'View' Co-Host Reads at If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, 7/25

By: BWW News Desk Jul. 24, 2006

On Tuesday, July 25, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of the ABC daytime talk show "The View," will make a special appearance at TheatreworksUSA's critically acclaimed production of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books at Off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre. Hasselbeck will kick-off the special performance with a reading of the popular children's book "Imogene's Antlers." Curtain is at 1 p.m.

Hasselbeck appears in generous support of TheatreworksUSA, the nation's leading not-for-profit professional theatre for family audiences, now celebrating its 45th anniversary season. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books is presented as part of the organization's annual Free Summer Theatre Program for New York City youth. At this special performance, all children in attendance will receive their own copy of the "Imogene's Antlers" story book. Free tickets are distributed at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher St., Greenwich Village) beginning one hour before curtain.

The show began performance on Sunday, July 16, 2006 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and opened on Thursday, July 20th. It continues through Friday, August 18. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie is a one-hour musical revue comprised of eight vignettes, based on popular children's books. Featured stories include:

* "Amazing Grace" by Mary Hoffman, adapted by Kirsten Childs (Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Miracle Brothers)

* "Borreguita and the Coyote" by Verna Aardema, adapted by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (Tony Award-winning songwriters of Avenue Q)

* "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Joffe Numeroff, adapted by Jeremy Desmon and Patrick Dwyer

* "Imogene's Antlers" by David Small, adapted by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx

* "Martha Speaks" by Susan Meddaugh, adapted by Arthur Perlman and Jeffrey Lunden (Wings)

* "Master Man" by Aaron Shepard, adapted by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner (Bomb-itty of Errors) and James-Allen Ford

* "Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka, adapted by Mindi Dickstein (Little Women) and Daniel Messé

* "Owen" by Kevin Henkes, adapted by Faye Greenberg and David Evans

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books stars Farah Alvin, David A. Austin, Nick Blaemire, Tony Award-nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Aurelia Williams and Carla Woods. The understudies are Dominique Elise Porter and Courter Simmons.

Directed and choreographed by Kevin Del Aguila (book writer of Altar Boyz), the show features scenic design by Rob Odoriso with additional elements by Vaughn Patterson, costume design by Martha Bromelmeier, lighting design by Tom Sturge, sound design by Eric Shim, music direction by Jana Zielonka, and orchestrations by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with additional orchestrations by Dave Hab and James-Allen Ford.

Launched in 1988, the mission of Theatreworks/USA's Free Summer Theatre Program is to provide New York City youth with their own free theatre tradition that not only entertains, but also educates and fosters positive values and an appreciation for theatre. 13,000 FREE tickets will be distributed to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books.

Tickets for the show are Free and available on a first come, first served basis in-person at the Lucille Lortel Theatre Box Office (121 Christopher Street at Bedford) on the day of the performance, one hour prior to curtain time. Individual reservations cannot be made in advance.

The performance schedule is: Sundays at 2:00 p.m., Mondays at 10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m., Tuesdays at 1:00 p.m., Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. & 6:30 p.m., Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. and Fridaysat 1:00 p.m.

Summer camps, youth programs and social service organizations can make reservations for groups of ten (10) or more by calling 212-627-7373. Each day, a limited number of free tickets will be made available to individuals at the theatre on a first-come, first-served basis. Distribution will begin one hour prior to each performance, with a limit of four (4) tickets per person.

Because TheatreworksUSA accepts reservations from many summer camps, public distribution tickets are extremely limited for the weekday daytime performances. Availability is usually better for evening and weekend performances. Once all public tickets are distributed, any remaining patrons will be admitted at curtain time on a space-available basis.

Absolutely no babies in arms or children in strollers will be admitted. For more information, call 212-642-9033 or visit www.twusa.org.

Photo by Yolanda Perez

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