Gong Show Live to Play Danbury's Ives Concert Park 8/18

The hilarious stage show Gong Show Live will perform its first-ever outdoor performance on Thursday, August 18 at Danbury, Connecticut's beautiful Ives Concert Park at 8 pm. Tickets are on sale now at http://www.WCSU.edu/tickets or by calling 203-837-TIXX.

Gong Show Live, the only Sony-authorized stage presentation of the iconic ‘70s TV show, The Gong Show, showcases a modern-day cast of offbeat, professional talent acts known from such hit TV shows as America's Got Talent, Late Show with David Letterman, So You Think You Can Dance and more. A Danbury audition will be held to select the show's newest permanent cast member (date and location to be announced). To be considered, performers can email a two-minute video to GongShowLive@sbcglobal.net by August 10.

Producer Leslie Gold, whose Radiochick Corporation holds the rights to stage Gong Show Live events in the US, said, "The original Gong Show's variety, humor and surprise elements made it not just memorable, but set precedents. There'd be no America's Got Talent, Jersey Shore, Big Brother or other current reality/talent TV shows without The Gong Show. Gong Show Live brings the format and all of the fun and lunacy of the beloved TV show to an interactive theatrical stage production, and there's truly nothing like it."

Gong Show Live also features comedian Ray Ellin as host/emcee; three judges (Chuck Nice, Leslie Gold "The Radiochick" and Dan Naturman) known from their work in standup comedy, TV and radio; casting by Robert Russell, renowned for the New York casting of hit reality TV shows including The Bachelor, The Apprentice, Big Brother, The Restaurant, Moment of Truth, and NBC's Phenomenon; the four-piece Gong Show Ten Orchestra, led by veteran drummer Sandy Gennaro (Cyndi Lauper, Bo Diddley, Joan Jett) and one really big gong.

A sampling of acts that will be featured in Gong Show Live on August 18 at Ives Concert Park:
Chipps Cooney - Comedian/illusionist who amazes no one, but made it to top 30 of America's Got Talent
Jason "Mallet Man" Taylor - Protegé of Lionel Hampton and Tito Puente in a zoot suit who dances, spins and plays the xylophone simultaneously
Carol "The Pigeon" Scibelli - As a singing pigeon, she's performed for Gong Show originator/host Chuck Barris
The Amazing Amy - Elderly female contortionist who performs to a Star Trek theme (and who was rejected by America's Got Talent)
Rhonda Smith Duffy Coris - The star that almost was, as seen on The Daily Show, 30 Rock and Conan
Eva from Iowa - Could be world's first rapper/sax player
The Fire Gypsy - This gypsy's (hula) hoops are around her waist, and they're on fire
Not Britney Spears - Kooky folk medley of Britney's songs as you've never heard them
Skatin' Sarah Palin - Roller-dances her way into your ballot box, to a rousing patriotic song
Tickets for Gong Show Live on August 18 at Ives Concert Park are $20 each ($17 for seniors) and are available at http://www.WCSU.edu/tickets or by calling 203-837-TIXX. Ives Concert Park is located at Western Connecticut State University Westside Campus, 43 Lake Avenue Ext. in
Danbury, CT 06810. For more information, visit http://www.ivesconcertpark.com.
Additional US theater dates for Gong Show Live and more information about Gong Show Live is available at http://www.gongshowlive.net and http://twitter.com/gongshowlive

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!