NEWSIES National Tour & Lisa Vanderpump to Launch Online Auction Benefiting BC/EFA

The North American Tour of the Broadway hit musical NEWSIES, premiered in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 26th at The Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.

In celebration, TV personality Lisa Vanderpump attended the show's opening night, with her beloved dog, Giggy, wearing a custom-made, Newsie couture outfit.

Fans can participate in an online auction to benefit Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS. The highest bidder will take home a special package including; Giggy's NEWSIES opening night outfit, two tickets to the Wednesday, April 8th performance of NEWSIES at The Hollywood Pantages Theatre and meet "the Newsies" themselves for a "newsboy selfie" backstage, after the show.

Additionally, the highest bidder and a guest will experience the ultimate in the town's celebrity and glamour when they meet restaurateur, executive producer, philanthropist, author and actress Lisa Vanderpump. They will enjoy a splendid dinner for two the following night, Thursday, April 9th at Lisa's chic West Hollywood restaurant, PUMP where she and Giggy will welcome you* - be camera ready! * subject to availability

To participate, log onto www.VanderpumpPets.com beginning now through Thursday, April 2nd.

The production features Dan DeLuca as "Jack Kelly", Steve Blanchard as "Joseph Pulitzer", Stephanie Styles as "Katherine", Angela Grovey as "Medda Larkin", Jacob Kemp as "Davey", Zachary Sayle as "Crutchie", and Vincent Crocilla and Anthony Rosenthal alternating the role of "Les."

Rounding out the cast are Mark Aldrich, Josh Assor, Evan Autio, Bill Bateman, Josh Burrage, Kevin Carolan, DeMarius Copes, Benjamin Cook, Julian DeGuzman, Nico DeJesus, Sky Flaherty, Michael Gorman, Jon Hacker, Jeff Heimbrock, Stephen Hernandez, Meredith Inglesby, Molly Jobe, James Judy, Eric Jon Mahlum, Michael Ryan, Jordan Samuels, Jack Sippel, Melissa Steadman Hart, Andrew Wilson and Chaz Wolcott.

NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, NEWSIES is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work. The entire creative team has reunited to bring the break-out smash musical to audiences across North America.

When it opened on March 29, 2012 NEWSIES was intended for a Broadway run of just 101 performances. The show's fiercely devoted fans had other ideas, however; they propelled the show to a run of 1005 performances, attendance of more than 1 million and a gross of over $100M.

While on Broadway, NEWSIES set and broke seven Nederlander Theatre house records and became the highest-grossing show from the 2011-12 Broadway season. The show received 23 major theatrical nominations - including eight Tony Award nods - and won Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Score and Choreography.

Set in New York City at the turn of the century, NEWSIES is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged 'newsies,' who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what's right.

NEWSIES is inspired by the real-life 'Newsboy Strike of 1899,' when newsboy Kid Blink led a band of orphan and runaway newsies on a two-week-long action against Pulitzer, Hearst and other powerful newspaper publishers.

The stage version introduces seven brand-new songs by the original team of Menken and Feldman, including a song written specifically for the tour called 'Letter from the Refuge,' while keeping many of the beloved songs from the film, including 'Carrying the Banner, 'Seize the Day,' 'King of New York' and 'Santa Fe.'

Since the film's 1992 theatrical release and subsequent DVD release, NEWSIES has grown into a cult phenomenon, and for years had been the single most requested title of all the Disney musical films not yet adapted for the stage. (The film featured a screenplay by Bob Tzudiker & Noni White (Tarzan, 102 Dalmatians).)

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