Bay Area Children's Theatre Premieres GOLD: THE MIDAS MUSICAL

GOLD: THE MIDAS MUSICAL, an original Bay Area Children's Theatre (BACT) production that re-imagines the Greek legend of King Midas, opens Saturday, February 23, in Berkeley.

Directed by Bob Shryock with book, music and lyrics by Min Kahng (The Four Immigrants: An American Musical Manga; Inside Out and Back Again), GOLD: THE MIDAS MUSICAL tells the tale of motherless princess Lydia, who yearns for her father's love, while Midas, devastated by the sudden loss of his beloved queen, grows meaner, more distant, and more obsessed by the day. Hestia, goddess of the hearth, introduces the story, and reappears to urge Midas not to accept Dionysus's offer to give him the golden touch.

This world premiere with soaring music is the latest example of the new work BACT is developing for upper elementary school and middle school audiences (8 and up). The story contains sophisticated themes, including grief, greed, sacrifice and familial love, and it will be performed at The Second Stage, BACT's intimate theatre in the Berkeley Theatre Center, so that audience members will feel deeply connected to the story.

GOLD: THE MIDAS MUSICAL opens February 23 and plays through May 12 at BACT's Berkeley Theatre Center, 2055 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704, with performances Saturdays at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

TICKETS: $17 - $28, BOX OFFICE: www.bactheatre.org or call (510) 296-4433

Established in 2004, Bay Area Children's Theatre, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves 125,000 children and adults throughout the Bay Area, with main stage performances in Berkeley, San Francisco and Sunnyvale; programs and productions in local schools; and classes and summer camps in the East Bay, South Bay, and San Francisco.