MPAC to Present GALLAGHER'S LAST STAND & GREASE Sing-a-Long, 1/4-5

Smash! Splat! Crash! It may be a messy Mayo Performing Arts Center on Saturday, January 4, 2014 when MPAC presents Gallagher's Last Stand. Tickets are $29-49.

One of the fathers of "prop comedy," Gallagher has been demolishing watermelons (and other objects) with a sledgehammer at the end of each set. After 35 years of non-stop touring, Gallagher is hanging up his Sledge-o-Matic. Gallagher's Last Smash will be his way of saying "thank you" to his fans who have supported him throughout his career.

Gallagher began performing stand-up comedy in 1969 while working as road manager for musician/comedian Jim Stafford. He has taped 15 live stand-up specials, 14 of which aired on Showtime throughout the '80s and '90s.

Recent health problems have forcEd Gallagher to go on a farewell tour. He is focusing more of his time these days on writing.

Did you know? Gallagher ran for governor of California during the 2003 recall election, receiving over 5,000 votes.

Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2013-2014 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Gallagher's Last Stand
Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 8 pm
Tickets $29-49

Grease is the word, and the audience gets to sing all of them! Sing-A-Long Grease, a fun, audience participation viewing of the classic John Travolta-Olivia Newton John musical, comes to the Mayo Performing Arts Center on Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 3 pm. Tickets are $15-20, and the audience is encouraged to come in costume.

"It's the one that you want," says producer Ben Freedman, who previously brought us Sing-a-long Sound of Music. "Sing-a-long Grease is the show that audiences have been asking for since we first presented a singalong show back in 1999."

Sing-a-long Greasers can be decked out in their own versions of fifties high school garb worn at Rydell High, including poodle skirts and saddle shoes, black leather biker and powder-pink bomber jackets, chiffon scarves and skinny ties. Costumes are most definitely encouraged, but singing is mandatory!

Every performance starts with a host who warms up the audience, trains them how to "hand-jive", deploy the contents of their free goodie bags and where to heckle in all the right places.

The movie Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, debuted in 1978. The movie was a huge hit on its first release. Twenty-five years later it was voted the greatest musical ever in a 2003 poll conducted for the UK Channel 4's show on the 100 Greatest Musicals.

Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2013-2014 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, F.M. Kirby Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. The Mayo Performing Arts Center has been designated a Major Presenting Organization by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Sing-A-Long Grease
Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 3 pm
Tickets $15-20