DREAMGIRLS, SPRING AWAKENING, And ANNIE Among OCPAC's 2009/10 Season

Tony®-winning Broadway hits and blockbuster musical productions pack the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s 2009-2010 Broadway and Curtain Call Series, which are complimented by a line-up of bonus events. Audiences will enjoy Tony Award-winning shows and six Center premieres in a season that holds something for everyone. The Broadway Series includes Monty Python’s Spamalot starring John O’Hurley (October 6 – 18, 2009); eight-time Tony Award-winning
Spring Awakening (November 17 – 29, 2009); ‘80s flashback Xanadu (December 15 – 27, 2009); a reenvisioned mounting of the Academy® Award-winning Dreamgirls (April 20 – May 2, 2010); the 2008 Tony Award-winning Best Musical In the Heights (August 3 – 15, 2010); and Mel Brooks’ stage incarnation of his classic film, Young Frankenstein (September 7 – 19, 2010). The companion Curtain Call Series offers The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (February 16 – 21, 2010); the smash-hit Hairspray (April 6 – 11, 2010); and the runaway-sensation Disney’s The Lion King (May 26 – June 13, 2010). Three bonus events have also been added to the season – the return engagement of two Center favorites: Rent (October 20 – 25, 2009) with original stars Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp; the 30th anniversary tour of Annie (January 29 – 31, 2010); and Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles (March 22 – 29, 2010), which showcases the music of England’s legendary Fab Four.

“The Center’s 2009 – 2010 Broadway and Curtain Call Series include some of the biggest box office hits ever produced,” said Orange County Performing Arts Center President Terrence W. Dwyer. “Audiences expect the Center to bring the most exciting and talked-about musicals to Orange County and this incredible line-up epitomizes that commitment to delivering the best theater experiences possible.”

All performances will be in Segerstrom Hall. Priority renewal information is being sent to current
subscribers. Current subscribers will have the opportunity to renew their subscriptions before new
subscribers and the chance to renew in their current seats or upgrade to better seating locations. The Center is offering all season ticket subscribers convenient and flexible payment options.

Season tickets to Broadway, Curtain Call, as well as Jazz, Cabaret and Concert Series can be purchased online at OCPAC.org. Tickets for Bonus Events are available with the purchase of a season ticket package. Tickets and additional information may also be obtained by contacting the Center’s Box Office at 714.556.2787 or visiting 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, 92626.

Please visit OCPAC.org for virtual brochures and video previews highlighting all the series in the 2009 - 2010 season.

Mercedes-Benz USA is the Premier Sponsor of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Broadway series includes: Monty Python’s Spamalot, Spring Awakening, Xanadu, Dreamgirls, In the Heights, and The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein.

The Center continues to present the top shows from The Great White Way and beyond in two popular series: the Broadway Series and the Curtain Call Series.

Monty Python’s Spamalot - Center Premiere
October 6 – 18, 2009 – Segerstrom Hall
Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical, Monty Python's Spamalot is the outrageous musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the film classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Directed by Tony Award winner Mike Nichols, with a book by Eric Idle and music and lyrics by the Grammy® Award-winning team of Idle and John Du Prez, Spamalot tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their quest for the Holy Grail. This touring show stars John O’Hurley, host of Family Feud and remembered as J. Peterman from Seinfeld, and who portrayed the role of King Arthur in the Las Vegas production of Spamalot. Flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchmen and show-stopping musical numbers are just a few of the reasons audiences everywhere are eating up Spamalot.

Spring Awakening - Center Premiere
November 17 – 29, 2009 – Segerstrom Hall
Broadway's most talked about new musical is now the biggest Tony Award winner in years. Spring Awakening is the groundbreaking fusion of morality, sexuality and rock ‘n’ roll that has awakened Broadway like no other musical in years. Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Spring Awakening celebrates the unforgettable journey from youth to adulthood with a power, a poignancy and a passion you will never forget. We agree with The New York Times that "Broadway may never be the same again!"

Xanadu - Center Premiere
December 15 – 27, 2009 – Segerstrom Hall
The New Yorker wrote: "Xanadu is so ridiculously brilliant, so lavish and sublime a confection that any set of adjectives you might come up with after a single viewing will more than likely be replaced by another set of ineffectual adjectives once you’ve seen the show a second or third time." Put a bunch of smash hit songs, Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane and the cutest couple in town into a Broadway musical comedy blender, and what do you get?
Taking audiences back to 1980s California, this hilarious musical follows the beautiful Kira, who travels the earth to inspire a struggling young artist named Sonny. She helps this aspiring painter to find his voice, discover true love and build the world’s first roller disco (not necessarily in that order).

Dreamgirls - Center Premiere
April 20 – May 2, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
Catch the dream! Direct from the world-famous Apollo Theatre in New York City, a brand new, sensational stage production of Dreamgirls comes to the Center during the 2009 – 10 Season. Full of onstage joy and backstage drama, Dreamgirls tells the rags-to-riches story of a 1960s Motown girl group, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with fame and fortune. With music by Academy Award nominee Henry Kreiger and lyrics/book by Tony- and Grammywinning Tom Eyen, Dreamgirls features the unforgettable hits: "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," "One Night Only" and "Listen." Broadway director and choreographer Robert Longbottom and cochoreographer Shane Sparks (TV's So You Think You Can Dance), along with some of Broadway's top designers, re-envision this Tony- and Academy Award-winning musical so it sparkles like never before!

In the Heights - Center Premiere
August 3 – 15, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
In the Heights, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards including Best Musical, is a sensational new show about chasing your dreams and finding your true home. With an amazing cast, incredible Tony Award-winning dancing and a thrilling Tony Award-winning score, In the Heights is an exhilarating journey into a vibrant Manhattan community – a place where the coffee is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. Experience the next chapter of the classic American story as the most joyous, exciting and award-winning new musical on Broadway. Find out what it takes to make a living, what it costs to have a dream, and what it means to be home…In the Heights.

Young Frankenstein - Center Premiere
September 7 – 19, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
The classic Mel Brooks movie is alive...and it's headed to the Center. You'll have a monstrously good time at this spectacular new production, winner of the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award and the Broadway.com Audience Award for Best Musical! This wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein (that's Fronkensteen) as he attempts to create a monster – but not without scary and hilarious complications. The brains behind the laughter is mad genius and three-time Tony winner Mel Brooks himself – who wrote the music and lyrics and co-wrote the book – along with his record-breaking team from The Producers: five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman and three-time Tony-winning writer Thomas Meehan.

Season ticket prices for the Broadway Series range from $88 - $554. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m.

Curtain Call series includes: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Disney’s The Lion King, and Hairspray.

The Curtain Call Series presents special engagements of Broadway shows.

The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber
February 16 – 21, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
This grand showcase of Andrew Lloyd Webber's music presents his biggest and most memorable hits from such musicals as The Phantom of the Opera, Whistle Down the Wind, Starlight Express, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Boulevard, Evita and more. Featuring an onstage symphony, a cast of Broadway headliners recreate all the thrills from your favorite Andrew Lloyd Webber spectaculars. This new version of the concert has been personally devised by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Following a recent sold-out engagement at the Kennedy Center, The Washington Post raved, "The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is a high-volume hit machine!"

Hairspray
April 6 – 11, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
It's 1962, and pleasantly plump Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire - to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star, but she must use her newfound power to vanquish the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin and integrate a TV network - all without denting her 'do! This Broadway musical-comedy phenomenon inspired a major motion picture and won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Disney’s The Lion King
May 26 – June 13, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
Experience the phenomenon of Disney’s The Lion King. Marvel at the breathtaking spectacle of animals brought to life by award-winning director Julie Taymor, whose visual images for this show you'll remember forever. Thrill to the pulsating rhythms of the African Pridelands and an unforgettable score including Elton John and Tim Rice’s Oscar®-winning song “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and “Circle of Life.”

Season ticket prices for Curtain Call Series range from $55 - $243. Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m.

Bonus events include: Rent, Annie, and Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles.

Rent
October 20 – 25, 2009 – Segerstrom Hall
Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, stars of the original Broadway production and film adaptation of Rent, reprise the roles they made famous in this exciting new tour. Don't miss the show that transformed how a generation feels about musicals, changed Broadway forever and inspired a major motion picture. Whether it's your first time or your 100th time, it's time you checked out Rent!
Tickets: $20 - $70

Annie
January 29 – 31, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
Leapin’ lizards! Annie is coming! The timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie is back, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience this classic musical about never giving up hope. Boasting one of Broadway’s most memorable scores, including “It’s the Hard-Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” “N.Y.C.” and the ever-optimistic “Tomorrow,” Annie is a delightful theatrical experience for the entire family.
Tickets: $25 - $65

Rain – A Tribute to the Beatles - Center Premiere
March 22 – 29, 2010 – Segerstrom Hall
From Ed Sullivan to Abbey Road! Rain covers the Fab Four from the earliest beginnings through the psychedelic late ‘60s and their long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. All the music and vocals are performed totally live. Rain is a multi-media, multi-dimensional experience...a fusion of historical footage and hilarious television commercials from the 1960s lights up video screens and live cameras zoom in for close-ups. Sing along with your family and friends to such Beatlemaniac favorites as “Let It Be,” “Hey Jude,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Come Together” and “Can’t Buy Me Love.” The Denver Post said Rain is, “The next best thing to seeing the Beatles!”
Tickets: $20 - $65

Artists and programs are subject to change.

The Orange County Performing Arts Center presents a wide variety of the most significant national and international productions of music, dance and theater to the people of Southern California. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages and offering unsurpassed experiences, engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and an array of inspiring programs.

As Orange County’s largest non-profit arts organization, the Center owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Founders Hall, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, and the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Education Center’s studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. These state-of-the-art facilities are united by a community arts plaza. The Center’s Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and community plaza, along with facilities of the adjacent Tony® Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the new home of the Orange County Museum of Art, are located at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

The Orange County Performing Arts Center presents a broad range of programming each season for audiences of all ages from throughout Orange County, and beyond, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, up and coming indie bands, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events.
It offers many education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. These programs reach more than 500,000 students of all ages with vital arts-in-education programs, enhancing their studies and enriching their lives well into the future.

The Orange County Performing Arts Center is proud to serve as the artistic home to the region’s major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale.

For more information, visit OCPAC.org.

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