LOUIS & KEELY: LIVE AT THE SAHARA Extends Run At The Geffen Playhouse Thru 5/24

Similar to their namesake act that swept the strip in Vegas decades ago, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara is quickly becoming the hottest ticket in town. As such, the play, which was originally set to close on the last week of April, will now be extended for an additional four weeks.

After lauded reviews from local media and a near sweep at the 2009 Garland Awards (production, playwriting, direction/musical direction, best actor/actress in a musical), Louis and Keely Live at the Sahara has added 24 performances after nearly selling out its previously announced run.

The musical, which follows The Life and love of Las Vegas’ infamous onstage couple Louis Prima and Keely Smith, will run at the Audrey Skriball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse through May 24.

Helmed by acclaimed Hollywood director/biographer Taylor Hackford, Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara is a new production of last year’s hit co-written by (and stars) Jake Broder and Vanessa Smith. The play, which opened mid-February at the Geffen, won the 2008 Ovation Award for Best Musical, four Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards – including Best Production and Best Actor and is nominated for five LA Weekly Theater Awards – including Musical of the Year (winners will be announced on March 30).

The original production of Louis & Keely, which was produced by the Sacred Fools Theatre Company and directed by Jeremy Aldridge, opened in June 2008. After an extended summer run at Sacred Fools, the production found a new home at Hollywood’s Matrix Theater in October of last year where it ran for 15 weeks of sold-out performances.

Hackford, who has joined forces with Broder and Smith to guide the revision process, estimates about 40 percent of the script is different from the original production. This includes the addition of seven new songs – "I Wish You Love,” "Hey Boy, Hey Girl," "What is this Thing Called Love," "Night Train," “Ai, Ai, Ai” and "I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me," as well as new characters, including ol’ blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. Creators Broder and Smith revisit their roles as Louis and Keely respectively, and new cast members Nick Cagle and Erin Matthews play various other characters in the couple’s story. In addition to the four actors, Louis & Keely Live at the Sahara features a seven-piece live swing band that brings down the house as the orchestra for the play and as well as Louis Prima’s Vegas band ‘The Witnesses.’

The ticket information is as follows: preview performances: Premium Stage Seating - $55; Orchestra Seating – $45; regular run: Premium Stage Seating - $55; Orchestra Seating – $65. Student rush tickets are available one hour prior to curtain for $15.

Tickets are on sale now at the Geffen Playhouse box office, online at GeffenPlayhouse.com, via credit card phone order at (310) 208-5454, at all Ticketmaster outlets, or by calling Ticketmaster at (213) 480-3232.

The Geffen Playhouse has been a hub of the Los Angeles theater scene since opening its doors in 1995. Noted for its intimacy and celebrated for its world-renowned mix of classic and contemporary plays, provocative new works and musicals, the Geffen Playhouse continues to present a body of work that has garnered national recognition. Named in honor of entertainment mogul and philanthropist David Geffen, who made the initial donation to the theater, the company is helmed by Producing Director and President of the Board Gilbert (Gil) Cates, Artistic Director Randall Arney, Managing Director Susan Barton and Chairman of the Board Frank Mancuso. Proudly associated with UCLA, the Geffen Playhouse welcomes an audience of more than 130,000 each year, and maintains an extensive education and outreach program, designed to engage young people and the community at large in the arts. For more information, please visit GeffenPlayhouse.com.

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