Madison Lyric Stage Presents Evita July 14-23; Venue Moved to Guilford CT

Madison Lyric Stage, now in its fifth year of bringing professional theatrical experiences to the Shoreline, will present the musical Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice on July 14, 15, 16 and 21, 22, 23 at the First Church of Christ Scientist, Guilford located at 49 Park Street on the historic Guilford Green. All shows are at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $30 and can be reserved by visiting www.madisonlyricstage.com or calling 203-779-5258. Tickets are also available for purchase at R.J. Julia in Madison and The Marketplace at Guilford Food Center in Guilford.

Madison Lyric Stage is known for performing in the intimate setting of a restored barn in Madison, CT, however, because of high ticket demand, the producers have moved this production to a location with a larger capacity. The new venue was once a summer stock theater called The Chapel Playhouse and hosted numerous productions in the 1930s and 1940s.

Set in the glamorous and turbulent Buenos Aires of the early 1950s, Evita follows the controversial life of Eva Peron, the wife of Argentine president Juan Peron. The epic musical, which won both the Tony and the Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Musical, includes the classic hit song "Don't Cry for Me Argentina."

Madison Lyric Stage's artistic director Marc Deaton directs a cast led by Carly Callahan as First Lady of Argentina Eva Peron and John Johmann as revolutionary leader Che Guevara. Mr. Deaton also appears as Juan Peron. Musical director Vic Johnson leads a 4-piece musical combo, and a cast of over 20.

Mr. Deaton said: "We are thankful to the First Church of Christ Scientist, Guilford for inviting us to use their beautiful acoustic space. As we enter our fifth anniversary year and continue to grow, it became apparent that we needed a larger space to meet the increased demand for tickets and to reach a larger audience. It's equally pleasing that the venue was once a summer stock theater, and we are excited to once again bring professional-level musical theater to the Guilford Green with Andrew Lloyd Webber's early masterpiece."

Evita is presented with the generous support of Guilford Savings Bank.

As has been the tradition when the productions were presented in the Barn, a buffet supper will be available before the show. Suppers will be held in a specially created "dining room" inside the Guilford Savings Bank branch located at One Park Street, a few doors down from the Church. Dinners will begin at 6:30, and then guests will be escorted to the theater. All supper guests will have reserved seating for the show. Suppers are available for $30 each and can also be reserved on the Madison Lyric Stage website.

Founded by a group of professional performers, Madison Lyric Stage is an arts collective for the Shoreline of Connecticut. Its mission is to present professional-quality entertainment from the worlds of opera, musical theater and drama. Past productions include: A Little Night Music, Macbeth, Peter Grimes, Salome, The Glass Menagerie, and many others.

Future Madison Lyric Stage productions include Aaron and Lenny On The Town, an original musical review of works by Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, September 16-24, and the Noel Coward comedy Blithe Spirit, November 4-12.