Stephanie J. Block to Receive Sardi's Caricature

Stephanie J. Block, star of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's The Pirate Queen will be honored with her caricature unveiling at the world famous Broadway eatery, Sardi's Restaurant (234 West 44th Street) on Thursday, June 14 beginning at 5:30pm.  Block's likeness will join the ranks of Broadway royalty whom have been honored with a caricature on the famous walls of Sardi's Restaurant.

The Pirate Queen will play its final performance on Broadway at the Hilton Theatre (213 West 42nd Street, NYC; A Live Nation venue) on June 17, 2007 following 85 performances and 32 previews.  The production opened in New York on April 5 and previously played a limited engagement at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre  from October 3, 2006 through November 26, 2006 (64 performances).  The musical will have played a total of 181 performances in North America.

Masterworks Broadway will release the Original Broadway Cast Recording of The Pirate Queen nationwide on July 3, 2007.   That same day, Hal Leonard Will release The Pirate Queen songbook.

Commissioned and produced by Moya Doherty and John McColgan, The Producers of Riverdance, The Pirate Queen combines classic storytelling with a sweeping score and joyous dancing to celebrate the real-life story of legendary Irish Chieftain Grace O'Malley: a compelling, inspiring heroine who led an extraordinary life as a pirate, chieftain, lover and mother in 16th Century Ireland.  To protect her people and save her one true love, O'Malley must confront the one woman more powerful than her…her fierce rival, Queen Elizabeth I of England," as the show is described in press notes.

The new musical is directed by Tony Award-winner Frank Galati with musical staging by Graciela Daniele. The creative team for The Pirate Queen includes Boublil and Schönberg (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon), who wrote the score, John Dempsey (Witches of Eastwick) who has co-written the lyrics; Richard Maltby, Jr., (Miss Saigon, co-lyricist; Ain't Misbehavin,' conceived/direction) who has co-authored the book and lyrics; JulIan Kelly, orchestrator, vocal arranger, musical supervisor and director; three-time Tony Award-winner Eugene Lee (Wicked), designing the set; two-time Tony Award-winner Martin Pakledinaz (Kiss Me, Kate) designing the costumes; four-time Tony-nominee Kenneth Posner (Wicked) creating the lighting design and; Jonathan Deans (Ragtime) creating the sound design. 

The cast of 42, is led by Stephanie J. Block (Grace O'Malley), Hadley Fraser* (Tiernan), Linda Balgord (Queen Elizabeth I), Marcus Chait (Donal), Jeff McCarthy (Dubhdara) and William Youmans (Bingham). 

Tickets are currently available online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (212)307-4100. Tickets are available at the Hilton Theatre Box Office (213 West 42nd Street, NYC). Visit www.ThePirateQueen.com for more information.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.