AIDA To Begin Final 16 Performances Tomorrow

By: Aug. 23, 2004
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Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA begins its final 16 performances at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway) tomorrow, Tuesday, August 24 following its triumphant 54-month run on Broadway. AIDA will close on Sunday, September 5 after playing 1,844 performances.

Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Productions said, "AIDA is a show that has delighted us and defied all expectations. From its earliest developmental production in Atlanta, to its opening night in Chicago in 1999, we absolutely knew this was a show that needed to be on Broadway.  Although we were not even nominated for a Tony® Award for Best Musical, we were very proud when AIDA went on to receive four Tony® Awards, including Best Music for Elton John and Tim Rice.  While we will end our Broadway run on September 5, our productions of AIDA continue in multiple languages around the world, and, starting this summer, regional and community theatres across the country will put their own creative interpretation on AIDA through our partnership with Music Theatre International (MTI)."

AIDA will have run 232 weeks and played 1,844 performances, surpassing such long running hits as La Cage Aux Folles (1,761), Hair (1,750), Evita (1,567), and Mame (1,508) when it plays its final performance.

The Original Broadway Cast recording has sold almost 500,000 copies since its release in 2000. AIDA is the only production to open during the 1999-2000 theatrical season still running on Broadway.  Additionally, AIDA is the sixth-longest currently running show on Broadway.

AIDA stars music sensation Deborah A. Cox in the title role. Her co-stars include original AIDA cast member Adam Pascal (Radames), Lisa Brescia (Amneris) and Micky Dolenz (Zoser).  

AIDA is the winner of four 2000 Tony® Awards and the 2000 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album.  AIDA received Tony® Awards for Best Music (Elton John & Tim Rice), Best Actress (Heather Headley), Best Lighting Design (Natasha Katz), and Best Set Design (Bob Crowley).  

With a Tony® Award-winning score by Elton John (music) and Tim Rice (lyrics), AIDA is directed by Robert Falls, and features a book by Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls & David Henry Hwang.  Wayne Cilento is the choreographer. Set and costume design is by Tony® Award-winner Bob Crowley; lighting design is by Tony® Award-winner Natasha Katz, and music produced and supervised by Paul Bogaev. AIDA began performances at the Palace Theatre on February 25, 2000 and officially opened on March 23, 2000.  The show celebrated its fourth anniversary on Broadway in March 2004.

Disney Theatrical Productions continues on Broadway and internationally with 13 productions including The Lion King, which will celebrate its seventh anniversary this fall, and Beauty & The Beast, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Internationally, productions of Aida, Beauty & The Beast and The Lion King continue to delight audiences in London, Sydney, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Essen.  Upcoming productions include Mary Poppins in partnership with Cameron Mackintosh which opens December 2004 in London's West End and On The Record, a new musical celebrating Disney's catalogue of beloved songs, which will launch its US national tour in November 2004 at Cleveland's Palace Theatre.

Performance Schedule & Ticket Information

AIDA performs Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8PM, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2PM, and Sundays at 3PM.  Tickets are available at the Palace Theatre Box Office (1564 Broadway, NYC), through Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4747, or online at www.ticketmaster.com

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