WAR HORSE Comes to Columbus, April 23-28

The National Theatre of Great Britain's epic War Horse, winner of five 2011 Tony Awards including Best Play, will make its premiere in Columbus at the Ohio Theatre beginning April 23. Hailed by The New York Times as "theatrical magic," War Horse is the powerful story of young Albert's beloved horse, Joey, who has been enlisted to fight for the English in World War I. In a tale the New York Daily News calls "spellbinding, by turns epic and intimate," Joey is caught in enemy crossfire and ends up serving both sides of the war before landing in no man's land. Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home. What follows is a remarkable tale of courage, loyalty, and friendship, filled with stirring music and songs and told with the some of the most innovative stagecraft of our time.

Tickets begin at $35 and are available at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000. Orders for groups of 20 or more may be placed by calling (614) 719-6900. Performance schedule, prices, and cast are subject to change without notice.

The performance schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, April 23, 8pm
Wednesday, April 24, 8pm
Thursday, April 25, 1pm & 8pm
Friday, April 26, 8pm
Saturday, April 27, 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, April 28, 1pm

Michael Morpurgo's beloved novel, War Horse, is also the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's feature film of the same name, which earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

The tour of War Horse, which was adapted from the book by Morpurgo by Nick Stafford, is directed by Bijan Sheibani based on the original Tony Award-winning direction by Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris, and presented in association with Handspring Puppet Company. At the heart of the show are life-sized puppets which bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to thrilling life on stage.

In addition to Best Play, War Horse received Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play (Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Rae Smith), Best Lighting Design of a Play (Paule Constable), and Best Sound Design of a Play (Christopher Shutt). A Special Tony Award was given to the Handspring Puppet Company for their integral work on the production.

War Horse received its world premiere in a limited engagement at the National's Olivier Theatre in 2007. The play returned to The National Theatre for a second run playing from in 2008-09 before transferring to the West End's New London Theatre in Spring 2009 where it continues to play an open-ended run. War Horse has been seen by more than 2 million people worldwide and is currently playing at New York's Lincoln Center Theater, in London's West End, and at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. Future productions of War Horse are planned for Australia, Berlin, and South Africa, as well as a UK Tour.

The lead producers of the national tour of War Horse are Bob Boyett and The National Theatre of Great Britain.

Lincoln Center Theater and The National Theatre of Great Britain, in association with Bob Boyett and War Horse LP, are the producers of the American premiere of War Horse, which opened in Spring 2011 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater where it is currently playing an open-ended run.

For more information, please visit www.WarHorseOnStage.com.

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