PRODUCERS & MISS SAIGON Headline 2011 Music Circus Season

California Musical Theatre Executive Producer Richard Lewis has announced the line-up of shows for the 2011 summer season of Sacramento Music Circus, America's Theatre-in-the-Round. The seven-show season will include the Music Circus premieres of Broadway blockbusters "The Producers" and "Miss Saigon" and the return of five musical theatre classics yet to be produced in the nine-year-old Wells Fargo Pavilion: "Oliver!," "Anything Goes," "Camelot," "Annie Get Your Gun" and "I Do! I Do!" The latter returning to Music Circus for the first time since 1979. Music Circus is produced under the leadership of Artistic Director Glenn Casale and Associate Producer Scott Klier.

Season ticket holders from 2010 will receive renewal invoices by mail on January 24, and the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office will begin taking paid reservations for new subscribers on that day as well. Seven-show season tickets will be $242 to $337 depending on performance date and seating location. For the first time, California Musical Theatre will make available youth subscription packages just for children 4-17, at $210-$245. Reservations and renewals are available at 1419 H Street or by phone at (916) 557-1999 beginning Monday, January 24.

In addition to the new youth ticket prices, Music Circus has moved the curtain time for the Tuesday and Wednesday evening performances a half-hour earlier to 7:30 p.m.

The season opens July 12 with a limited one-week production of Mel Brooks' "THE PRODUCERS." Winner of a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards, the outrageous musical follows the adventures of a down-on-his-luck producer and his beleaguered accountant as they attempt to bilk investors by staging the worst Broadway show ever, only to find themselves with a hit on their hands.

"OLIVER!," (July 19-24) the dramatic musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel tells the story of an orphan who dared to ask for more, and finds himself in London's underworld of pickpockets and ruffians. A touching adventure, its Tony-winning score features the beloved "Food, Glorious Food" and "Consider Yourself (at Home)."

Cole Porter's "ANYTHING GOES" continues the season July 26-31. A British nobleman, a sheltered heiress, a Wall Street stockbroker, a bombastic nightclub singer - and "Public Enemy 13" - take to the high seas in a madcap musical comedy classic. This showcase for Porter's timeless tunes ("You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "It's De-Lovely" among many) also features legendary tap-dance sequences.

Lerner and Loewe's "CAMELOT" is another of the great standards of musical theatre (like "Anything Goes") that has yet to be produced in the new Wells Fargo Pavilion, until this year, August 2-7. Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and Merlin are the key players in this musical of intrigue, idealism, magic and England's most fabled love triangle.

The songs of another American music legend, Irving Berlin, are featured in "ANNIE GET YOUR GUN," returning to Music Circus on August 9 after a 20-year absence. Sharpshooter Annie Oakley joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and tries to win the love of chauvinist Frank Butler without changing who she is. Featuring the songs "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" and "There's No Business Like Show Business."

The love life of one couple over 50 years is the focus of "I DO! I DO!," (August 16-21) from wedding night jitters to children to mid-life crises. This 1966 musical from Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones is a sweet, tuneful and charming treat featuring the pop standard "My Cup Runneth Over."

The season will close with a one-week production of "MISS SAIGON," August 23-28, from the creators of "Les Misérables," Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg. The 1991 Broadway musical and international hit ran for more than 4,000 performances with its tale of love during tumultuous times, a moving testament to the human spirit.

Music Circus was founded in 1951 as the first professional musical theatre in the round west of the Mississippi. Until 2002, its first-class summer stock productions were presented under a canvas tent, the last of its kind in the country. In 2003, the company introduced its new, modern tent-theatre, the Wells Fargo Pavilion, which combines the traditional Arena Stage with improved audience comfort. Music Circus is the largest, continually operating musical theatre-in-the-round in the country, making it a landmark in the professional theatre community and a living museum of musical theatre history: Sacramento Music Circus is America's Theatre-in-the-Round. Music Circus operates under a contract with Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States, and the majority of the principal ensemble cast have extensive Broadway and national tour credits. The Acting Company will be announced in late spring.

Seven-show season subscriptions (>more info) will be available at the Wells Fargo Pavilion box office at 1419 H Street beginning at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 24. Last year's subscribers will receive invitations to renew by mail and have priority to retain their seats or to upgrade. Paid season-ticket reservations can also be made by phone at (916) 557-1999.

Discounts are available for groups of 12 or more by calling the group sales department at (916) 557-1999. Groups can reserve seven-show, multi-show or single-show packages beginning Monday, January 24.

Single-show tickets will be available for purchase beginning Monday, May 16, at 10 a.m. Single-show tickets are $54 for Friday and Saturday evenings ($59 for premium locations), $42 for Thursday matinees ($47 for premium locations) and $51 for all other performances ($56 for premium). All ticket prices include a facility fee and are subject to change. Three-show Mini-Series ticket packages will go on sale on April 18. 

 

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