"On The Town" Opens At Muhlenberg College
Musical "On the Town" by Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, will open October 24 at Muhlenberg College in the Paul C. Empie Theater, Baker Center for the Arts.Tuesday, October 21, 2003 00:18 PM
Musical "On the Town" by Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, will open October 24 at Muhlenberg College in the Paul C. Empie Theater, Baker Center for the Arts. The show will run October 24-November 2, with performances Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets: Adults $18, seniors $16, youth $8. Tickets are available through the Box Office, 484-664-3333.
The Broadway musical is based on "Fancy Free," a ballet by choreographer Jerome Robbins and composer Leonard Bernstein created for the American Ballet Theater in New York. "On The Town" is a work famous for bringing the names of Bernstein, Robbins, and writers Comden & Green into the limelight in American musical theater.
"On The Town" brings to life the antics of three sailors, Gabey, Chip and Ozzie. Gabey decides within his first hours in New York City that he must find Ivy Smith, the "Miss Turnstiles" subway poster girl. The three boys set off in separate directions to find the mystery woman. Of course, they each encounter their own entertaining detours along the way as the female population of New York seems to find these men in uniform absolutely irresistible! In a combination of twenty scenes and forty musical numbers, "On The Town" dances and sings along with the boys' star struck hunt for the "nights, sights, and lights" of New York.
The nearly 40-member company for "On The Town" includes seasoned performers with experience on and off the Muhlenberg stage: George Psomas '05 as Gabey, Kieran Maroney '06 as Chip, Frank Grande-Marchione '05 as Ozzie, Mia Scarpa '04 as Claire de Loone, Kelly Shera '04 as Ivy Smith, Jenny Lynn Peters '05 as Hildy Esterhazy, Jessica Katz '05 as Madame Dilly, and Christopher Whyde '04 as Judge Pitkin, under the direction of Charles Richter, head of the department of theatre & dance at Muhlenberg and choreography by Karen Dearborn director of dance. Technical staff includes: Jeremy Kumin (lighting designer), Deborah Rooney (costume designer), Vincent Trovato (musical director/conductor), Timothy Averill (scenic designer), Cheryl Soper Christensen (prop coordinator), and Nick "Moose" Belton '04 (stage manager).
"On The Town" is a great chance for audiences to take a step back in time to a lighter and enchanting time in American theater and revel in the joys and wonder of youth. The show is a lively and energetic musical celebration, as much fun for those performing as those attending the show.
