SFArtsED PLAYERS Revive FIORELLO! 2/5-20/2010

The San Francisco Arts Education Project (SFArtsED) celebrates the ninth year of its musical theater company, The SFArtsED Players, with performances of Broadway's Pulitzer Prize winning, Fiorello! at San Francisco's Eureka Theatre (215 Jackson Street, between Front and Battery) for a three-week engagement beginning Friday, February 5 and continuing through Saturday, February 20. Tickets range in price from $10 for students and seniors to $15 for adults and are available by phone at 415-392-4400 and on the Web at www.cityboxoffice.com. A Gala fundraiser will be held Saturday evening, February 6, featuring a surprise celebrity host. All tickets for the Gala performance are $30.

One of only seven musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Fiorello! is based on the life of New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. With book by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock, the musical follows the life of LaGuardia during World War I and ten years later. As mayor of New York City, LaGuardia reformed city politics by helping end Tammany Hall's formidable political machine.

These special performances of Fiorello! are a collaboration of SFArtsED, the School of the Arts High School Technical Theater program and Theatre Rhinoceros. The SFArtsED Players, featuring performers ranging in ages from nine through 15, will be sharing the Eureka Theatre performance space and a common set with Theatre Rhinoceros during its 2009-2010 season. The students from School of the Arts High School's (SOTA) program will design the technical aspects of the performances including the set and props and will be responsible for the stage management of the show, as part of SFArtsED's apprentice programs. Jon Lowe, Theatre Rhinoceros's lighting designer will mentor the SOTA theater apprentices, teaching the students lighting design and operational skills.

Following its Eureka Theatre run, The SFArtEd Players will perform free matinee performances of Fiorello! at SOTA for San Francisco Unified School District students on Thursday, April 15 and Friday, April 16.

Fiorello! is directed by Danny Duncan. Diana Lee is the Musical Director and Conductor. Vocal directors are Robert Cowan and Ben Keim. Choreography is provided by Natalie Greene, Katie Kerwin and Emily Keeler, who is also the Artistic Director of SFArtsED and the SFArtsED Players.

Fiorello! is playing at San Francisco's Eureka Theatre (215 Jackson Street, between Front and Battery) February 5 - 20. The performance schedule is:

Friday, February 5 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, February 6 at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm*
Sunday, February 7 at 2:00 pm
Saturday, February 13 at 2:00pm
Sunday, February 14 at 2:00 pm
Saturday, February 20 at 2:00 pm
*Special Gala fundraiser

Tickets
Tickets to The SFArtsED Players' performances of Fiorello! are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Tickets for the Gala performance on Saturday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. are $30. To purchase tickets, visit www.cityboxoffice.com or call 415-392-4400.

Special performances for the San Francisco Unified School District are Thursday, April 15 and Friday, April 16 at 10 a.m. at the School of the Arts High School (555 Portola Drive). These performances are FREE to students.

About SFArtsED
Founded in 1965 (as the Alvarado Arts Workshop) by renowned artist Ruth Asawa, SFArtsED has transformed the lives of children, their families, teachers, artists and volunteers. Programs include SFArtsED Summer camp, In-School Artists-In-Residence, After-School programs, The SFArtsED Players Musical Theater Company, apprentice programs for college and high school students and public visual art exhibits. For more information about SFArtsED, visit www.sfartsed.org or call 415-551-7990.

About The SFArtsED Players
The SFArtsED Players is a musical theater company that reflects San Francisco in all its diversity. Hailing from the neighborhoods of San Francisco, the SFArtsED Players is made up of 30 theater performers who come from SFArtsED's performing arts residencies as well as from the organization's summer arts intensive, called SFArtsED Summer, held each year at School District sites. The young performers are selected for their talent, enthusiasm and commitment for the musical theater form. They work with the directors of the company 10 hours each week, training as "triple threats" (actor/singer/dancers) and rehearsing for their performances. The company performs both original musicals and Broadway classics.

About Theatre Rhinoceros
Theatre Rhinoceros (John Fisher, Artistic Director), America's longest running professional queer theatre, develops and produces works of theatre that enlighten, enrich, and explore both the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of our queer community.

 

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