Special to The Mississippi Link
JACKSON—New Stage Theatre will present its 44th season opener Gutenberg! The Musical! September 15-27, 2009. Preview night is Tuesday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m. Curtain times and dates for all other performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays. Ticket prices are $22.00 with discounts available for students, senior citizens and groups. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, located inside the Jane Reid Petty Theatre Center, charged by phone by calling the theatre at (601) 948-3531 or ordered online at www.newstagetheatre.com.
Gutenberg! The Musical! is sponsored by The Clarion Ledger.
Hold the presses for this brand new uproarious and hysterically funny two-man musical spoof! A pair of aspiring playwrights performs a backers’ audition for their new project: A big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg. With an unending supply of enthusiasm, Bud and Doug sing all the songs and play all the parts in their crass historical epic, with the hope that one of the producers in attendance will give them a Broadway contract—fulfilling their ill-advised dreams.
“It’s the newness and originality of Gutenberg! The Musical! that makes me excited that New Stage is presenting this show to the Metro area audience, “ said Francine Reynolds, artistic director at New Stage. “What attracts me to the play is that it is about more than the absurd actions of two aspiring writers; it is a story about dreams and the effort it takes to fulfill them.”
Director Peppy Biddy returns to direct Gutenberg! The Musical! after a very short hiatus away after directing last season’s closing show Smokey Joe’s Café. Biddy earned his MFA at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. He has served as actor, director and stage manager for such theatres as Dallas Theatre Center, Casa Manana, Dallas Repertory Theatre, Dallas Children’s Theatre, Theatre Three, Dallas Summer Musicals and Mill Mountain Theatre in Roanoke, Va. He is currently
chair of the department of music and theatre at Mississippi University for Women, where he has been awarded the Kossen Faculty Excellence Award, Mississippi Legislature’s HEADWAE Award and Columbus Educator of the Year Award. Biddy has also served as production manager for the Sundance Theatre Lab in Utah for nine years. His other New Stage credits include Idols of the King, Ain’t Misbehavin’ A Grand Night for Singing, Crowns, Hank Williams: Lost Highway and The Fantasticks.
“If you have ever been curious about the formula for a successful musical, you must come and see Gutenberg! The Musical!,” said Director Peppy Biddy. “Although you don’t need to know anything about the theatre to enjoy the show, long-time musical theatre fans will enjoy the many tongue-in-cheek nods to Broadway musicals.”
The cast of Gutenberg! The Musical! includes Danny Dauphin of Ridgeland as Bud and Turner Crumbley of Laurel as Doug.
Gutenberg! The Musical! performances are September 15-27, 2009. Ticket prices are $22.00 with discounts available for students, senior citizens and groups. Student Rush tickets are also available one hour prior to each performance for $8 with valid student identification. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, charged by phone by calling the theatre at (601) 948-3531 or ordered online at www.newstagetheatre.com. The theatre is located in the Jane Reid Petty Theatre Center at 1100 Carlisle Street in the Belhaven neighborhood.
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