Circle Players Kicks off 2017-18 Season With BRING IT ON

Circle Players kicks off its 2017-2018 season in high-flying style with the Nashville premiere of Bring It On The Musical, promising to take audiences to a colorful place filled with the complexities of high school friendship, jealousy, betrayal and forgiveness.

Featuring an original story by Tony Award winning artists Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q); music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights, Hamilton); music by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal); lyrics by Amanda Green (High Fidelity), and nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical, Bring It On The Musical opens Friday night, August 11 at The Z. Alexander Looby Theatre.

Circle's production of Bring It On is directed by Jason Lewis, who was living in New York City when the show premiered on Broadway in 2012 and his interest in the show has only grown since its debut on the Main Stem.

"At first, I was skeptical of how this 90s cheerleading movie would translate to a staged musical," says Lewis. "Luckily, my friend Ariana DeBose (Hamilton, A Bronx Tale, Motown) originated the role of Nautica, so I had a personal reason to give the show a chance and see it."

"I still remember sitting in the front row completely stunned by one show-stopping number after another, the integration of hip-hop and rap into traditional musical theatre numbers and its high-flying stunts."

Bring It On The Musical tells the story of Campbell, cheer captain and most popular girl at the affluent Truman High School. Before she can lead her award-winning squad to another win at Nationals, school redistricting forces Campbell to transfer to the multi-ethnic Jackson High School. She befriends the dance crew girls and, along with their headstrong leader, Danielle, forms a powerhouse squad to compete at the National Championships.

The cast includes Kailey Madison (Campbell) and Miracle Ham (Danielle), supported by a variety of spunky cheerleading/student characters from both Truman High and Jackson High Schools. One of the more memorable is LaCienega, a transgender student who is part of the Jackson Crew.

"To my knowledge, it's the first Broadway musical to feature a transgender high school student where their gender identity is treated as a non-issue amongst their peers, an aspect that's very important to me," says Lewis. "Bring It On has a message of friendship, forgiveness, inclusiveness and embracing one's individuality that drew me to want to direct Circle Player's production."

Along with Lewis, the creative team includes music direction by Randy Craft and Dennis Palmer. The show has multiple dance and cheer choreographers under the leadership of Ashley Danielle and Tosha Pendergrast.

Performances run August 11-27, at Z. Alexander Looby Theater, 2301 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. for Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances, with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. (August 14, 21 and 27).

All tickets are $20 except for Thursdays, when tickets are $10 (service fee will be added at checkout). Assigned seating is available for all performances. Tickets may be purchased online via www.circleplayers.net. Reservations may be made by emailing boxoffice@circleplayers.net or (615) 332-7529. Tickets are also on sale at the box office at Looby Theater one hour before each performance.