Cast Announced For California Musical Theatre's SHEAR MADNESS, Tickets On Sale 4/26

Tickets for "Shear Madness," the second production of the 2010 Cosmopolitan Cabaret season will go on sale to the general public on Monday, April 26, at 10 a.m. at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H Street, by phone at (916) 557-1999 or through Tickets.com. "Shear Madness" is presented by California Musical Theatre at the 200-seat Cosmopolitan Cabaret at 1000 K Street, in association with Major Production. This non-musical play opens June 1, for a 14-week run through the summer, closing September 5. Six preview performances will be performed May 25-30.

Set in a unisex hairstyling salon that is the scene of a wacky murder, "Shear Madness" is a hilarious murder mystery where the audience gets to solve the crime. The play is filled with up-to-the-minute spontaneous humor and is different at every performance. With a 30-year run in Boston, 23-years at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and other record-breaking productions all over the country, "Shear Madness" is the longest running play outside of New York City. The Sacramento premiere will be directed by Bob Lohrmann, who is associate artistic director for the show's Kennedy Center production. He's directed more than a dozen productions of the show throught the U.S. and Canada and performed all of the male roles.

The Washington Post called the show "very funny. Shrieks of laughter night after night." The Boston Globe named "Shear Madness" the best comedy of the year seven times. Newsweek called it "A hair-raising hit," and The Wall Street Journal recognized the show as "one of the great successes in theater history." When staged in San Francisco, the Chronicle called it "a blast of energy with bang-bang dialogue," the Oakland Tribune said the comedy was "a laugh-a-minute gift to mystery lovers everywhere," and the Contra Coast Times said it's "screamingly funny ... makes you laugh wildly and uncontrollably ... an outrageous, fast-paced couple of hours of take-no-prisoners laughter."

Neil Casey, a veteran of the flagship Boston company, will play Tony, the flamboyant, irrepressible proprietor of the Shear Madness salon. Lindsey Alley, a Mousketeer for six years, has been cast as Barbara, the dishy hairdresser/manicurisT. Ryan Pratton and Gary Alan Wright will be cops Mikey and Nick. Pratton, a Sacramento native, is now relocated to Los Angeles where he's been featured in independent films and national commercials. Wright has performed in over 60 productions at Grass Valley's Foothill Theatre Company, as well as in roles at B Street Theatre and Sacramento Theatre Company (most recently "Noises Off"). Lol Levy, a San Francisco-based actor, recreates his performance as antiques dealer Eddie from the Bay Area production of "Shear Madness." Jamie J. Jones, another recent cast member of STC's "Noises Off"as well as productions at B Street and Capital Stage, will play the impeccably mannered socialite Mrs. Shubert. Nanci Zoppi, who recently appeared in New Helvetia Theatre productions of "Tick, Tick ... BOOM" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," will make her California Musical Theatre debut understudying three roles.

Tickets for the Sacramento premiere of "Shear Madness" are $33, Tuesdays-Thursdays at 8 p.m., Thursdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sundays; and $38 for Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Premium first-tier table seating is $5 extra. Tickets for the preview performances are $25. Tickets are available by calling (916) 557-1999. Discounts are available for groups of 12 or more by calling (916) 557-1198.

"Shear Madness" is offered as part of the three-show Cosmopolitan Cabaret subscription package, along with the "My Way: a Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra" (playing through May 9) and "Suds" (Sept. 21, 2010-Jan. 9, 2011).

Visit www.CosmopolitanCabaret.com for more information.

To post a comment, you must register and login.