Good Theater Stages NO BIZ LIKE SHOW BIZ, Beginning Tonight

Good Theater, the professional theater company in residence at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, kicks off its 14th season tonight, September 23, with the original musical revue, NO BIZ LIKE SHOW BIZ. This show is a tribute to Mary Martin and Ethel Merman starring three singers: Marie Dittmer, Lynne McGhee and Jen Means.

NO BIZ focuses on the great musical moments introduced by these two legendary artists from their earliest appearances on the Great White Way in shows like Girl Crazy and Leave It to Me to their final appearances on Broadway four decades later in Hello Dolly and I Do! I Do! Conceived and directed by Brian P. Allen, the show hits many of the great songs introduced by Martin and Merman.

NO BIZ plays September 23-October 11 with performances on Wednesdays & Thursdays 7:00 ($22); Fridays 7:30 ($27), Saturdays 3:00 ($27) & 7:30 ($30) and Sundays 2:00 ($30). For tickets and more information contact the Good Theater box office at 207-885-5883 or log onto the company's website at www.goodtheater.com .

Victoria Stubbs is the musical director and has created original arrangements for the show. Craig Robinson is designing the sets with Iain Odlin creating the lighting. Justin Cote serves as the costume designer and the production stage manager.

NO BIZ features songs from such musicals as Red Hot and Blue, One Touch of Venus, South Pacific, Happy Hunting, DuBarry Was a Lady, Call Me Madam, Gypsy, Peter Pan, The Sound of Music and Annie Get Your Gun among others. Songs by Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Irving Berlin and Rodgers & Hammerstein plus many others will be performed. "Their history is really the history of the Golden Age of Broadway," says director Allen. "Though I never saw either woman perform live, I've been fascinated with their careers and the shows they starred in on Broadway. Creating a tribute to them and to the history of the Golden Age of Broadway seemed like a perfect way to open our 14th season."

Also featured in Good Theater's 14th season will be three other subscription shows:

Mama's Boy by Rob Urbinati, October 28-November 22 starring Betsy Aidem, Laurel Casillo, Graham Emmons and Erik Moody. This is a world premiere of an exciting new play from the author of Death by Design about Marguerite Oswald, her sons Robert and Lee Harvey plus Lee's wife, Marina. Betsy Aidem is a Broadway veteran most recently seen as Lady Bird Johnson opposite Bryan Cranston's LBJ in the Tony Award winning Best Play All the Way.

Shear Madness by Paul Portner January 27-March 20 is the Maine premiere of the longest running play in the USA. Good Theater is honored to present this classic comedy whodunit. Running for eight weeks, audiences will get to laugh away the winter with this hysterically funny, not-to-be-missed event. The Good Theater cast includes: Paul Drinan, Laura Houck, Kathleen Kimball, Conor Martin and Michael Wood.

Act One by James Lapine from the autobiography by Moss Hart April 6-May 1. Good Theater is proud to be the first regional theater to present this Tony Award nominee for Best Play. With a cast of 14 actors playing 60 roles, Act One is the largest play every produced by Good Theater. The Good Theater cast includes: Thomas Campbell, Betsy Dunphy, Paul Haley, Meredith Lamothe, Allison McCall, Halim Moldaver, Erik Moody, Tony Reilly, Amy Roche, Mark Rubin, Lisa Stathoplos, and Michael Wood.

Subscriptions for these four shows start at $66.

Also in the Good Theater line-up are two non-subscription events:

A Christmas Carol - Will Rhys adapts and performs this one-man version of the beloved classic for four performances November 27-29.

Broadway at Good Theater - the company's annual fundraising concerts December 2-6 are a tribute to the 1930s and all of the great musicals to play during that decade. Featuring Broadway star Kenita R. Miller and special guest Nicholas Callaway Foster along with more than a dozen singers, these concerts always sell out, so patrons are urged to get their tickets early.

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