Vital Theatre Co Presents UNCLE PIRATE 1/16-2/28/2010

The award-winning VITAL THEATRE COMPANY is pleased to announce the production "UNCLE PIRATE," with book by BEN H. WINTERS, music and lyrics by DREW FORNAROLA and directed by JEREMY DOBRISH, based on the book by DOUGLAS REES. Performances run Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 1pm, January 16th through February 28th. Tickets are $25. The show is appropriate for ages 3-12. School/Group performances are available at Vital Theatre or your location. For reservations visit www.vitaltheatre.org or call (212) 579-0528. VITAL THEATRE COMPANY is located at 2162 Broadway, 4th Floor, at 76th Street, on the Upper West Side.

In UNCLE PIRATE, Wilson is just your average kid until one day he finds out his uncle is a pirate... like, a REAL pirate! With help from Uncle Pirate and his faithful talking penguin Captian Jack, maybe, just maybe, Wilson can survive the fourth grade. Grab yer eye patches and pirate hats, mateys... The adventure begins now!

The cast of UNCLE PIRATE includes Ronn Burton, Lauren Kampf, Beth Kuhn, Joshua Nicholson, Steve Trzaska, and Amanda Yachechak.

BEN H. WINTERS (Book) is a playwright and librettist whose work has been produced Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway, regionally and internationally. He wrote the book for Vital's A (TOOTH) FAIRY TALE, as well as book and lyrics for THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE (Theatreworks USA); both shows have been licensed by Samuel French. Ben is also an author, most recently of the New York Times bestseller SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS (Quirk Books). His next book is a novel for young adults called THE SECRET LIFE OF MS. FINKLEMAN, to be published by HarperCollins in fall of 2010. Ben lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife Diana and their two awesome kids.

DREW FORNAROLA (Music and Lyrics) Credits include COLLEGE THE MUSICAL (NYMF Award for Excellence in Writing, Richard Rodgers Award finalist, published by Dramatic Publishing Company), THUCYDIDES (Off Off Broadway Festival winner, published by Samuel French), THE ADVENTURES OF CLAUDIO AND LUIS (opening July 2010, commissioned by the New Musical Development Fund), and VOTE FOR ME - A MUSICAL DEBATE (commissioned by Tony Award-winning producer, Robyn Goodman). Drew is a recent graduate of Princeton University and a member of the BMI Workshop. www.drewfornarola.com

JEREMY DOBRISH (Director) recently helmed JUDAS AND ME (NYMF), SPAIN (MCC) and ELECTION DAY (Second Stage). Regional credits include Barrington Stage, Goodspeed, Hangar, North Shore, NY Stage and Film, O'Neill, Village. For Theatreworks USA he wrote and directed CURIOUS GEORGE and directed PAUL REVERE. Festival credits include Fringe NYC, NYMF, SPF. Jeremy has served as an Artistic Associate at Second Stage, and was the Artistic Director of adobe theatre company for 13 years, for which he has written and/or directed over twenty plays. Jeremy's plays include NOTIONS IN MOTION, THE HANDLESS MAIDEN, BLINK OF AN EYE, SUPERPOWERS, ORPHEUS & EURYDICE (all adobe) and EIGHT DAYS (BACKWARDS) (Vineyard). He lives in Maplewood with his wife Beth and daughters Clea and Quinn. www.jeremydobrish.com

DOUGLAS REES (Author) is a librian, not a pirate, who has written Lightning Time, Smoking Mirror, The Janus Gate, and Vampire High for young adults, and Grandy Thaxter's Helper and Uncle Pirate for younger readers. He will have four books coming out next year, including the sequel to Uncle Pirate, Uncle Pirate to the Rescue, the sequel to Vampire High, Vampire High: Sophomore Year, Majix and Jeannette Claus's Christmas. He lives in San Jose with his wife, Jo, who is also a librarian, and too many cats. http://douglasrees.com

The creative team for UNCLE PIRATE includes Choreographer Christine O'Grady, Musical Director Julie McBride, Scenic Designer Alexis Distler, Lighting Designer Michael Gottlieb, Costume Designer Bobby Pearce and Stage Manager Nicholas Rainey.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY commissions four to five new musicals for children each season. Since its founding in 1999, Vital Theatre Company has been honored with two AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE by the Off Off Broadway Review and has received high acclaim from audiences and critics alike for being "a wonderful place for parents to introduce their kids to the glories of live theatre, done well and at modest prices." Now in its 11th season, the company is dedicated to producing entertaining and educational theatre for young audiences. To date, the company has presented 49 original productions for over 156,000 children and their families.