J*Company Youth Theatre Bids Farewell to 'Streisand Season' with HELLO, DOLLY!, Now thru 5/21

J*Company Youth Theatre will close out a show-stopping season, which included productions of FUNNY GIRL, YENTL and GYPSY- A Musical Fable, with Jerry Herman's well- known musical theater classic, HELLO, DOLLY!. J*Company Youth Theatre, a program of the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, is putting on their "Sunday best" to present the last show in their 20th Anniversary Season tribute to Barbra Streisand.

HELLO, DOLLY! is the story of a modern matchmaker Dolly Levi who merrily arranges all sorts of things. Hello, Dolly! opened on Broadway with Carol Channing, in the main role in 1964, who still holds the record for the longest run playing Dolly. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and as well as nine other Tonys; taking the awards away from Streisand and Funny Girl that same year. Still, Streisand was cast in the 1969 film and at the age of 25 was considered too young for the role.

Dolly Levi, a modern matchmaker who merrily arranges things, takes a trip to Yonkers to see the "well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire," Horace Vandergelder. She convinces him and his two stock clerks, Barnaby and Cornelius, as well as his niece and her beau to go to New York City where she proceeds to weave a web of romantic complications. As she fixes Vandergelder's clerks up with the woman he had been courting and her shop assistant we find out why-Dolly has designs of her own on Mr. Vandergelder. HELLO, DOLLY! is filled with brilliant Tony award-winning Jerry Herman songs like Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Before The Parade Passes By, It Only Takes A Moment and of course the title song Hello, Dolly!

The cast for this final production includes two long time J*Company actors who will take the stage in their final performance at J*Company; Michelle Guefen (age 18, San Diego Jewish Academy) as Dolly Levi and her counterpart Evan Bramberg (age 18, Francis Parker School) as Horace Vandergelder, will graduate at the end of this school year. "Both performers have grown up with the J*Company and I'm thrilled to be able to give them starring roles showcase for their final performances. They've both earned it," said Artistic Director Joey Landwehr.

Performing the roles of the young shopkeepers Barnaby Tucker and Cornelias Hackl will be Samuel Brogadir (age 14, San Diego School for Creative and Performing Arts) and Joshua Shtein, (age 17, High Tech High International.) The girls who catch their eye will be played by Gabi Leibowitz (age 14, Francis Parker Middle School) and Kimberly Marron ( age 18, Scripps Ranch High School).The signature big hats and bustle dresses of the turn- of- the- century era musical will be recreated by Shulamit Nelson, while 1890s style choreography will be re-created by Kaylie Caires.

All performances take place at the David and Dorothea Garfield Theatre at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, 4126 Executive Drive, La Jolla. Call the JCC Box Office at 858-362-1348 or visit www.sdcjc.org/jcompany for more information.

The San Diego Center for Jewish Culture is the largest Jewish institution in San Diego dedicated solely to presenting high quality, nationally recognized programs which are unique to San Diego County. The mission of the SDCJC is to expand and enrich cultural life in San Diego by presenting the finest in Jewish artistic expression, encouraging the preservation of Jewish culture and heritage, and nurturing new creativity in the arts. A core belief of the SDCJC is to promote respect for diverse cultures and build community tolerance.

The SDCJC offers a wide variety of multi-disciplinary artistic programs that explore cultural identities and perspectives, promote cross cultural understanding, and highlight human themes of family, tolerance, compassion, and hope. These programs, including the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, New Jewish Plays Project, the San Diego Jewish Music Festival, a Holocaust Education Program, and the J*Company Youth Theatre, foster ideas of cultural appreciation and respect. Its facilities feature a 500- seat theatre, a Judaica library, an art gallery, and a community Holocaust Memorial Garden. Approximately 40,000 tickets are sold or provided annually to residents, visitors, and students for San Diego Center for Jewish Culture events.

The mission of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is to provide social, cultural, educational, and recreational programs to individuals and families of all ages, religions, races, and financial, physical and mental abilities. Likewise, the JCC provides equal opportunity employment to individuals of all religions and backgrounds. The JCC welcomes San Diego's diverse Jewish community and the community at large. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is located at 4126 Executive Drive in La Jolla.