The Medicine Show Presents Cole Porter's Lost Classic PARIS, Opens 9/16

Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble, one of New York's longest-running experimental theatres, is granting its audiences' wishes, reviving Cole Porter's first big hit, Paris. The production will open Friday, September 16, 2011 and run through Monday, October 3, 2011. Performances are scheduled for Fridays & Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 4 and Mondays at 7. The theatre is located at 549 W. 52nd Street, 3rd Floor.

During the initial run in June, the Travalanche vaudeville blog called it, "Funny and farcical." Talent in Motion magazine said, "We loved the show!"

Interest in Porter is soaring. Woody Allen's summer hit Midnight in Paris, which features a young Cole Porter and his songs, is heading back to movie theaters, as Allen's highest grossing film of all time. Porter's masterpiece Anything Goes returned to Broadway recently and won three Tony Awards.

Paris is a hilarious farce with unforgettable Porter songs like Let's Do It, Let's Misbehave and The Heaven Hop. The show first opened on Broadway in 1928, but was lost for decades until Medicine Show re-discovered the script and staged it in 1983. As in that '83 production, Medicine Show has restored Porter's original songs to the score, some of which were cut for being too risque the 20s. As an added treat, this production also features Porter songs either never published or rarely performed.

Medicine Show artistic director, Obie-award winner Barbara Vann directs. She worked closely with the Cole Porter Trust to restore the work. Besides Vann, the cast includes Aron Bederson, Cari Bell, Mark J. Dempsey, Sarah Engelke, Renee Hermiz, John Russell, and Peter Tedeschi. Jake Lloyd is the musical director and accompanist. Noted painter Knox Martin is re-designing and enhancing the set to create a 1920s surrealist world. There will be new lighting effects. Also, the upgraded program will include "liner notes" with fascinating facts behind the hits as well as the little-known songs.

Tickets are $18.00 for general admission, $14.00 for seniors and students. They are available from Smarttix at www.Smarttix.com or (212) 868-4444. For more information, log onto the company's website at www.MedicineShowTheatre.org.

This production is made possible by grants from the Leibowitz Foundation and the Greenway Family Foundation.

 

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