[NEohioPAL] PRESS RELEASE: Chagrin Valley Little Theatre goes "Over the Rainbow" for the Holidays

[Chagrin Valley Little Theatre]

  *PRESS RELEASE*
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: 10-23-08

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact: Andrew Rothman
From: Chagrin Valley Little Theatre

40 River Street
Chagrin Falls, OH 44122
Phone: 440-247-8955
E-mail: cvlt at cvlt.org <mailto:cvlt at cvlt.org>
Website: www.cvlt.org <http://www.cvlt.org/>


        PRESS PHOTOS TO BE POSTED SOON AT: www.CVLT.org/promo
        <http://www.cvlt.org/promo>


    Chagrin Valley Little Theatre goes "Over the Rainbow" for the Holidays

CHAGRIN FALLS, OH - /The Wizard of Oz/ arrived on the big screen nearly 
seventy years ago, was reissued in theaters ten and sixteen years after 
its debut, and has appeared regularly on television since 1959. There 
can hardly be a person living in the US today who hasn't seen the movie 
at least once. Presenting such familiar material on a community theater 
stage can be a very daunting task, but Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, 
which will begin a five-weekend run of /Oz/ on November 21, is prepared 
for the challenge.

The stage adaptation of /The Wizard of Oz/ was developed by The Royal 
Shakespeare Company in the late 1980s, using John Kane's reworking of 
the motion picture screenplay, and the well-loved music and lyrics by 
Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. At the helm of CVLT's production is 
director Greta Rothman, who has directed special event shows such as 
/Murder By The Falls/ at CVLT in the past, and makes her main season 
debut with this show. Ms. Rothman is uniquely suited to the task, as a 
life-long /Oz/ fanatic with a sizeable collection of memorabilia related 
to the film. Original author L. Frank Baum himself could not have chosen 
a more suitable hand to mount this surprisingly complicated work. Using 
her intimate knowledge of the movie, Ms. Rothman intends to remain as 
true as possible to the /Oz/ film that we all know and love, with the 
occasional wink at modern audiences to keep things fresh. The orchestra 
will be led by musical director John Krol, and the cast will be 
choreographed by Pamela LaForce. Technical director Edmond Wolff's 
scenic and lighting design will be given a 21st century boost by digital 
video and audio effects from Andrew Rothman (the director's younger 
brother).

The cast is led by Alex Marzullo, a senior at Hudson High School, in the 
role of Kansas' most famous fictional resident, 'Dorothy Gale'. By her 
side on the yellow brick road are fellow Hudson senior Jace Craft as 
'Scarecrow', Guy Custer as 'Tinman', and Mark DePompei as 'Lion'. 
Marzullo, Craft and DePompei all held leading roles in last year's hit 
holiday musical, /Honk!/ Vying for her dead sister's ruby slippers will 
be Laurel Bryant as the 'Wicked Witch of the West', with Paula Pike 
waving the magic wand of 'Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.' An 
ensemble of twenty additional actors of all ages will serve as the 
various Munchkins, talking trees, Winkies, and flying monkeys that the 
quartet encounter on their way to see the Wizard, played by Don 
Bernardo. CVLT expects this production of /The Wizard of Oz/, which 
appeared twice to high attendance crowds in the late 1990s, to be its 
most ambitious and successful version yet.

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre's /The Wizard of Oz/ will be performed on 
Friday and Saturday nights at 8 PM from November 21 to December 19, with 
2 PM matinee performances on November 30 and December 7. Tickets are $16 
for regular admission, and $12 for students and seniors. The holiday fun 
at CVLT continues with the annual childrens' /Holiday Show and 
Gingerbread Tea / on December 13 and 14 ($6/$8), /The Eight: Reindeer 
Monologues/, a dark Christmas comedy for mature audiences at the River 
Street Playhouse from November 28 to December 13 (all seats $8), and the 
Christmas music concert on December 21.

Tickets for all CVLT shows and events can be purchased online 24 hours a 
day at www.CVLT.org <http://www.CVLT.org>, or by calling the Box Office 
at 440-247-8955 between 1 and 6 PM, Monday through Saturday.

Chagrin Valley Little Theatre is generously funded by Cuyahoga County 
residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and is supported by the Ohio 
Arts Council. CVLT was voted 'Best Community Theatre' by Cleveland 
Magazine Readers, and 'Best Theatre Group' on the Fox 8 HotList in 2007

###

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20081023/4af5e842/attachment-0003.htm>