Phoenix Productions Presents GYPSY Starring Jessica Fisher

Jessica Fisher will be playing a lead role in Phoenix Productions' upcoming September revival of Gypsy. This show will take place at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank for a two-weekend run beginning September 16th. Jess is a well-known actor and member of the Lincroft community, having grown up in town and with Phoenix Productions. Initially called back as an orphan in Annie, Jess spent her childhood years taking classes at Camp Phoenix, making her mark in ensemble roles through six Phoenix Productions, and eventually moving on to study drama at NYU's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. She returns to Lincroft and to the Basie stage this September in Gypsy, which will mark her first principal role with Phoenix.

In Gypsy, Jessica plays Mazeppa, a bold and brassy bugle-playing burlesque stripper whose song, "Gotta Get a Gimmick", is known on Broadway as a universal, classic show-stopper. "Ever since I was in middle school when I found out there was a stripper that played a trumpet, I wanted to play her because I always played trumpet.", exclaims Jessica. " It's been my dream role since the 7th grade." Jess is a familiar friend to burlesque, having played a burlesque dancer in Earthquakes in London at NYU. Though the "Gimmick Girls' routine has much humor to be found in Mazeppa's trumpeting strip routine, Jess asserts the beauty of burlesque as an art form."Burlesque was an art form, and still is a beautiful art form celebrating the body and used as entertainment piece. It's truly less about body and more about expressing through entertainment form."

Referred to as the greatest American musical by many critics, Gypsy is the ultimate true story about an aggressive stage mother. Join Rose, June and Louise in their trip across the United States during the 1920's, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born. Jule Styne's music and Stephen Sondheim's lyrics include lots of unforgettable standards like "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "You Gotta Get a Gimmick", "Together Wherever We Go,"and, of course, "Let Me Entertain You".

Performances will be on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm, with its run concluding on September 25th. Tickets are available at the Count Basie Theatre Box Office and can be purchased in person at 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, N.J, by phone at 732-842-9000, or online at www.countbasietheatre.org. Phoenix Productions is a non-profit community theatre organization that has produced more than a hundred full-scale revivals of Broadway musicals since 1988. For more information on Phoenix Productions or upcoming shoes, please visit www.phoenixredbank.com