Rachel Melius

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! The rubber will meet the road as the World Premiere of the hilarious new pop rock musical HELLDRIVERS OF DAYTONA takes the stage. With music by Berton Averre, lyrics by Rob Meurer, and book by Emmy Award-winner Mark Saltzman, these award-winning creative minds have put the pedal to the metal in this NASCAR-themed musical full of girls, cars, and rockin' guitars.

Chicago, fasten your seat belts-the world premiere musical HELLDRIVERS OF DAYTONA has parked at the Royal George Theatre...and it's a bumpy, messy ride. Billed as a spoof of 1960s racing films, composer Berton Averre (known for 'My Sharona'), lyricist Rob Meurer, and book writer Mark Saltzman have developed a show that's entirely too on the nose. HELLDRIVERS lacks the satirical tone it seeks; instead, the first act replaces the sexual repression common in those 1960s movies with blatant, unoriginal sexual innuendoes and jokes in poor taste. Though conceived as an ironic take on the movies of that era, HELLDRIVERS feels overall cringe-worthy in the first act. The show shifts gears in the second act to focus more on sending up a number of great American musicals (and one Billy Joel song). The overall experience is erratic.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines...and prepare for a bumpy ride! The rubber will meet the road as the World Premiere of the hilarious new pop rock musical HELLDRIVERS OF DAYTONA takes the stage, opening tonight, September 12, at 7:30 p.m., and running through October 30 at The Royal George Theatre, 1641 North Halsted Street, Chicago. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines…and prepare for a bumpy ride!  The rubber will meet the road as the World Premiere of the hilarious new pop rock musical HELLDRIVERS OF DAYTONA takes the stage, previewing September 8, opening September 12 at 7:30 p.m., and running through October 30 at The Royal George Theatre, 1641 North Halsted Street, Chicago.  With music by Berton Averre (The Knack), lyrics by Rob Meurer (Platinum Records with Christopher Cross), and book by Emmy Award-winner Mark Saltzman (The Tin Pan Alley Rag, The Adventures of Milo and Otis), these award-winning creative minds have put the pedal to the metal in this NASCAR-themed musical full of girls, cars, and rockin' guitars.

The skies are blue, the corn is 'high as an elephant's eye,' and the cowboys and their girls are dancing and singing now at Pull-tight in preparation for the opening of Rodgers and Hammerstein's perennial favorite, Oklahoma! This exuberant and tuneful production tells the familiar story of Laurey (Rachel Melius) and Curly (Zach Pless) against the background of Oklahoma territory at the turn of the century. Curly is vying for Laurey's affections with Jud (Cody Muller), the brooding farmhand, as his rival. A secondary romance between Ado Annie (Megan Roddick) and Will Parker (Peter Horecka) is also developing, while the Persian peddler, Ali Hakim (Ryan Garrett), plays Ado's other suitor. Laurey's Aunt Eller (Christen Sottolano) acts as matriarch to all.

The skies are blue, the corn is 'high as an elephant's eye,' and the cowboys and their girls are dancing and singing now at Pull-tight in preparation for the opening of Rodgers and Hammerstein's perennial favorite, Oklahoma! This exuberant and tuneful production tells the familiar story of Laurey (Rachel Melius) and Curly (Zach Pless) against the background of Oklahoma territory at the turn of the century. Curly is vying for Laurey's affections with Jud (Cody Muller), the brooding farmhand, as his rival. A secondary romance between Ado Annie (Megan Roddick) and Will Parker (Peter Horecka) is also developing, while the Persian peddler, Ali Hakim (Ryan Garrett), plays Ado's other suitor. Laurey's Aunt Eller (Christen Sottolano) acts as matriarch to all.

Cathie Correia Stamps directs the seminal Broadway musical West Side Story as the 41st season-opening production of Franklin's Pull-Tight Players, opening Friday, August 28, and continuing through September 19. With a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Berstein, the musical is currently reaching new audiences, thanks to the Tony Award-nominated revival on Broadway.

Pull-Tight Players, Inc. kick off their 41st season with the timeless and thought-provoking show West Side Story.

Cathie Correia Stamps directs the seminal Broadway musical West Side Story as the 41st season-opening production of Franklin's Pull-Tight Players, opening Friday, August 28, and continuing through September 19. With a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Berstein, the musical is currently reaching new audiences, thanks to the Tony Award-nominated revival on Broadway.

Pull-Tight Players, Inc. kick off their 41st season with the timeless and thought-provoking show West Side Story.