ERNIE Returns to City Theatre for Second Season 5/03

ERNIE, Mitch Albom’s smash hit play dedicated to Ernie Harwell, returns for its second season May 3rd at the City Theatre in Detroit, one block from Comerica Park, offering fans another season to remember “The Voice of Summer."

A Press Conference will be held Wednesday, April 18th at 11 AM at the City Theatre, located inside Hockeytown Café at Woodward and Montcalm Sts.

Will Young, who stars as the iconic Harwell, TJ Corbett, who plays the role of The Boy, Playwright Mitch Albom, and Director Tony Caselli, will all be present, and available for one-on-one interviews.

Says Will about reprising the lead role, “I am honored to be representing Ernie Harwell, whom I admired and listened to faithfully for many years as ‘The Voice of Tigers baseball'."

Ernie is set on Ernie Harwell’s last night at Comerica, when the Hall of Fame broadcaster is about to give a moving thank you to a grateful city. Just before he walks onto the grassy field, he encounters an unusual boy who is eager to know all about him, coaxing Harwell to give one final broadcast- the “broadcast of his life."

Having called Ernie a friend for 25 years, playwright Albom, the hugely successful author and playwright of Tuesdays with Morrie, says, “Ernie’s story transcends sports. It’s a story of 20th century Americana and a love affair with baseball and a childhood sweetheart. Ernie went through the depression, World War II, the segregation of sports- he also called some of the grandest moments ever witnessed on a ball field. It’s an honor to bring such a rich character to the stage- especially for so many fans who loved him.”

Ernie premiered April 28, 2011, and over 30,000 people saw the play in its inaugural season.

Olympia Entertainment, a Detroit-based company owned by entrepreneurs Michael and Marian Ilitch, is one of the country’s most diverse sport and entertainment companies and the largest organization of its kind in the mid-west. The company owns and operates Detroit’s Fox Theatre, the intimate City Theatre and also books and operates Joe Louis Arena and books Comerica Park. Olympia Entertainment also handles business operations for the Detroit Red Wings, an Original Six member of the National Hockey League and collaborates with the Detroit Tigers baseball franchise and other Ilitch companies.

Other Ilitch companies include: Little Caesars Pizza, Ilitch Holdings, Inc., Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Champion Foods, the Detroit Red Wings, Little Caesar Pizza Kits Fundraising Program, Olympia Development and Uptown Entertainment. Additionally, Michael Ilitch owns the Detroit Tigers, Inc., and Marian Ilitch owns MotorCity Casino Hotel.

To learn more about Olympia Entertainment, visit www.olympiaentertainment.com. Also follow Olympia on Twitter @OEontheGo and at www.facebook.com/officialolympiaentertainment.