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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><FONT size=2 face=Arial><STRONG>FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<BR><EM>April 15, 2011</EM></STRONG><BR><BR><FONT
size=5><STRONG>Cleveland Metropolitan School District Students <BR>Present
<EM>BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR</EM><BR>As Twelfth Annual All-City
Musical</STRONG></FONT></FONT>
<P><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><STRONG><FONT size=3>Producing partners include
Great Lakes Theater Festival,<BR>The Human Fund, The Musical Theater Project and
PlayhouseSquare.</FONT></STRONG><BR><BR><STRONG>CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland
Metropolitan School District (CMSD) will present its twelfth annual All-City
Musical, <EM>Bubbling Brown Sugar</EM></STRONG> to crown the District’s
2010-11 series of All-City Arts Programming. The production
<STRONG>features the talents of over fifty CMSD students</STRONG> from across
the District and will take place on the stage of the <STRONG>Ohio Theatre at
PlayhouseSquare, June 3 - 5, 2011</STRONG>. <STRONG>Tony Sias, Director of
Arts Education for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District</STRONG>,
co-directs the production with<STRONG> Kimberly Brown</STRONG>. The
musical’s book was written by Lofton Mitchell based on a concept by Rosetta
LeNoire. The show’s music is used with the permission of Amherst Records,
Inc. <BR><BR>The twelfth annual All-City Musical is presented with generous
support from <STRONG>The Abington Foundation, The Bruening Foundation, Cuyahoga
Arts and Culture</STRONG>, <STRONG>The Human Fund</STRONG> and <STRONG>Kaiser
Permanente</STRONG>. <STRONG>Chipotle</STRONG> will provide additional
production support.<BR><BR><STRONG>The All-City Musical is an enriching
experience for the students involved in the production, according to Tony
Sias</STRONG>, the director of the production for the ninth consecutive
year. “The All-City Musical is an extraordinary program that provides
students with a structured arts-based experience that refines individual
talents, stimulates critical thinking, focuses creativity, strengthens social
skills and affords students an informed perspective on the world,” said Sias in
a recent interview about the upcoming production. “These young people are
amazing.”<BR><BR>An exuberant musical revue, <STRONG><EM>Bubbling Brown
Sugar</EM></STRONG> jams, jumps and jives with the legendary music that made
Harlem swing during its renaissance. Through story and song, it relives
the exhilarating era of Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and Cab Calloway. Memorable
musical classics such as <EM>Take the "A" Train, St. Louis Blues, Sweet Georgia
Brown, Ain't Misbehavin', Honeysuckle Rose, His Eye is on the Sparrow</EM> and
others come to life onstage in a magical journey back through time. The
musical invites audiences to stomp at the Savoy and kick their heels high again
at the Cotton Club to some of the most popular Big Band, jazz, swing, blues and
gospel music of the past ninety years. A Tony Award nominee for Best
Musical, <EM>Bubbling Brown Sugar</EM> is a celebration of Harlem's influence on
American culture.<BR><BR><STRONG>The production team for the twelfth annual
All-City Musical is a distinguished group of professional artists from across
Northeast Ohio.</STRONG> <STRONG>Dr. David Manning Thomas</STRONG>, a
music teacher at John Adams High School with a distinguished career in music,
will serve as Musical Director for the production. An All-City Musical
alum, <STRONG>Kevin Marr II</STRONG> will create <EM>Bubbling Brown Sugar’s</EM>
choreography. <STRONG>Terry J. Martin</STRONG> will serve as scenic
designer while <STRONG>Esther Haberlen</STRONG> will design the richly textured
costumes for the production. <STRONG>Colleen Dowling</STRONG> will design
lights. <STRONG>Nathan Tulenson</STRONG> will create the production’s
soundscape.<BR><BR>Opening Night for the twelfth annual All-City Musical
<EM>Bubbling Brown Sugar</EM> is scheduled for <STRONG>Friday, June 3rd at 7:30
p.m</STRONG>. The production will continue with a Saturday evening showing
on <STRONG>June 4th at 7:30 p.m</STRONG>. and a closing matinee performance on
Sunday, <STRONG>June 5th at 3:00 p.m</STRONG>. <BR><BR><STRONG>All tickets
for the twelfth annual All-City Musical, <EM>Bubbling Brown Sugar</EM> are
$15</STRONG> and are available by phone at <STRONG>(216) 241-6000</STRONG>,
online at <STRONG>www.playhousesquare.org</STRONG> or by visiting the
<STRONG>PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office</STRONG>. All seating is
<STRONG>general admission</STRONG>.<BR><BR><EM>Bubbling Brown Sugar</EM> is
produced through special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc.
The script to this play may be purchased from BPPI at
BroadwayPlayPubl.com.<BR><BR>The primary goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan
School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of
America. CMSD is a continuous improvement district.<BR><BR># #
#<BR><BR><STRONG><U>Media Contact:</U></STRONG></FONT></FONT></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"
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