Long Beach's Musical Theatre West to Present SPAMILTON: AN AMERICAN PARODY

Musical Theatre West has announced the Long Beach premiere of Spamilton: An American Parody written and created by Gerard Alessandrini (Forbidden Broadway), directed and choreographed by Gerry McIntyre, with music direction by Wilkie Ferguson III. The highly anticipated show opens March 25 for select nights through April 10 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. Tickets start at $22 each and are available by phone at 562-856-1999 or online at musical.org.

Spamilton: An American Parody was originally produced at The Triad Theater in New York City by John Freedson, David Zippel, Gerard Alessandrini and Christine Pedi performed by a versatile cast of five. The side-splitting new musical comedy, Spamilton: An American Parody is a rapid-fire reference round of everyone's favorite Broadway blockbusters, that includes celebrity satires, pop culture zings, and is accompanied by hip-hop on the piano!

Gerard Alessandrini (writer/creator) is best known as the brains behind the musical send-up series Forbidden Broadway, which spawned 12 albums, was nominated for five Drama Desk Awards, and earned Alessandrini a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre. With Spamilton, Alessandrini has tackled musical theatre's juggernaut, and he has not thrown away his shot. In addition to parodying Broadway's biggest hit, Spamilton takes on top talent from the Great White Way, including Stephen Sondheim, Liza Minelli, and Barbra Streisand.

Previous iterations of the show have been described as, "Smart, silly, and convulsively funny" (New York Times); "Uproariously entertaining" (The Boston Globe); and "A hilarious tribute to the musical theatre phenom" (San Antonio Current). Upon seeing the show, Mr. Miranda himself tweeted, "I laughed my brains out."

The Long Beach premiere of Spamilton will include new and original material written specifically for Musical Theatre West Audiences. Tickets are currently priced at $22 - $96. Available by phone at 562-856-1999 or online at musical.org. Fees may apply. Not recommended for children under 12. More information, full line-up of performances, and additional details can be found at https://musical.org.

ABOUT MUSICAL THEATRE WEST

The story of Musical Theatre West is the 70-year journey from a group of volunteers performing in a high school auditorium to one of the largest and most respected theatrical production companies in Southern California. Utilizing professional talent, and producing regional and even world premiere musicals while continuing to honor the tradition of classic musical theatre, MTW is the largest arts producer in the Long Beach area. The company continues to receive critical acclaim and national recognition - and many performers who cut their teeth on the MTW stage have gone on to successful careers on Broadway and in television and film. Just as importantly, stage and screen veterans now come to Musical Theatre West to perform, finding it to be one of the friendliest and most fun venues to work in. A key aspect of the company is its dedication to education, and the Education and Outreach Programs of Musical Theatre West bring the joy and magic of musical theater to over 17,000 children each year through special morning performances, traveling shows and school assemblies, and the Summer Youth Conservatory. Musical Theatre West has a mission to enrich the community with Broadway-quality productions, preserve musical theatre as a unique American art form, and expose people of all backgrounds to the excitement of musical theatre. We hope you'll join us.

ABOUT THE CREATOR

Gerard Alessandrini - Spamilton: (Creator/ Writer): New York, London, Chicago, Los Angeles, National Tour. Forbidden Broadway (creator/ writer/director): 25 editions all over the world. Also Forbidden Hollywood (writer/director), Madame X: The Musical (NYMF) (co-writer/director), The Nutcracker & I (lyrics), Maury Yeston's review Anything Can Happen in New York. Television: special material for Carol Burnett, Angela Lansbury and Bob Hope. Film: Aladdin, Pocahontas (vocals). Recordings: 12 Forbidden Broadway cast albums, Forbidden Hollywood & Spamilton cast albums. Special Lyrics: Barbra Streisand Duets 2. Awards: Drama League Lifetime Achievement Award, Obie Award, 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, 7 Drama Desk (2 Best Lyrics, 2 Special Achievement, 3 Best Musical Revue), and a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre. Special thanks to husband Glenn Bassett for contributing his many talents to Spamilton.

CAST

Dedrick Bonner - Man 4 (George Washington/Stephen Sondheim/Ben Franklin/Genie)
Marqell Edward Clayton - Man 3 (Barack Obama/Daveed Diggs/Thomas Jefferson/Phantom)
Summer Greer - Woman 1 (Michele Obama/Renée Elise Goldsberry/Barbara Streisand)
Cornelius Jones Jr. - Man 2 (Leslie Odom Jr.)
Andrew Puente - Man 1 (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
Trisha Rapier - Woman 2 (Bernadette Peters/Liza Minelli/Julie Andrews)

PRODUCTION TEAM

Scenic Designer Kevin Clowes
Costume Designer Dustin Cross
Lighting Designer Jean-Yves Tessier
Sound Designer Julie Ferrin
Production Stage Manager John "JP" Pollard
Assistant Stage Manager Alyssa Escalante

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Fridays and Saturdays - 8 pm
Sundays - 1 pm
Thursday 4/7 - 7:30 pm
Sunday 4/3 - 6 pm
Saturdays 4/2 and 4/9 - 2 pm

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