Stages St. Louis' A CHORUS LINE and 101 DALMATIONS Breaks Records

STAGES ST. LOUIS reports a new leader in box offIce Ticket sales. The 2011 season opener and Pulitzer Prize winning musical A Chorus Line is now the all-time leader exceeding last season's previous top seller Promises, Promises.

A Chorus Line played to sold-out houses and an overall average of 99.8% capacity in the 377-seat Robert G. Reim theatre in Kirkwood, MO. The show, which starred Broadway Actress Jessica Lee Goldyn (Cassie) and Broadway Actor David Elder (Zach), surpassed all previous box office records at STAGES.

This year's Theatre for Young Audiences production of Disney's 101 Dalmatians broke records of its own and is now the leader in ticket sales for the Theatre for Young Audiences production.101 Dalmatians played to sold-out houses for each performance with an average capacity at 100.9%. This crowd pleaser beats the previous TYA ticket sales leader, Disney's The Jungle Book (2008).

"We could not have asked for a better start to our 25th Anniversary season," said Executive Producer Jack Lane. "The single ticket success along with an increase of over 100 subscribers this season has us very optimistic about the future growth of STAGES."

STAGES ST. LOUIS will continue its 25th Anniversary Season on Friday, July 22, with the opening of the Tony Award-winning The Secret Garden, which will run for 38 performances through August 21. The season finale is Victor/Victoria, which will run September 9 through October 9.

STAGES ST. LOUIS is committed to preserving and advancing the art form of Musical Theatre through excellence in performance and education. In 2011, STAGES is celebrating its 25th year with productions of A Chorus Line, The Secret Garden, Victor/Victoria and Disney's 101 Dalmatians.In its 25-year history, STAGES has entertained 800,000 patrons with 82 productions and 2,600 performances. The recipient of twenty-three Kevin Kline Awards over the past six years, including three awards for Outstanding Production of a Musical, STAGES has become the leading company for musical theatre performance and education in the Midwest.

STAGES ST. LOUIS would like to extend sincere thanks to the sponsors of our 25th Anniversary Season whose significant contributions enable us to produce Broadway-quality shows. The 2011 Silver Season corporate sponsors include Edward Jones (A Chorus Line), Emerson (101 Dalmatians), Lindell Bank (101 Dalmatians), and AEP River Operations (Victor/Victoria). The Edward Chase Garvey Memorial Foundation provided funding support for our production of The Secret Garden. Generous support was also provided by individual Production Sponsors Marion and Van Black (A Chorus Line), Margaret and Wayne Smith (A Chorus Line), ElizaBeth Green (101 Dalmatians), Lynne and Jim Turley (The Secret Garden), Judy and Jerry Kent (Victor/Victoria) and Merry and Jim Mosbacher (Victor/Victoria).STAGES also wishes to thank the following arts agencies for their support of our season and year-round educational programs: Arts & Education Council of St. Louis, Missouri Arts Council, and Regional Arts Commission.