CASTING AND CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR THE ST. LOUIS PREMIERE OF DIRTY DANCING – THE CLASSIC STORY ON STAGE

(St. Louis, MO), March 31, 2017 – The Fabulous Fox Theatre announces that Christopher Tierney and Bronwyn Reed will star as Johnny Castle and Frances “Baby” Houseman in the St. Louis premiere of Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage.

Tierney and Reed lead a company of 26 that includes Matthew Amira as Robbie Gould (The Hunchback of Notre Dame  - Ogunquit Playhouse),Jordan Edwin André as Billy Kostecki/Singer (West Side Story - Regional), Alyssa Brizzi as Lisa Houseman (Beauty and the Beast – National Tour), Jerome Harmann-Hardeman as Tito Suarez (The Full Monty), Jennifer Mealani Jones as Penny Johnson (“So You Think You Can Dance” season 10), Hannah Jane McMurray as Marjorie Houseman (Peter Pan 360), Gary Lynch as Max Kellerman (Les Misérables), Jon Powell as Dr. Jake Houseman (The Rose Bowl Queens - LA), Alan Scharf as Mr. Schumacher (Take Her – National Tour) and Matt Surges asNeil Kellerman (A Funny Thing Happened… - Regional). The ensemble comprises Estee Beck, Matthew Borchers, Henry Byalikov, Chante Carmel, Jenifer Dillow, Lindsey Hailes, Michal Kolaczkowski, Kelsey Kramer, Mark MacKillop, Sophie Lee Morris, Katelyn Prominski, Michael Thomas Pugliese, John Swapshire and D. Scott Withers.

Tickets for Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage at the Fabulous Fox are on sale now online at MetroTix.com, by calling 314-534-1111 or in person at the Fabulous Fox Box Office. Ticket prices start at $25. Prices are subject to change; please refer to FabulousFox.com for current ticket prices as they are subject to change due to demand. Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is part of the U.S. Bank Broadway Series.

Performances of Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage at the Fabulous Fox run May 12 – 14. Show times are Friday and Saturdayevening at 7:30 p.m., Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

“The company that we have assembled for our North American tour is beautiful and truthful,” says Eleanor Bergstein, screenwriter of the film Dirty Dancing and book writer for the musical. 

“I originally wrote the movie because I love to dance. And since the movie first appeared, the open-hearted audience response has made me believe that everyone has a secret dancer inside them, one they feel could connect them to the physical world in the way they dream. 

"If that was true, then its natural form was theater – live audiences watching live bodies dancing and singing here and now. I have added 20 more new scenes, 36 numbers of live music, and an eight piece band onstage. It’s been a deep pleasure for us to watch audiences around the country respond as this extraordinarily talented group of people brings Dirty Dancing home to North America.”   

The production’s book is written by Eleanor Bergstein and the North American tour will be directed by James Powell with choreography by Michele Lynch based on the original choreography by Kate Champion. The creative team also includes Stephen Brimson Lewis (set design),Tim Mitchell (lighting design), Jennifer Irwin (costume design), Bobby Aitken (sound design), Jon Driscoll (video and projection design),Bernie Ardia (hair design), Conrad Helfrich (music supervisor and orchestrations) and Alan Plado (music director).

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is an unprecedented live experience, exploding with heart-pounding music played live by an eight piece onstage band, passionate romance and sensational dancing. Seen by millions across the globe, this timeless love story features the hit songs “Hungry Eyes,” “Hey Baby,” “Do You Love Me?” and the heart-stopping “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life.” London’s Sunday Express says “This crowd-pleasing stage adaptation hits the jackpot!”

It’s the summer of 1963, and 17-year-old Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman is on vacation in New York’s Catskill Mountains with her older sister and parents. Mesmerized by the racy dance moves and pounding rhythms she discovers in the resort’s staff quarters, Baby can’t wait to be part of the scene, especially when she catches sight of Johnny Castle, the resort’s sexy dance instructor. Passions ignite and Baby’s life changes forever when she is thrown in to the deep end as Johnny’s leading lady, both on-stage and off.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage began as an eight-week staged workshop in Manhattan in the fall of 2001. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia in November 2004 before embarking upon a hugely successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. 

A new production opened at the Theater Neue Flora in Hamburg, Germany in March 2006 where it broke records for achieving the highest advance in European history.

The production began performances on London’s West End in October 2006 with an £11 million advance and went on to become the longest running show in the history of the Aldwych Theatre. It closed in July 2011 in advance of a two-year UK national tour and then returned to London for a strictly limited season at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage has gone on to perform across the world in markets as diverse as Utrecht, Holland, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. Most recently, it has been represented by a new UK tour (which launched March 2014 in Bristol), a German tour (which launched April 2014 in Berlin) and a French tour (which launched January 2015 in Paris). The show returned to Australia with a new tour that premiered in late 2014 in honor of the stage production’s 10th anniversary. 

The current North American tour launched in Washington, DC in August 2014 and is currently booked through the 2015-2016 season.

The North American tour of Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is produced by Amber Jacobsen, NETworks Presentations LLC, Grove Entertainment, and Col Joye in association with Lionsgate and Magic Hour Productions.

For more information, please visit http://us.dirtydancingontour.com/.

Fabulous Fox Theatre announces 2017-18 season, dates for Hamilton

(St. Louis, MO) – The Fabulous Fox Theatre announces an incredible season of St. Louis premiers and classic musicals in the 2017–2018 U.S. Bank Broadway Series. The season will include the previously announced HAMILTON making its Fox Theatre debut April 3-22, 2018 for a limited three-week engagement.

The six-show season ticket package opens with the romantic thriller THE BODYGUARDfollowed by ON YOUR FEET!, the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan.  

Winner of the 2015 Tony Award® for Best Musical Revival, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I will have you whistling a happy tune this holiday season. 

SCHOOL OF ROCK kicks off 2018 with fist-pumping exuberance and the 2016 Tony Award® winner for Best Musical Revival THE COLOR PURPLE visits in March.

Eight specials will also be presented in the season lineup including return engagements of THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of nine Tony Awards® including Best Musical, and the spectacular new production of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

THE BODYGUARD | October 3 – 15, 2017

Based on the smash hit film, the award-winning musical will star Grammy® Award-nominee and R&B superstar Deborah Cox! Former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. Each expects to be in charge; what they don’t expect is to fall in love. A breathtakingly romantic thriller, THE BODYGUARD features a host of irresistible classics including “Queen of the Night,” “So Emotional,” “One Moment in Time,” “Saving All My Love,” “Run to You,” “I Have Nothing,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and one of the biggest selling songs of all time – “I Will Always Love You.”

ON YOUR FEET! | November 7 – 19, 2017

From their humble beginnings in Cuba, Emilio and Gloria Estefan came to America and broke through all barriers to become a crossover sensation at the very top of the pop music world. But just when they thought they had it all, they almost lost everything. From international superstardom to life-threatening tragedy, ON YOUR FEET! takes you behind the music and inside the real story of this record-making and groundbreaking couple who, in the face of adversity, found a way to end up on their feet. Directed by two-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots), with choreography by Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys) and an original book by Academy Award® winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman), ON YOUR FEET! features some of the most iconic songs of the past quarter century -  and one of the most inspiring stories in music history.

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I | November 28 – December 10, 2017

Two worlds collide in the Lincoln Center Theater production of this “breathtaking and exquisite” (The New York Times) musical, directed by Bartlett Sher. One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest works, THE KING AND I boasts a score that features such beloved classics as “Getting To Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance” and “Something Wonderful.” Set in 1860s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children. Winner of the 2015 Tony Award® for Best Musical Revival, THE KING AND I is “too beautiful to miss” (New York Magazine).

SCHOOL OF ROCK | January 16 – 28, 2018

SCHOOL OF ROCK is a New York Times Critics’ Pick and “an inspiring jolt of energy, joy and mad skillz!” (Entertainment Weekly). Based on the hit film, this hilarious new musical follows Dewey Finn, a wannabe rock star posing as a substitute teacher who turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band. This high-octane smash features 14 new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber, all the original songs from the movie and musical theater’s first-ever kids rock band playing their instruments live on stage. Vanity Fair raves, “fists of all ages shall be pumping!”

THE COLOR PURPLE | March 20 – April 1, 2018

THE COLOR PURPLE is the 2016 Tony Award® winner for Best Musical Revival.  Hailed as “a direct hit to the heart” (The Hollywood Reporter), this joyous American classic has conquered Broadway in an all-new "ravishingly reconceived production that is a glory to behold” (The New York Times) directed by Tony winner John Doyle. With a soul-raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, THE COLOR PURPLE gives an exhilarating new spirit to this Pulitzer Prize-winning story. This production is a stunning re-imagining of an epic story about a young woman’s journey to love and triumph in the American South. It’s the musical sensation that New York Magazine calls “one of the greatest revivals ever.” Experience the exhilarating power of this Tony-winning triumph!

HAMILTON | April 3 – 22, 2018

HAMILTON is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary.  Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, HAMILTON is the story of America then, as told by America now.  With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, HAMILTON is based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.

Series Specials

Eight Broadway specials will be offered to 2017–2018 season ticket holders for priority seating before their public on-sale dates. Back by popular demand, A CHRISTMAS CAROL will run during the holidays for the 27^th time December 14-17. The enchanting Rodgers + Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA returns December 27-31.  A new production of the beloved classic Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC returns February 2-4. The family favorite THE WIZARD OF OZ, will delight St. Louis’ audiences February 23-25. CHICAGO, the razzle dazzle tale of sin and celebrity, will make its way back to the Fabulous Fox March 2-4.

For one weekend only March 16-18, CIRCUS 1903 – THE GOLDEN AGE OF CIRCUS will present a thrilling turn of the century circus spectacular for the first time on the Fox stage. Cameron Mackintosh’s spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA returns for a limited engagement May 9-20. Back by popular demand, THE BOOK OF MORMON will close out the season May 29 - June 3.

New six-show season ticket packages will go on sale April 14 at 10 a.m. Current U.S. Bank Broadway season ticket holders will receive their renewal information beginning the week of March 27. On-sale dates for individual shows will be announced later. For more information, please call the Fox Subscription office at 314-535-1700. Groups of 15 or more should call 314-535-2900 for special rates and reservations. The Broadway Series at the Fabulous Fox Theatre is presented by U.S. Bank.