University of Washington to Present SWEET CHARITY, 11/14-23

The upcoming production of Sweet Charity is a definitive leap into new territory for the University of Washington as it marks the inaugural production of its newly established Musical Theater Program, a collaboration between the UW College of Arts & Sciences, School of Drama, School of Music, and Dance Program.

Sweet Charity is Neil Simon's tender, poignant, and funny look at the love adventures-or rather misadventures-of the gullible and guileless Charity Hope Valentine. Full of dance, eye-popping designs, and musical numbers like Big Spender and If My Friends Could See Me Now, it is the ideal vehicle to demonstrate the collaborative spirit on which the UW Musical Theater program was founded.

"It's a true ensemble piece," states director Wilson Mendieta. "Everyone in the show is an integral part of the storytelling. This creates a communal sense of responsibility and allows our audiences to experience a cross-departmental product featuring talents from the School of Music, the School of Drama and the Dance Program. It is a venture that exemplifies what we aim to share with our students in the classroom-that the process of art making can lead to new discoveries when different artistic voices are willing to share their views and investigate their own approaches for a common goal."

Sweet Charity features a cast of UW undergraduate students, musicians provided by the School of Music, and a design team comprised of MFA students from the School of Drama. The show is directed and choreographed by Wilson Mendieta (Program Coordinator - Musical Theater Program), with musical direction by Greg Sinibaldi (Artist in Residence - School of Music), and assistant direction and choreography provided by Kyle Craig-Bogard (MFA student - Dance Program).

Sweet Charity runs November 14 - 23. Performances are Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets range from $10-25 and are available online or over the phone through the ArtsUW Ticket Office, 206-543-4880 / http://artsuw.org. The ArtsUW Ticket Office is located at 1313 NE 41st Street, open Monday-Friday, 11 am-6 pm.

Performances are in the Meany Studio Theatre at Meany Hall on the UW campus.