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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: right"
align=right><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-VARIANT: small-caps">For
Immediate Release:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: right"
align=right><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">October 23,
2007<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 19pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Great Lakes Theater Festival<SPAN
class=136065523-23102007> </SPAN></SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 19pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Celebrates </SPAN></H3>
<H3 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 19pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The <st1:place
w:st="on">Holiday</st1:place> Season With </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 19pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">A Christmas Carol<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></I></H3>
<H2 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Festival’s gift to <st1:place
w:st="on">Northeast Ohio</st1:place> is </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">region’s best-loved holiday
entertainment.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></H2>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">CLEVELAND,
OH -<B> </B>The stage of the<B> Ohio Theatre, Playhouse Square </B>will glow
with good spirits and time-honored tradition when <B>Great Lakes Theater
Festival (GLTF) presents its annual production of Charles Dickens' <I>A
Christmas Carol</I>,</B></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">
running <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">November 23 through December 23,
2007<I>.</I></B><I><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></I>The
production, celebrating its nineteenth year, has delighted an estimated 425,000
people in its history, making it <st1:place w:st="on">Northeast
Ohio</st1:place>’s most-loved and best-attended holiday entertainment.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Great
Lakes Theater Festival’s Associate Artistic Director,<B> <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Andrew May</st1:PersonName>, will stage former GLTF Artistic Director
Gerald Freedman’s heartwarming adaptation of this classic tale.</B></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The production features a
multi-generational cast of actors, singers and dancers led by veteran <st1:City
w:st="on">Cleveland</st1:City> actor <st1:place
w:st="on"><B>Dudley</B></st1:place><B> Swetland</B>, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">returning for his twelfth season in the
role of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge</B>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The production sponsors for <I>A Christmas Carol </I>are <B>American
Greetings and the John P. Murphy Foundation</B><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></B>The production’s media sponsor is <B>Soft Rock 102.1 F.M. WDOK.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></B></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Media sponsors
for the Festival’s forty-sixth season are Cleveland Free Times, Cleveland
Magazine, The Plain Dealer, WCLV 104.9 F.M., WCPN 90.3 F.M. ideastream and
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">WKSU
89.7 F.M.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">“It’s
exciting for us as a company of artists to revisit this great classic holiday
story,” said Andrew May, who will stage this season’s
production.</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“We are blessed with an immensely
talented cast and a wonderful adaptation that we can’t wait to share.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I am overjoyed to return to direct a
piece of theater again this season that has meant as much to this company and to
this community as has <I>A Christmas Carol </I>for nearly two decades.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">GLTF
Producing Artistic Director <B>Charles Fee</B> remarked, “The combination of
Gerald Freedman’s </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">inspired
and moving </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">adaptation,
<st1:PersonName w:st="on">Andrew May</st1:PersonName>’s dynamic gifts as an
artist, our remarkable </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt">design
team and our talented </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">cast
are sure to delight audiences, whether they’re attending for the first time or
returning to experience this holiday tradition again with friends and family.”
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Freedman's
adaptation of <I>A Christmas Carol</I> is presented as a story within a
story.</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">
The fictitious Cleaveland family gathers in its Victorian-era parlor on
Christmas Eve to read Mr. Dickens' book. As Mrs. Cleaveland reads the story to
her family, her youngest child, Master William, reimagines familiar faces as
characters in the story: the Cleaveland’s crotchety manservant becomes Scrooge,
Father becomes Bob Cratchit, Mother becomes Belle, and the Cleaveland children
become the Cratchits, with Master William becoming the beloved Tiny Tim. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">In all, more than 60 Dickens characters are
brought to life on stage.</B> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">The
Festival’s production incorporates theatrical special effects</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">
to retain a strong sense of the supernatural, <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">emphasizing the novel's origins in folk
tales and myth</B>. Designers for the GLTF production blend exceptional
stagecraft with dramatic effects that evoke the magical and mysterious aspects
of a classic ghost story. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">Great
Lakes Theater Festival’s nineteenth annual production of <I>A Christmas
Carol</I> previews </SPAN></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">on
Friday, November 23<SUP>rd</SUP> at 1:30 p.m. Opening Night is scheduled for
Friday, November 23<SUP>rd</SUP> at 7:30 p.m.<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Curtain times for
all evening performances will remain at 7:30 p.m., with a 1:30 p.m. curtain time
for Friday and Saturday matinees and a 3:00 p.m. curtain time for Sunday
matinees.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>An audio-described performance is
scheduled for Sunday, December 2<SUP>nd</SUP> at 3:00 p.m.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A sign-interpreted performance is
scheduled for Sunday, December 9<SUP>th </SUP>at 3:00 p.m.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Single tickets
for Great Lakes Theater Festival’s production of <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">A Christmas Carol</I> range in price from
$28-$56 (Student tickets $28 – any performance / any seat)</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> and are
available by calling <B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">(216) 241-6000</B>,
by ordering <A title=http://www.greatlakestheater.org/tickets/
href="http://www.greatlakestheater.org/tickets/">online</A> at <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><A title=http://www.greatlakestheater.org/
href="http://www.greatlakestheater.org/">www.greatlakestheater.org</A></B> or by
visiting the Playhouse Square Ticket Office. <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Groups of ten or more receive discounts and
should call (216) 664-6050 x1 to make reservations.</B><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Since 1962, Great
Lakes Theater Festival has brought the pleasure, power and relevance of classic
theater to the widest possible audience in <st1:place w:st="on">Northern
Ohio</st1:place>. The first resident company of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Playhouse</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Square</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, Great Lakes Theater Festival has
called the Ohio Theatre home since 1982.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-VARIANT: small-caps">For More
Information:</SPAN></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><A
title=http://www.greatlakestheater.org/
href="http://www.greatlakestheater.org/"></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Todd Krispinsky</FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> <SPAN class=946552300-24102007><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> <BR> </FONT></SPAN></FONT>Marketing and Public Relations
Director</DIV>
<DIV align=left>Great Lakes Theater Festival</DIV>
<DIV align=left>1501 Euclid Avenue, Suite 300</DIV>
<DIV align=left>(216) 241-5490 x317</DIV>
<DIV align=left>(216) 241-6315 Fax</DIV>
<DIV align=left><A title=http://www.greatlakestheater.org/
href="http://www.greatlakestheater.org/">www.greatlakestheater.org</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><A
href="http://www.greatlakestheater.org/"></A></FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>