NoHo Arts Center Presents The Return Of YO HO HO: A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS!

The multi-award-winning NoHo Arts Center Ensemble (NoHo ACE) presents the third return of its smash-hit, critically-acclaimed original holiday musical, perfect for the whole family, YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS, from the creative team that brought you Dorian, The Ghost and Mrs Muir and Lizard, music and lyrics by Scott DeTurk and James J. Mellon and written and directed by James J. Mellon. YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS will open on Friday, November 26 at 7:30pm and will run for five weeks through Thursday, December 23 at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd. (at Lankershim) in North Hollywood.

A group of directionally challenged Pirates invade the North Pole in the return of this holiday family classic. YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS is the musical event of the holiday season. See how the citizens of the North Pole, including Santa, Mrs. Claus and their many happy elves, (especially a nine year old elf named Eve) save Christmas from the the famous pirate, Black-eyed Johnny, and his gang of wacky buccaneers. You won't want to miss this musical feast of shanties, songs, Santa Claus, and snow.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

James J. Mellon (Director/Choreographer) is proud to be the Artistic Director of The NoHo Arts Center and NoHo ACE, the resident theatre company of the Center. His extensive background in the entertainment industry covers theatre, television, film, recording and dance. As an actor, he made his Broadway debt as Riff in WESTSIDE STORY, directed by Jerome Robbins, performed in A CHORUS LINE, 42ND STREET, and as Jesus in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. He has worked at such theatres as, The Goodspeed Opera House, The New York Shakespeare Festival, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Walnut Street Theatre, The Kennedy Center and The Folger Theatre in Washington D.C. As a director, he created for the Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. the highly acclaimed 'expanded' version of THE FANTASTIKS, starring "Greater Tuna" stars Joe Sears and Jaston Williams. For NoHo ACE, Mr. Mellon directed or directed/choreographed World or West Coast premieres of JERUSALEM, A BOY CALLED LIZARD (Ovation Nomination-Original Musical) based on the novel by Dennis Covington, FEED, a play workshopped and developed by NoHo ACE (LA Weekly nomination-Directing), THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR (Ovation Nomination, LA Weekly nomination-Original Musical) which he also adapted from the novel of the same name, BUSH IS BAD (co-directed with Jay Willick winning the LA Weekly award-Acting Ensemble, nomination Best Musical), THE THIEF, PEST CONTROL (LA Weekly nomination-Best Musical) for Canum Entertainment, and last years INSANITY (Co-Produced With Larry Russo). As a writer, he also created DORIAN, a contemporary adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" at the prestigious Buell Theatre, the crown jewel of The Denver Theatre Center and the West Coast Premiere in 2005 at The NoHo Arts Center (Ovation Nomination). His original musical, AN UNFINISHED SONG, was nominated for numerous awards and has been produced in New York, Los Angeles (Tiffany Theatre), Boston (Charles Playhouse) and Sydney, Australia. James received three "Los Angeles Drama-Logue" awards for his book, music and lyrics to THE DREAMER AND THE RUNNER, (an earlier version of AN UNFINISHED SONG). His screenplay, BIRD OF PREY, starred Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Tilly and Lesley Ann Warren. James is the Pastor of The NoHo Arts Center for New Thought and shares his life with his husband Kevin (November 2008 - thank you Gov. Schwarzenegger) and his children Will and Nora.

Scott DeTurk (Composer/Lyricist/Musical Director) graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor of Music in composition. He has lived in Los Angeles, New York, Denver and the San Francisco area, where he has worked extensively in theater, film, television and recording, as a composer, arranger, orchestrator and musical director. Scott has nine published musicals, including WESTERN STAR, published by Music Theater International; A BOY CALLED LIZARD and now YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS, both recently published by Samuel French; and six musicals published by Pioneer Drama Services. Scott has collaborated on the award winning musical, THE GHOST & MRS. MUIR, as well as, DORIAN, PEST CONTROL, THE THIEF, and INSANITY, all of which have been produced at the NOHO Arts Center.

He is currently writing a new musical, pride with writer-director Jon Tracy for the Berkeley Playhouse and is in the development stages of a family musical, JOURNEY written recently with Elia Wise. Scott has also worked as a writer and composer for numerous commercial clients including: Disney, Hughes Aircraft, Maxtor, Time Warner, HBO, ESPN and ABC Television. As a musical director and accompanist he has worked with numerous Broadway performers and celebrities. Scott currently lives in San Rafael where he and his very talented wife, Kristine, run a performing arts program, Academy DeTurk.

ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM

The cast of YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS features Brad Blaisdell, Hannah Blaisdell,

Bonnie Cahoon, Mary Evans, Melanie Ewbank, Janet Fontaine, Eliza Frakes, Carissa Ro Gatti,

Jake Hansen, Alex Robert Holmes, Nora James, Merilee Magnuson, J.R. Mangels, Gilmore Rizzo,

Will Rose-Hines, Danielle Soibelman, Joshua Sterling and Jonathan Zenz as "Black-Eyed Johnny."

The production has assembled an award-winning design team. The Set Design is by Dove Huntley. The Lighting Design is by Ovation Award-winner Luke Moyer (Elizabeth Rex). The Sound Design is by Ovation Award nominee Jonathan Zenz (Elizabeth Rex). The Costume Design is by Curtis Jackson.

ABOUT THE SCHEDULE AND PRICING
YO HO HO! A PIRATE'S CHRISTMAS will open on Friday, November 26 at 7:30pm. It will run for five weeks through Thursday, December 23. Performances are Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 3:00pm & 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm. There will be additional performances on Saturday, December 11 & 18th at 12noon; Tuesday, December 21; Wednesday, December 22 and Thursday, December 23 at 7:30pm and there will be no performances on Friday, December 10 & 17. All performances are at the NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd. (at Lankershim) in the heart of North Hollywood.

Ticket prices are $25.00 for adults for all performances; $15 for kids aged 7-18 and for those kids over the age of 65; Children six and under get in for FREE (one per paying adult).

For tickets, please call 818-508-7101 x7 or visit www.thenohoartscenter.com.