Vital Theatre Company Announces 2012-2013 Season: ANGELINA BALLERINA and More

Vital Theatre Company, winner of the 2012 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show, has announced its 2012-2013 Family Programming season in its home theatre at 76th Street and Broadway. Featuring four musicals for children and families, this year's Vital season includes two world premieres and two returning favorites. In Fancy Nancy The Musical and Show Way, two popular children's books are newly adapted for the stage. Vital favorites Angelina Ballerina™ The Very Merry Holiday Musical and A (Tooth) Fairy Tale return to round out the season. This lineup continues Vital's mission to produce entertaining and educational live theatre for families and young audiences.

Public performances run Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am and 1 pm from September 29th, 2012 through April 28th, 2013. School/Group Performances are available at Vital Theatre during the run of each show. All shows are appropriate for ages 3-10.

Tickets for the Vital Theatre 2012-2013 season range from $25-$49.50. Discounts on all regular-priced tickets for the 2012-2013 season are available through September 28, 2012 as a Family 4 Pack. With a one-time purchase of a $100 Family 4 Pack, audience members can buy regular-priced tickets to any combination of Vital shows-a potential savings of nearly 20%. Tickets bought as a Family 4 Pack can be exchanged for different dates or at any time for no cost. For reservations, visit www.vitaltheatre.org or call (212) 579-0528. Vital Theatre Company is located at 2162 Broadway, 4th Floor, at West 76th Street, on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

The 2012-2013 season opens with the world premiere of FANCY NANCY THE MUSICAL. Fancy Nancy and her friends, Bree, Rhonda, Wanda, and Lionel are going to be performing in their very first show, "Deep Sea Dances." Nancy is positive, that's fancy for 100 percent sure, that she and Bree will be picked to be mermaids. When another girl wins the coveted role of the mermaid, Nancy is stuck playing a dreary, dull tree. Can Nancy bring fancy flair to her role, even though it isn't the one she wanted?

Based on the popular children's book series by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, this new musical, with a book by Susan DiLallo and music by Danny Abosch, plays September 29-November 12 on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am and 1 pm, with special school holiday performances on October 8 and 17, and November 6 and 12 at 11 am and 1 pm. Tickets begin at $29.50. Premium seats are available for $49.50.

Last year's holiday favorite ANGELINA BALLERINA™ THE VERY MERRY HOLIDAY MUSICAL returns to Vital Stage for another holiday season! Based on the characters created by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig, the Angelina Ballerina™ The Musical creative team returns with book and lyrics by Susan DiLallo, music by Ben Morss, and direction and choreography by Sam Viverito. Performances run on Saturdays and Sundays from November 17-January 13 at 11 am and 1 pm, with special holiday performances on November 23, December 5, December 24-27, December 31, and January 1 at 11 am and 1 pm. Tickets begin at $29.50. Premium seats are available for $49.50.

Vital Theatre will present another world premiere musical in early 2013. SHOW WAY tells the story of seven generations of women who pass quilts, or "show ways," from daughter to daughter. As these quilts pass -- from slaves who sewed paths to freedom, to civil rights marchers, to a writer in modern-day New York, to a young girl who is eager to hear each generation's stories of bravery and courage -- the women reconnect with the past and look with hope toward the future.

This world-premiere musical is based on the Newbery Honor-winning children's book of the same name, written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Hudson Talbott. This moving and enlightening production, with a book by Melody Cooper, music and lyrics by Tyrone L. Robinson, and direction by Melissa Maxwell, runs on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am and 1 pm from January 19-March 3, with special school holiday performances at 11 and 1 on January 21, February 6, and February 18-21. Tickets begin at $25. Premium seats are available for $30.

Vital's 2012-2013 season concludes with the return of another past Vital favorite, A (TOOTH) FAIRY TALE. Collecting teeth and delivering quarters is tiring work, and The Tooth Fairy is ready for a vacation! Luckily, she meets a kid named Oliver who is sick and tired of being a kid, and all the rules that go with it. But when Oliver and the Tooth Fairy arrange to switch places for a little while, nothing goes exactly as planned. A (Tooth) Fairy Tale is a wild, silly adventure filled with shiny quarters, sugary candy, and learning who you're really meant to be.

This production, directed by Linda Ames Key, with music and lyrics by Rick Hip-Flores and book by Ben H. Winters (Sense and Sensibility and Seamonsters; The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman; The Last Policeman), will run March 16-April 28 at 11 am and 1 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. There will be special school holiday performances on March 25-28 and April 1, 2 and 10 at 11 am and 1 pm. Tickets begin at $25. Premium seats are available for $30.

Vital Theatre Company is dedicated to producing entertaining and educational theatre for young audiences. Located on New York City's Upper West Side at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, Vital Theatre Company commissions three to five new musicals for children each season. Since its founding in 1999, Vital Theatre Company has been honored with the 2012 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Musical, 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" (Off-Off Broadway Review). Now entering its 14th season, the company has presented 76 original productions for over 300,000 children and their families. Vital Voices, Vital Theatre Company's v! ibrant Arts-in-Education program, engages over 1700 NYC Public school students and eight school communities by integrating theatre arts into the core curriculum to stimulate academic progress and inspire creative achievement.