Song & Dance, with Pitre, Extends Toronto Run Through 6/18

The hit Toronto production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song & Dance, starring Louise Pitre, has been extended by three weeks through June 18th.

The musical, which began performances at the Danforth Music Hall on May 9th, was originally set to play through May 28th.

Pitre stars in the first part of Song & Dance, "Tell Me On a Sunday," in which Emma, an expatriate English woman, confronts the romantic troubles and joys that she has found in New York. "Tell Me On a Sunday" features music by Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Don Black. The second part of the show--"Variations"--is expressed through dance.

Trudy Moffat directs the production, which will features choreography by Wayne Sleep and musical direction by Peter Aylin. Evelyn Hart and Piotr Stanczyk (who replaced Rex Harrington) star in "Variations," which also includes Jessica Dawson, Ryan Foley, Julia Juhas, Mikeal Knight, Kimberly O'Neil and Eric Robertson.

Originally written in 1979 as a song cycle performed by Marti Webb, "Tell Me on a Sunday" was expanded into Song & Dance, which premiered in the West End in 1982 (also starring Webb and Sleep, who danced "Variations"). Bernadette Peters won a Tony Award for her performance in the 1985 Broadway production, which also featured Christopher D'Amboise in "Variations." Richard Maltby Jr. supplied an American adaptation as well as additional lyrics.

Pitre--who performs frequently in Toronto--originated the role of Donna on Broadway in Mamma Mia!; she has also performed the role in the touring company and in the Canadian production. Nominated for a 2002 Best Actress in a Musical Tony, she also received the Dora Mavor Moore Award (the Toronto equivalent of the Tonys), the San Francisco Critics Circle Award and the U.S. National Broadway Award for her performance. Other theatre credits include Piaf, Les Miserables, And the World Goes Round, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and the world premiere production of the late Cy Coleman's The Great Ostrovsky. A recording artist too, Pitre's two solo CDs are entitled "Songs My Mother Taught Me" and "All My Life Has Led to This."

The Danforth Music Hall is located at 147 Danforth Avenue in Toronto. Visit www.louisepitre.com for more information on the actress.