PCPA Theaterfest & Rubicon Theatre Co Presents HELLO MY BABY!

Two of the region's leading professional theater companies are joining forces to produce the West Coast premiere of the sparkling new-fashioned musical comedy Hello! My Baby, penned by Tony-nominated, and Golden Globe and Emmy Award-Winner, Cheri Steinkellner, with orchestrations by Award-Winner Georgia Stitt, and music by a dream team of American composers. PCPA Theaterfest and Ventura's Rubicon Theatre Company are pleased to announce their first co-production, bringing Hello! My Baby to four Central Coast venues in 2012. The production will be directed by Rubicon Associate Producer BrIan McDonald and choreographed by PCPA Resident Artist Michael Jenkinson, with musical direction by PCPA's Callum Morris.

Set on the sidewalks of 1912 New York, Hello! My Baby is the story of young Mickey McKee, King of the Song-Pluggers, who dreams of writing the next Tin Pan Alley million-selling hit song. Only problem is Mickey can't write a note - until he meets Nelly Gold, a teenaged factory girl with a talent for tunes and moxie to spare. Mickey and Nelly make beautiful music together until she puts on the trousers she once sewed, calls herself Ned, and becomes the new King of the Pluggers, and Mickey's arch-rival. These mismatched young lovers and their unlikely friends sing, dance, bicker, and coo from Debutante Balls to Delancey Street; navigating class struggles, gender-swapping, and a whole lot of ukuleles, as they sell the songs we're all still humming a hundred years later.

Steinkellner and Stitt have created a riotous musical comedy that reboots Berlin, Gershwin, Kern and a score of others while smartly weaving their updated hits into a timely romantic farce for all ages.

PCPA Theaterfest Artistic Director Mark Booher said Hello! My Baby is a magnificent opportunity for both theatre companies. "This project seemed a wonderful chance to build our friendly professional acquaintance into a powerful creative partnership." Booher added, "Of course there's the practical advantages afforded both companies by being able to leverage our resources and creative capacities toward the production of a show. Working together, we can bring even greater production values and experience to the project, as well as outreach to our audiences across a broader region, and maximize our financial support." Booher said it's a win-win situation whereby, "working together affords us the opportunity to make better art, which is good for the art, good for us, and good for our audiences."

Rubicon's Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns echoes Booher's sentiments. "We have great respect and admiration for the work of PCPA Theaterfest and for Mark's bold artistic vision, and are thrilled to begin this collaboration. By sharing pre-production expenses (such as casting, design, rehearsal salaries; and construction of sets, costumes and props), we can achieve greater economic efficiencies and stretch the contributions of our donors," Burns continued. "Through partnership, we are able to present a large-scale new musical for our audiences and amortize the costs over multiple weeks and cities. We all believe this is the wave of the future."

"And bringing together teams from different organizational cultures is incredibly invigorating from an artistic standpoint," says James O'Neil, Co-Founder of Rubicon with Burns and the company's Artistic Director. "We know the commitment and excitement we feel will fuel our efforts and make for a very special production."

Just the facts...
What: Hello! My Baby
Dates & Venues February 16 - March 11, 2012 - Marian Theatre
800 S. College, Santa Maria
GPS: enter 1100 S. Bradley, Santa Maria, Ca 93454
(805) 922-8313 - www.pcpa.org

March 28 - April 15, 2012 - Rubicon Theatre
1006 East Main St., Ventura
(805) 667-2900 - www.rubicontheatre.org

April 25 - 29, 2012 - Lobero Theatre
33 E. Cannon Perdido, Santa Barbara
(805) 963-0761 - www.loberotheatre.com

June 14 - July 1, 2012 - Solvang Festival Theater
420 2nd St., Solvang
(805) 922-8313 - www.pcpa.org
PCPA Times
Santa Maria: 7pm preview Thursday and Fridays and Saturdays.
1:30pm Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
PCPA Times
Solvang: 8pm Wednesdays through Sundays and Tuesday June 26.
PCPA Tickets: $28.00 - $39.75 for adults.
Discounts for children, students, seniors,
and preview performances Feb 1, 17, June 14, and 15.
PCPA Box Office: (805) 922-8313
Internet: www.pcpa.org