Woodminster 2010: Hairspray opens July 9

Woodminster Summer Musicals
Summer 2010 – 44th consecutive season of musical theater under the stars in Oakland's beautiful Joaquin Miller Park.

Press contact: Kathy Kahn, woodminsterpr@yahoo.com, 510-418-8523
Theater contact: Harriet Schlader, harriet@woodminster.com, 510-531-9597

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CALENDAR INFORMATION (JULY 2010)

WHAT: "Hairspray"
PERFORMED BY: Woodminster Summer Musicals by Producers Associates, Inc.
WHERE: Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland
WHEN: July 9-18, 2010
PERFORMANCES: July 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18 - 8 p.m.
TICKETS: Ticketweb.com, or 510-531-9597, or www.woodminster.com, $25-$40 ($2 discount for children/seniors)
PREVIEW PERFORMANCE: July 8, 8 p.m., All tickets $10 at the door.
Book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Music and Lyrics by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Scott Wittman. “Hairspray” is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International.

PRESS RELEASE (For immediate release)

Woodminster’s 44th Season Opens with “Hairspray”
Social Justice and Rousing Dance Numbers Come Together in This Broadway Hit

New $10 Preview Tickets Join “Kids Come Free” and Half-Price Group Tickets
As Woodminster Looks for Creative Ways to Make Live Theater Affordable for All

June 22, 2010, Oakland, CA -- Producers Associates, Inc. will open the 44th season of the Woodminster Summer Musicals with the Broadway hit, “Hairspray,” playing at 8 p.m. on July 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, and 18. Tickets are $25-$40, with discounts for seniors, half-price tickets for groups of 25, and season tickets that offer a savings of about 15%. The organization continues its “Kids Come Free” program, where children and teens 16 or younger who are attending with paying adults can get free tickets on performance nights.

New for 2010, the organization has instituted a $10 Preview Night as part of its ongoing effort to offer affordable ways for people in the community to enjoy live theater. The last dress rehearsal (July 8, 8 p.m. for Hairspray) will be open to the public. All tickets are $10, with no further discounts, and all seating is open, first-come, first-served. There will be no advance sales for Preview performances. Tickets will be available only at the box office on the night of the preview performance.

“Hairspray,” which opened on Broadway in 2002 and ran until 2009, takes place in 1962 Baltimore, where the dreams of a teenage girl play themselves out in equal parts social commentary and lively dance numbers. Loveable plus-size heroine, Tracy Turnblad, wins a spot on the local TV dance program, and overnight she finds herself transformed from outsider to teen celebrity. The musical’s original Broadway productions won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score for the Theatre. The London production was nominated for a record-setting eleven Laurence Olivier Awards, winning for Best New Musical and in three other categories.

According to Harriet Schlader, Woodminster’s Managing Director, “Our audiences vote for the shows they’d like to see, and ‘Hairspray’ was the top vote-getter several years in a row. Finally the show is available for production by regional theaters, and we’re very excited to be the first resident Bay Area theater to produce it.”

Woodminster’s “Hairspray” is directed by Joel Schlader. Choreography is by Bong Dizon, with vocal direction by Kim Vetterli. The orchestra is composed of members of Musicians’ Local #6, conducted by Richard Vetterli. The leading role of Tracy Turnblad will be played by Serena Cefalu of New York, and her mother, Edna Turnblad, by Woodminster favorite Greg Carlson of Alameda. The cast of 35 includes professional and non-professional actors from 17 different Bay Area cities, southern California, New Jersey, and New York. The Woodminster general auditions for 2010 attracted over 300 actors.

The Woodminster Summer Musicals are performed under the stars at Woodminster Amphitheater, an open-air performance facility in Joaquin Miller Park high in the Oakland Hills. The park's spectacular views and serene woodsy environment made it the perfect setting for the amphitheater, cascades, reflecting pool, and paths that were originally built as a WPA project in 1939-40. For many East Bay families, it is a long-standing summer tradition to enjoy a picnic in the park and then see a musical at Woodminster.

Producers Associates, Inc. was founded in 1967 by James and Harriet Schlader to provide affordable live summer family entertainment in the East Bay, and to foster a love of live theatre. For more than four decades, the organization, in partnership with the Oakland Park and Rec Department, has been producing summer musicals at Woodminster Amphitheater. For more information about the 2010 season or history of the organization, visit http://www.woodminster.com.

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