Lin-Manuel Miranda to Participate in BRING IT ON Opening Festivities

Center Theatre Group begins its 2011-2012 season at the Ahmanson Theatre on a high-octane energy note with the West Coast premiere of "Bring It On: The Musical," an original musical comedy presented October 30 through December 10, 2011. (Opening is set for November 11.) A celebration kicking off the national tour of "Bring It On: The Musical" featuring performances by the cast, routines by local cheer and dance squads, dance/cheer lessons, audience competitions, a live DJ, local TV and radio personalities, ticket giveaways and a traveling pep rally down CityWalk, and Tony winner and musical creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, on October 22.

Highlights of the day are as follows:

11:45 AM - Traveling pep rally from Universal Globe Fountain to 5 Towers at CityWalk
Noon - High school cheer squad routine (there will be two to three cheer and dance routines performed each hour by local high school squads throughout the event.)
12:45 PM - Lin-Manuel Miranda addresses the crowd and introduces the cast
1:00 PM - Performance by the cast of "Bring It On: The Musical"

"Bring It On: The Musical" features libretto by Tony Award®-winner Jeff Whitty ("Avenue Q"), music and lyrics by Tony Award®-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda ("In the Heights"), music by Pulitzer and Tony Award®-winning composer Tom Kitt ("next to normal"), lyrics by Broadway lyricist Amanda Green ("High Fidelity") and musical supervision by Alex Lacamoire. The production is directed and choreographed by Tony Award® -winner Andy Blankenbuehler ("In the Heights").

In "Bring It On: The Musical," the high-stakes world of competitive cheerleading is intertwined with cutthroat high school politics to tell the story of Campbell, the heir apparent to the head cheerleader at Truman High School. Campbell is at the top of the cheerleader pyramid and she has it all -- a strong squad, a doting boyfriend and a straight path to the national championships. Her entire life has been dedicated to honing routines and staying within the strict rules and guidelines, but when a surprise letter arrives, Campbell's world is thrown upside down.

When the musical comedy premiered in its developmental production at the ALLIANCE THEATRE in Atlanta in January 2011, Wendell Brock of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called "Bring It On: The Musical," ". . . one high-energy drink: fiercely funny writing, catchy hip-hop tunes and an explosively original mix of singing, acting, dancing and cheer."

"Bring It On: The Musical" is produced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions/Glenn Ross, Beacon Communications/Armyan Bernstein and Charlie Lyons, and Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson, Executive Producers. Beacon and Universal have partnered over the past decade to produce the popular series of "Bring It On" films.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos