BROADWAY HUNKS & BABES HIT
HOLLYWOOD FORD STAGE FOR AIDS!!!
ONE NIGHT ONLY PERFORMANCE
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007 8:00PM
TIM RICE'S MUSICAL
CHESS
The Musical
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PART OF THE EVENINGS PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO
BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS
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Hollywood,
CA (July 14, 2007) - Flicker House Productions, Inc. in
association with Chess Pieces, LLC., Purcell International
Group and Sheryl Mandel of Integrity PR are proud to present a one night
only inspired special performance of Tim Rice,
Benny Andersson and
Bjorn Ulvaeus' musical CHESS.
Produced and directed by Brian Michael Purcell,(Jesus
Christ Super Star National Tour, Concert producer/director: An evening
with Sondheim & Webber benefiting AEA FIGHTS AIDS ) is slated for
Monday, September 17th, 2007
at 8:00PM. The evening will be aglow with
excitement at the 1200 plus outdoor seater Ford
Amphitheatre located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd., East,
Hollywood, CA 90068. TICKETS ON SALE WEDSEDAY JULY 18!!! Please Call
323-461-3673 or visit
www.FordTheatres.org for theater and ticket information. Part of
the evenings proceeds will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity
Fights AIDS. Theater lovers will recognize this stellar
cast of Broadway performers. Kevin Earley,
Susan Egan, Thomas Griffith, Eric Kunze,
Matthew Morrison, Cindy Robinson and Tom
Shmid!!!
Photo: Susan Egan(courtesy BroadwayWorld.com)
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Flicker House Productions, Inc.
in association with Chess Pieces, LLC, and Purcell International Group
Presents
CHESS
The Musical
1 NIGHT ONLY SPECIAL PERFORMANCE
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
8:00PM
THE FORD AMPHITHEATRE
2580 Cahuenga Blvd.,East, Hollywood, CA 90068.
TICKETS GO ON SALE WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2007
Ticket prices:
** $200
VIP Seating (150 seats)** (Meet & Greet The Cast)
* $125 Orchestra (734 seats)*
* $50 Rear Orchestra (209 seats)*
$35 Last Two Rows Orchestra (107 seats)*
For Tickets Please Call 323-461-3673 or visit www.FordTheatres.org
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The Story: The game of Chess is used as a metaphor for romantic rivalries and the US-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War. The main characters form a love triangle: the ill-mannered American Grandmaster, the intense Russian champion who plans on defecting to the West, and the Hungarian-American female chess second, who arrives at the international championships with the American but falls in love with the Russian. From Bangkok to Budapest, the players, lovers, politicians and spies all struggle to get the upper-hand.
The event under the Ford Amphitheatre night sky will star Tony-nominee Susan Egan (Beauty and the Beast, Cabaret, Triumph of Love), Kevin Earley (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Les Miserables), Eric Kunze, (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Dame Yankees, National Tour: Jesus Christ Superstar with Carl Anderson), Cindy Robinson (Into The Woods, Carousel, Peter Pan), Thomas Griffith (The Best Little Whorehouse Texas, 1776 at Hollywood Bowl), Tom Schmid (Annie Get Your Gun, The Last Empress) and Matthew Morrison (The Light in the Piazza, Hairspray tour, 10 Million Miles).
The show will be presented in honor of director and choreographer Jim Alexander, who sadly passed away on May 25th, 2007 of heart failure. Alexander was the former producing artistic director of the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. He received numerous awards and critical acclaim for his productions of West Side Story, Song and Dance, The Pirates of Penzance, A Chorus Line, Evita, Godspell, The World Goes ‘Round, Man of La Mancha, An Inspector Calls, Always...Patsy Cline, Peter Pan, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Die Fledermaus, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on The Roof and Jesus Christ Superstar. He had most recently directed Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance: Tell Me on a Sunday, starring his wife, Cindy Robinson, which opened on February 24th 2007 at The Deaf West Theatre in North Hollywood. This was his last production. Jim was also the Founder and CEO of The Quest Theatre Company.
Producer Brian Michael Purcell wrote: (whose wife dancer/actress Leah Seminario is currently in the National Touring Company of "Camelot" with Michael York will be joining the Chess cast) "After seeing the show that night (Song and Dance, Tell Me On A Sunday in Los Angeles) Jim Alexander, Cindy Robinson, Lighting Designer Samantha Hartzell (Radio City Music Hall, The Muny) and myself all went out for dinner. Jim and I started talking about the theatre business. It was like I was talking with another me. In the midst of our conversation Jim brought up that the next show he wanted to produce was CHESS. Originally, Jim had talked to me about playing the role of Freddie opposite Cindy in the production and I was very much interested. I also told him that I have a production company and why don't we co-produce. That night we became partners.
We came to an agreement about ideas for the cast, the look and concept of the show. For the next month we had numerous lunch and phone meetings, we even looked at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood and fell in love with the space and put a hold on it. Everything was going smoothly and the collaboration was on. I felt like we had been working with each other for years....(On the morning I learned that) Jim Alexander had suffered a fatal heart attack, I was speechless and cried for hours. I had not only lost a partner and mentor but a close friend. I could not even imagine how his wife Cindy or his 20 year old daughter Sasha were feeling. But out of the darkest moments must come the light. I drove to the Ford that morning and put down the deposit for the show. I pulled myself as an actor out of the show and now I was in Jim’s shoes as director and producer. This is what Jim wanted and what he lived for. So there was no way I was not going to put this show on. It had meaning before being a fund raiser for BCEFA, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, but now it has even more meaning.
We are doing this incredible collaborative project in the memory of Jim Alexander husband, father, friend, producer, director, choreographer, actor and mentor to everyone he met."
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**Meet the cast of Chess after the show with VIP Tickets**
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Ensemble Cast
Enrique Brown (Broadway: Fiddler on the
Roof(Revival), The Music Man,
Oklahoma(Revival) and Carnival at City Center Encores!.
Other credits: Los Angeles: Song and Dance, Lyric Theatre in
Oklahoma City: in such shows as Cabaret, Song & Dance,
Man of La Mancha, Tommy, The Music Man and
Fiddler.
Douglas Crawford ( Tommy Tune's Broadway Revival of GREASE! -
"Kenickie", First National Tour: JERSEY BOYS, Los Angeles: JESUS
CHRIST SUPERSTAR - ONE NIGHT ONLY (starring Ted Neeley, Jack Black,
Ben Vereen, Yvonne Elliman, & Barry Dennen) - "Peter", WE WILL ROCK
YOU - "Pop" (North American Premiere Company), Michael Butler's 30th
Anniversary L.A. Revival of HAIR - "Claude" (L.A. Robby Award Nom. -
Best Actor), LIES & LEGENDS... (Robby Award Winner), NOTRE DAME DE
PARIS - "Quasimodo" (English Premiere Company), ROMEO & JULIET -
"Romeo".
Lawrence "Skoota" Cummings (Broadway and National Tour :
Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. Other credits: Smokey Joe’s Café,
Ragtime , Once on this Island, Porgy and Bess, The King and I, Into
the Woods.
Todd Fournier (National Tours: Jesus Christ
Superstar(Simon)(Judas U/S), Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons,
Regional: Aida(Radames), It Came From Beyond(Steve){Ovation
Nominee}, Pilgrim(Carel/TinkerU/S) Grease(Danny Zuko)(Teen Angel,
Johnny Casino), The Creation, Scarlet Pimpernel, Miss Saigon,
Godspell, Oklahoma, Chorus Line, Singin’ in the Rain, and 42nd
Street. Television: Wicked Wicked Games, Days of Our Lives, Port
Charles, General Hospital, JAG and Home Improvement.
Daniel Guzman (Broadway: Cyrano: The Musical, Les
Miserables . National Tours: Camelot, Jesus Christ
Superstar (Herod, u/s Pilate), Evita (Magaldi, u/s Che),
Cats (Tugger). Other Credits: A Chorus Line, World
Premiere, Water & Power at the Mark Taper Forum, City of
Angeles (Lt. Munoz), REPRISE! The King and I (King) MTW,
Stephen Sondheim's 75th : The Concert at The Hollywood Bowl,
Sweet Charity (Vittorio) Arvada Center, Carousel
(Jigger) Welk, Wonderful Town (Valenti), Guys & Dolls
(Sky), Man of La Mancha (Carrasco).
Ron Kellum (Broadway Credits: FOSSE(Dancin Dan),
CHICAGO(Fogarty),BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, JOSEPH..TECHNICOLOR
DREAMCOAT (Benjamin-Original Cast). National Tour and other Credits
include: The Wiz, Aida, Smokey Joe’s Café, Tin Pan Alley Rag,
Dreamgirls , Once On This Island, Fosse, Chicago, Fame, The Who's
Tommy, Ragtime, Five Guys Named Moe
Leah Seminario (National Tours :Camelot, Jesus Christ
Superstar, Suessical, Regional: Footloose West Side Story, A Chorus
Line, Joseph....Dreamcoat)
Creative Team
Jamieson Price (Stage Manager/Technical Director)
Rochelle Fabb (Coordinating Producer/Production Manager)
Jason Zamora (Set Design)
Mark "Quin" Cabalquinto (Media Design)
Samantha Hartzell (Lighting Designer) has worked in theatre
and Lighting Design for 10 years now. Design credits include: Song
and Dance (DEAF West, LA) Catching Flight, Water Street (UC San
Diego- World Premieres), Peter Pan and Tink! (Quest Theatre Company,
LA), Elegies (Bloombury Theatre, London UK) and others. Assistant
Design credits include: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Radio
City Music Hall), The Constant Wife (Old Globe San Diego), The
Municipal Theatre of St. Louis, Summer Series 2007 (Muny, St.
Louis) Measure for Measure, Arms and the Man (UC San Diego).
Hillary's Information-
Hillary Knox (Associate Designer/Moving Lights Programmer)
has worked in theatrical lighting for over 15 years on Broadway,
Nationally and all over the world. Shows include: Jersey Boys (BWay
and the National Tours), The Drowsy Chaperone, Wicked (BWay, London
and the National Tours), Avenue Q (BWay, London, Vegas and the
National Tours), Hairspray, Love Musik, Xanadu, Dracula, The Wiz (La
Jolla Playhouse), Zhivago (La Jolla Playhouse) and many more.
Vandy Scoates (Costume Designer) Urinetown- Interact Theater
Co. L.A. Weekly Award Nomination for best costume design.
Suessical, Bank of the West "2006" kick off, Barefoot in the Park,
Last Five Years, Philadelphia Story, All in the Timing
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~A very special Thank You ~
Cindy Robinson
The Quest Theatre Company
Joan Quinn: The Joan Quinn Profiles TV Show
Pixie Monroe: Monroe Casting and Production Services, Inc.
Randy Tat: Paramount Pictures
Flo Selfman: Selfman & Others PR
Mona Loring:
President, MLC PR
Kim Koury: Spin PR Group
Ester Goldberg
Stephan Foster
To all my friends and colleagues, please join me for this glorious evening and help support our fellow actors and families who are so strong and dear. Let's all give thanks for those in good health and give with our hearts to those who are bravely struggling. We are here for them.
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For Media Inquiries
Please contact:
Promotional Director:
Sheryl Mandel
Email: ssshekkie@aol.com
Tel: 718-352-5976
