Monday, January 14, 2013

Sister Act Rocks the Rafters


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diana Roth, 412-471-8717, roth@trustarts.org
PNC Broadway Across America - Pittsburgh Anounces

SISTER ACT
The musical comedy that will rock the rafters
is coming to Pittsburgh, PA at the Benedum Center!
February 5-10, 2013

Tickets on Sale Now!

Pittsburgh, PA: The national tour of SISTER ACT is coming to the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh, PA from February 5-10, 2013.

The performance schedule is Tuesday-Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday at 2:00 and 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 p.m.  Tickets for this event are on sale now.

Tickets ($20-$62) are available at the Box Office at Theater Square, 655 Penn Avenue, by visiting www.TrustArts.org, or by calling 412-456-4800. Groups 10+ are available by calling 412-471-6930. Performance schedule, prices and cast are subject to change without notice.

SISTER ACT is part of the PNC Broadway Across America – Pittsburgh series presented by The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Pittsburgh Symphony and Broadway Across America.

Producers Whoopi Goldberg, Stage Entertainment and Troika Entertainment announce casting for the North American Tour of five-time Tony Award® nominated musical SISTER ACT.

Sister Act (Photo Credit:  Joan Marcus)

SISTER ACT starring Ta'Rea Campbell (Book of Mormon, Lion King) as Deloris Van Cartier, Hollis Resnik (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Les Miserables) as Mother Superior, Kingsley Leggs (Sister Act, The Color Purple) as Curtis Jackson, E. Clayton Cornelious (Wonderland, The Scottsboro Boys) as Eddie Souther, Lael Van Keuren (Sister Act) as Mary Robert, Florrie Bagel as Mary Patrick, Diane J. Findlay (42nd Street, Promises, Promises) as Mary Lazarus, Todd A. Horman (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) as Joey, Ernie Pruneda (Sister Act) as Pablo, Charles Barksdale (Fat Camp) as TJ, and Richard Pruitt (42nd Street, White Christmas) as Monsignor O'Hara.

The company will also include Melvin Abston, Brian Calì, Alysha Deslorieux, Karen Elliott, Danny George, Blair Goldberg, Erin Henry, Wendy James, Trisha Jeffrey, Mary Jo McConnell, Ashley Moniz, Michelle Rombola, Jason Simon, Angie Marie Smith, Tricia Tanguy, Kelly E. Waters, and Dashaun Young.

SISTER ACT features an original score with music by multi-Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and Enchanted), lyrics by Tony and Academy Award-nominee Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid), and a book by multi-Emmy Award winners Cheri and Bill Steinkellner (“Cheers”) with additional book material by Tony and Olivier Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed). Directed on Broadway by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks (Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing…Forum, Smokey Joe’s Café), the production features choreography by Tony and Olivier Award nominee Anthony Van Laast (Mamma Mia, Bombay Dreams) and is based on the Touchstone Pictures motion picture Sister Act written by Joseph Howard.

When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place cops are sure she won't be found - a convent!  Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and an uptight Mother Superior.  Using her fabulous disco-ness and killer voice to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church, but in doing so blows her cover.  Soon it’s nun-on-the-run time but she finds salvation in the heavenly power of her newly found sisterhood.  Based on the mega-hit feature film, SISTER ACT features an original Alan Menken/Glenn Slater score with a vast inspiration of musical styles from Motown, soul and funk to great big disco anthems and Barry White inspired musical comedy.  

SISTER ACT features scenery by Klara Zieglerova, costumes by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Natasha Katz, and sound by John Shivers.  The music department includes Musical Supervisor Michael Kosarin, Music Director Brent-Alan Huffman, and orchestrations by Doug Besterman.

WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE TO SAY:

Elisabeth Vincentelli of The New York Post calls SISTER ACT, “One of the season’s happiest surprises! Off the charts and packed with goodies, to which we say: Amen!” Joe Dziemianowicz of The New York Daily News raves “A blessed event has landed on Broadway. Sister Act is a feel-good crowd pleaser worth celebrating. It keeps on purring from one happy moment to the next.”  Charles Isherwood of The New York Times says, “When the wimples start quivering and the nuns start rocking to raise the Gothic rafters, all’s right in the kingdom of musical comedy!” and Mark Kennedy of The Associated Press calls SISTER ACT, “In a word, divine. This is a musical that hits all the right spots, achieving something close to Broadway grace. It will convert you.”
For more information, please visit www.sisteractthemusical.comwww.sisteractontour.com

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WHOOPI GOLDBERG (Producer) is among the most well-known performers around the world. She shot to international fame with her Oscar-nominated performance in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, before embarking on a prolific Hollywood career with films such as Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Soapdish, The Lion King, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and, of course, Sister Act and its sequel. She has had success in virtually every area of entertainment, from film and television, to stage and recording, to radio host and best-selling author. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ghost in 1991 and is one of a very elite group of artists who has also won the Grammy, the Golden Globe, the Emmy and, as Producer of the original Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002, a Tony Award. She is currently moderator of the award-winning daytime talk show The View on ABC.

STAGE ENTERTAINMENT USA Inc. (Producer) Founded in 1998 by Joop van den Ende, Stage Entertainment is one of the world’s largest theatrical producers with bases in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Russia, Italy and the USA, and the owner of thirty venues across those countries.  Stage Entertainment employs over 4,000 people worldwide and over 10 million people visit a Stage Entertainment production or performance space each year.

Headed by Bill Taylor, Stage Entertainment’s US team recently produced the hit musical, SISTER ACT, on Broadway. SISTER ACT received five 2011 Tony® Award nominations and rave reviews.  Stage Entertainment US is currently producing SISTER ACT on tour in the US and has several other new projects in development for Broadway and the road.

TROIKA ENTERTAINMENT (Producer) has been the innovator in touring musical theater productions for over two decades, producing shows throughout North America and the world. Each season, Troika tours to hundreds of cities across the U.S. and Canada. In addition, Troika produced in European markets including Russia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Central/South American and Caribbean credits include touring CATS in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.  As the first U.S. production company to tour a musical in Mainland China, Troika has toured extensively across the Pacific Rim in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, with productions of The Sound of Music, Swing!, 42nd Street and Chicago. The company is experienced in casino and leisure markets having produced for The Wynn, Caesars, Grand Casino, Hilton, Eldorado and Harrah’s (Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Biloxi, Lake Tahoe and Branson). Current and upcoming productions include West Side Story, Catch Me if You Can, Sister Act, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Shear Madness and The Wizard of Oz. With strong ties to the Broadway community, Troika prides itself on delivering top quality productions to audiences worldwide.

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

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