The Pirate Queen Launches Live 'Castcom,' Sept. 12

A castcom for The Pirate Queen, the new musical by Boublil and Schonberg that opens on Broadway in the spring, will go live from Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre on Tuesday, September 12th.

"A castcom is an on-line web communication which gives our cast and creatives an opportunity to tell you their story and bring you, our viewer, behind the scenes on our journey to Broadway," according to press notes. "The castcom will provide the highs, the lows and all of the drama of bringing a major new musical theatre production to the stage. You will get to know our cast and creative team on our daily video diary, with special live broadcasts on key dates....This is a first for a musical theatre production and we invite you to join us when we go live...There will continue to be an on-going series of behind the scenes diaries following the live broadcasts."

Starring Stephanie J. Block as the swashbuckling title character, The Pirate Queen will drop anchor at the Hilton Theatre for preview performances beginning February 23rd, 2007 and an opening night on March 22nd.

The Pirate Queen will first play Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre from October 3rd through November 26th, 2006. The show is a historical musical based on the life of Grace O'Malley (called Grania in the show), a woman "who led an extraordinary life as a pirate, cheiftan, lover and mother in 16th century Ireland," according to press notes. The show "combines classic storytelling and a sweeping score, with the powerful, vibrant traditions of Irish dance and song, to create a modern musical event that is both an historic romance and a timeless epic."

In addition to Block, the musical will star the previously-announced Hadley Fraser (Pacific Overtures and Assassins in the West End) as Tiernan, Linda Balgord (La Cage aux Folles, Passion) as Elizabeth I, and Jeff McCarthy (Urinetown, Side Show) as Dubhdara, with Marcus Chait (Urban Cowboy) as Donal, William Youmans (Wicked, Titanic) as Bingham, and Nick Adams, Richard Todd Adams, Caitlin Allen, Sean Beglan, Timothy W. Bish, Jerad Bortz, Troy Edward Bowles, Grady McLeod Bowman, Rachel Bress, Don Brewer, Kimilee Bryant, Alexis Ann Carra, Áine Uí Cheallaigh, Noelle Curran, Bobbie-Ann Dunn, Brooke Elliott, Christopher Garbrecht, Eric Hatch, Cristin J. Hubbard, David Koch, Timothy Kochka, Jamie LaVerdiere, Joseph Mahowald, Tokiko Masuda, Padraic Moyles, Brian O'Brien, Kyle James O'Connor, Michael James Scott, Greg Stone, Katie E. Tomlinson, Daniel Torres, Jennifer Waiser and Briana Yacavone.

The Pirate Queen will be produced by John McColgan and Moya doherty, both of the Irish dance sensation Riverdance. Frank Galati (Ragtime, Seussical) is the director. The musical, with a score that blends pop, rock, musical theatre and Irish music, will use Irish-step choreography in its scenes of battles and funerals. Mark Dendy of Taboo choreographs.

The Pirate Queen features music by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon), with music by Schonberg and lyrics by Boublil and John Dempsey (The Witches of Eastwick). Orchestrations will be by Julian Kelly. The musical will also feature sets by three-time Tony Award winner Eugene Lee, costumes by two-time Tony Award-winner Martin Pakledinaz, lighting by four-time Tony Award nominee Kenneth Posner and sound by Jonathan Deans.

The Pirate Queen is based upon the novel Grania-She King of the Irish Seas by Morgan Llywelyn.

Single tickets are available from Ticketmaster. To order by telephone, call the Broadway In Chicago Ticketline at (312) 902-1400. For group sales, call (312) 977-1710. Visit www.thepiratequeen.com for more information on the show.

Visit www.thepiratequeen.com to meet the cast and creative team in a variety of video-diary trailers that will countdown to the first live transmission in Chicago.