SHREK THE MUSICAL
TO LAUNCH NATIONAL TOUR
IN CHICAGO
JUNE 2010
DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. are pleased to announce that the ‘big fat hit’* Broadway production of SHREK THE MUSICAL with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, directed by Jason Moore, will launch a National Tour in Chicago as part of the Broadway In Chicago Season Series. SHREK THE MUSICAL will play the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre in Chicago for a limited engagement beginning in June 2010.
The announcement of the National Tour follows the news that SHREK THE MUSICAL received 10 nominations for Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best Musical, tying for the most nominations for any show this season. The show also received three Drama League Award nominations this week, including Distinguished Production of a Musical.
“Chicago is a great theatre town and the perfect city to launch the SHREK THE MUSICAL National Tour. We feel we are in really good hands with the Broadway in Chicago team who have unmatched experience and success in presenting Broadway musicals. Everyone on the creative team has strong ties to the city of Chicago and is looking forward to getting to work on the touring production,” said Bill Damaschke, Producer.
SHREK THE MUSICAL features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize® winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), music by Olivier Award-winner Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change), and is directed by Tony Award® nominee Jason Moore (Avenue Q).
SHREK THE MUSICAL has set and costume designs by Tony Award® winner Tim Hatley, lighting design by Olivier Award winner Hugh Vanstone, sound design by Peter Hylenski; choreography by Josh Prince, music direction by Tim Weil, and orchestrations by Danny Troob & John Clancy.
An entirely new musical, SHREK THE MUSICAL is based on the story and characters from William Steig’s book Shrek!, as well as the DreamWorks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter of the Shrek movie series.
SHREK THE MUSICAL tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren’t only found in fairy tales.
SHREK THE MUSICAL was initiated when Sam Mendes, a big fan of the first Shrek film, suggested the idea of creating a musical to DreamWorks Animation’s Jeffrey Katzenberg around the time the second film was in production. The musical is produced by DreamWorks Theatricals (Bill Damaschke, President of DreamWorks Theatricals and Co-President of Production for DreamWorks Animation) and Neal Street Productions, Ltd. (principals Sam Mendes and Caro Newling).
The Broadway production of SHREK THE MUSICAL opened on Sunday, December 14, 2008 at the Broadway Theatre in New York City to critical acclaim. “A triumph of comic imagination,” said Elysa Gardner (USA Today), “A Big Fat Hit!” Syndicated columnist Liz Smith called the show “A fabulous flight of fancy. Incredibly joyous, with a brilliant cast.” David Richardson (WOR Radio) said “The music by Jeanine Tesori and words and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire are the best I’ve heard this season!” Pat Collins (WWOR-TV) said SHREK THE MUSICAL is “Far, far and away the funniest new musical on Broadway.”
The national tour of SHREK THE MUSICAL will be coordinated by The Booking Group (www.thebookinggroup.com).
The chart-topping original Broadway cast album for SHREK THE MUSICAL is available on Decca Broadway.
DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ: DWA)
For more information, visit www.ShrekTheMusical.com
* Elysa Gardner, USA Today
BIOGRAPHIES:
DAVID LINDSAY-ABAIRE (Book & Lyrics) was most recently awarded the 2008 Ed Kleban Award as America’s most promising musical theatre lyricist. Prior to that, he received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Rabbit Hole, which premiered on Broadway at MTC’s Biltmore Theatre. Rabbit Hole also received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, and the Spirit of America Award. His other shows include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World, High Fidelity and A Devil Inside, among others. In addition to his work in theatre, David’s screen adaptation of Rabbit Hole goes into production this summer, starring Nicole Kidman, and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. He’s also currently writing the screenplay for Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man 4, directed by Sam Raimi. David is a proud New Dramatists alum, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the WGA and the Dramatists Guild Council.
JEANINE TESORI (Music) has written three Tony-nominated scores for Broadway: Twelfth Night (Lincoln Center); Thoroughly Modern Millie (lyrics, Dick Scanlan); and Caroline, or Change (lyrics, Tony Kushner; director, George C. Wolfe). The National Theatre production of Caroline, or Change in London received the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Her first musical, Violet, written with Brian Crawley, received the NY Drama Critics Circle Award. She has received Drama Desk and Obie Awards, and was cited by ASCAP as the first woman composer to have “two new musicals running concurrently on Broadway.” She composed the music for the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Mother Courage, directed by George C. Wolfe and translated by Tony Kushner. Film scores include Nights in Rodanthe, Winds of Change, Show Business and Wrestling With Angels. She composed songs for the movie Shrek the Third and for the Disney DVD releases Mulan II, Lilo and Stitch II and The Little Mermaid III. Ms. Tesori is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She is a graduate of Barnard College and lives in Manhattan with her husband, Michael Rafter, and daughter, Siena.
JASON MOORE (Director). Broadway: Avenue Q, Steel Magnolias. Carnegie Hall: Jerry Springer: The Opera. Off-Broadway: Speech and Debate (Roundabout), Avenue Q (the Vineyard), Guardians (the Culture Project), The Crumple Zone. Associate directing: Les Misérables (Broadway, national tour), Ragtime (Vancouver). Writer: The Floatplane Notebooks (Charlotte Repertory Theatre). TV directing: episodes of “Dawson’s Creek,” “Everwood,” “One Tree Hill” and “Brothers and Sisters.” Jason has a BS in performance studies from Northwestern University.
DREAMWORKS THEATRICALS (Producer) was established in 2007 by DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA) to produce stage productions based on its films and other original and adapted works. Bill Damaschke serves as President of DreamWorks Theatricals and Co-President of Production for DWA. DWA is devoted to producing high-quality family entertainment through the use of computer-generated (CG) animation. DWA’s upcoming film slate includes How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek Goes Fourth; past titles include Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs. Aliens. Shrek was the winner of the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Jeffrey Katzenberg currently serves as DWA’s CEO and on the Board of Directors and was a co-founder of DreamWorks Studios in 1994. Shrek the Musical is DWA’s first venture in legitimate theatre.
NEAL STREET PRODUCTIONS (Producer) formed in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Caro Newling and Pippa Harris to produce film and theatre. Films: Revolutionary Road, Jarhead, Stuart: A Life Backwards, Starter for Ten, Things We Lost in the Fire. Theatre: The Bridge Project with Brooklyn Academy of Music/Old Vic Theatre, Mary Stuart, West End Premiere of Three Days of Rain, Sunday in the Park with George, The Vertical Hour. Mendes and Newling established and ran the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, London, 1992 to 2002, originating some 70 productions including, on Broadway, The Blue Room, Electra, True West and the Tony Award winners Cabaret, The Real Thing, Take Me Out. www.nealstreetproductions.com
# # #
Filed under: SHREK TOUR | Tagged: SHREK TOUR |
BBB-Blogger 