Pasadena Playhouse Set for Broadway Bound 'Vanities'

The Pasadena Playhouse will stage Vanities, a new musical by Jack Heifner, with music by and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Judith Ivey, as its fifth production of the 2008 Season.  Vanities will open on August 29, 2008 prior to opening on Broadway in the Fall of 2008.  The Playhouse also announced the third and fourth productions of the 2008 season: John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, directed by Paul Lazarus, and George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession.

Of Mice and Men plays May 2 – June 8, 2008

Twice produced on Broadway, John Steinbeck's classic has resonated with generations of Americans.  Under Paul Lazurus' direction, this magnificent drama looks at Steinbeck's universal themes of loneliness and longing through the prism of 1942 California, a time when millions of Hispanic migrant workers crossed the border to pursue dreams of a better life for their families.

Mrs. Warren's Profession plays June 27 – August 3, 2008

Originally banned in Britain, this politically-charged comedy caused the arrest of the first New York production's entire company.  Over a century later, this classic bursts with wit, controversy and extraordinary relevance, as a Cambridge-educated daughter clashes with her entrepreneurial mother's "profession." Shaw shrouds the life and language of Victorian Age brothels in euphemism and simultaneously reveals a fascinating exploration into the intense arena of sexuality and justice.

Vanities plays August 22 – September 28, 2008 with the official opening on August 29, 2008.

Based on the smash hit 1976 comedy that ran for 1,785 performances Off-Broadway, Vanities chronicles the comic journey of three bubbly Texas teens from cheerleaders to sorority sisters to housewives, liberated women and beyond.  This coming-of-age tale set in the '60's and '70s is a musical scrapbook of an era that had to be lived to be believed.  Vanities offers a snapshot-sharp portrait of the lives, loves, disappointments, and dreams of best friends caught up in rapidly changing times. 

The new musical will be produced on Broadway by Junkyard Dog Productions and Bartner/Jenkins.  Casting and a theatre will be announced at a later date.  Vanities, was originally produced at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto in the summer of 2006 and showcased at the 2006 National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals.

The final production of the Pasadena Playhouse 2008 Season will be announced Spring of 2008.

For more information, visit www.Pasadenaplayhouse.org.