San Diego Musical Theatre Announced Cast and Creative Team of PUMP UP THE VOLUME

Oh, snap! The 90's are back! San Diego Musical Theatre (SDMT) announced today the complete cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Pump Up the Volume: A 90's Palooza! From the creators of the long-running hit Mixtape, Colleen Kollar Smith and Jon Lorenz, comes a new musical that journeys back to the 1990's. Kollar Smith helms the show as Director and Choreographer, with Lorenz working as Music Director and Arranger. Performances run July 28 - September 10, 2017, at the Horton Grand Theatre. Press opening is Saturday, August 5 at 8:00 p.m.

Seven strangers escape from the grind of two-thousand-now into the 1990s and relive the pimpin' pop culture, phat fads and stylin' fashion of the eclectic decade that's all that and a bag of chips. Join them as they grunge, swing, vogue, rave, do the Carlton and rediscover their voice in a world longing to connect on the precipice of a new millennium. Pump Up the Volume! It's so money!

"Jon and Collen's creativity as a writing duo is truly dynamic," said SDMT Artistic Director Jill Townsend. "We are elated to welcome them back to the SDMT stage with this fantastic new show, and what better place to present their latest world premiere than the Horton Grand Theatre, where they first collaborated seven years ago."

The exceptional cast includes Brielle Batino, Cassie Bowerman, Joshua David Cavanaugh, James Royce Edwards, Janaya Jones, Leonard Patton, and Edred Utomi.

The creative team is comprised of Colleen Kollar Smith (Director/Choreographer), Jon Lorenz (Music Director/Arranger), Michael McKeon (Set Design), ChrisTina Martin (Lighting Design), Kevin Anthenhill (Sound Design), Janet Pitcher (Costume Design), Peter Herman (Hair & Wig Design), Bret Young (Production Manager), Craig Campbell (Company Manager), and Matthew Bantock (Stage Manager).

Colleen Kollar Smith (Co-Creator/Director/Choreographer): Colleen currently serves as The Managing Director for Moonlight Stage Productions. A graduate of USD's Nonprofit Leadership and Management Master's Program, Colleen has worked as the Executive Director of San Diego Musical Theatre and Director of Development for Lamb's Players Theatre. While at Lamb's, Colleen was also a member of the resident ensemble where she performed in/choreographed dozens of productions, co-created the long-running musical Mixtape, and orchestrated the Guinness World Record breaking event and fundraiser 100 Hours of Stories. Directing Credits include: Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play (SDMT), Big River (NVA), Gone Missing (USD), and Festival of Christmas (Lamb's). Choreography credits include: West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Music Man, The Fantasticks, Godspell, Joseph..., Light in the Piazza, and Book of the Dun Cow all with Lamb's. Man of La Mancha, Dirty Blonde, and Private Lives with Cygnet; Midsummer, The Musical with Intrepid and Ring Round the Moon and You Never Can Tell with Moonlight Stage Productions. Colleen received Craig Noel Awards for her choreography on West Side Story at Lamb's and her performance as Ludmilla in Cygnet's Bed and Sofa.

Jon Lorenz (Co-Creator/Arranger/Music Director): Jon Lorenz co-created Mixtape (book, arrangements), "San Diego's longest running homegrown musical." Oz (book, songs) was nominated for five Craig Noel Awards. Alice (book, music, lyrics) was part of the ASCAP/Disney Musical Theater Workshop, staged at NYU and optioned by NBC/Universal Stage. SDMT produced the premiere of Miracle on 34th Street (original music, lyrics) in 2016. Jon spent 10+ years as a Resident Artist at Lamb's Players, and was seen in and worked on 60+ productions, including Amadeus, Secret Garden, and Room Service. Musical Direction, Original Songs & Arrangements, Sound Design include: Big River (New Village), Wit, Twelfth Night, Joseph, Mixtape, Guys & Dolls, Pete n' Keely, Festival of Christmas 2007-16 (Lamb's Players). Other Projects: Scottsboro Boys (Old Globe), A New Brain (Diversionary), Rocky Horror Show (Cygnet), Sunday in the Park With George (Ion), and First Date (SDMT).

Performances run July 28 - September 10, 2017, at the Horton Grand Theatre in the Gaslamp district of downtown San Diego. Showtimes are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m., with an added preview performance on Wednesday, August 2 at 7:30 p.m. For more information on Pump Up the Volume: A 90's Palooza and upcoming SDMT productions, visit www.sdmt.org or call the box office at (858) 560-5740.

ABOUT SDMT

Founded in 2006, San Diego Musical Theatre is dedicated to passionately producing and providing musical theatre that ignites the human spirit. SDMT is proud to partner with local community non-profits as a part of its You Give, We Give campaign. For its production of Pump Up the Volume, SDMT is partnering with Voice of San Diego which is a member-based organization dedicated to consistently delivering ground-breaking investigative journalism for the San Diego region. To increase civic participation by giving residents the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become advocates for good government and social progress.To consistently deliver ground-breaking investigative journalism for the San Diego region. To increase civic participation by giving residents the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become advocates for good government and social progress.

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