies at the London College of Music. He is an alumnus of the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, where he met his choco-musical collaborator, and is thrilled to be pursuing his lifelong dream of someday playing softball in The Broadway Show League.

DAN FOSTER (Director). NY/regional directing credits include Stones in his Pockets, 4000 Miles, Sunday in the Park with George, Murderers, Mary's Wedding, Love Song, After All, Rabbit Hole, Infertility..., Twelfth Night, Boston Marriage, and the world premiere of The Molly Maguires. Recent projects include The Festival of Broadway in Tasmania and Sydney, Australia, The Women in the World Summit for The Daily Beast, and Seven starring Meryl Streep. Internationally he has directed at London's Donmar Warehouse, Gran Teatre del Liceu, in Barcelona, and Theatre Estradi, Moscow. Mr. Foster was a member of the Circle Rep Directing Lab and is a co-founder of Hudson Stage Company. As an actor, he appeared in the Broadway production of City of Angels, off-Broadway in Cymbeline, the Chicago production of Baby (Jefferson Award nomination, Best Actor), and on TV in "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys," "Against the Law," "Lemon Sky," and "All My Children."

GRADY MCLEOD BOWMAN (Choreographer) served as the Associate Choreographer on Dogfight at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre as well as Assistant Director/Associate Choreographer on The Great American Mousical at Goodspeed Opera House. As choreographer, his work has been seen at the NY Fringe Festival, Gateway Playhouse, Northern Stage, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, andUNC School of the Arts. He has been seen on Broadway in Billy Elliot, South Pacific, Wonderland, and The Pirate Queen, as well as on tour with Fosse and Pilobolus Dance Theater. Assistant Artistic Director/Associate Choreographer of Mark Stuart Dance Theatre and founding faculty member of The Performing Arts Project.

JEFFREY KLITZ (Arranger/Orchestrator, Music Director). Broadway Conductor/Music Director: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Guys and Dolls, Lennon, Hot Feet, Song and Dance, On Your Toes. Other Broadway: Chicago, Grand Hotel, and Stardust. Joseph Jefferson Award, music direction: The House of Martin Guerre. Music Director/Pianist (selected): Judy Collins, Tyne Daly, Christine Ebersole, Joanna Gleason, Joel Grey, Paulo Szot, Tommy Tune, Lari White, Chip Zien. Producer/Arranger/Orchestrator (selected): NY Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Disney, Paul McCartney's MPL Music Publishing. Film/Television (selected): arrangements/orchestrations for Lucas, One Life to Live, All My Children; conductor on The Late Show with David Letterman, Fox Sports 1, America's Got Talent. Yale graduate.

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