PRESS RELEASE

Editorial contact:
Kathy Kahn
woodminsterpr@yahoo.com
510-418-8523

For information about
Producers Associates, Inc.

Woodminster Summer Musicals
Presents "Hello Dolly"
Well-loved Romantic Comedy is Perfect
Summer Entertainment for the Whole Family

July 18, 2005 - Oakland, CA - Producers Associates, Inc. will continue the 39th Season of the Woodminster Summer Musicals with “Hello Dolly,” running August 5-14. Based on the play “The Matchmaker” by Thornton Wilder, it features a book by Michael Stewart, and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. This is the musical that turned the scheming woman into a lovable heroine, and introduced great songs like “Before the Parade Passes By,” “Put On Your Sunday Clothes,” and of course the title song, “Hello Dolly.” Slapstick comedy and beautiful melodies intertwine in one of musical theater’s most lovable shows, and everybody gets a happily-ever-after.

“Hello Dolly” opened January 16, 1964 on Broadway with Carol Channing in the title role and ran for 2844 performances, making it the longest playing Broadway musical at that time. It won 10 Tony Awards for Musical, Actress, Author, Producer, Director, Composer and Lyricist, Conductor and Musical Director,Scenic Designer, Costume Designer and Choreographer, as well as The New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Musical.

"Hello Dolly!" is directed at Woodminster by Joel Schlader, who has been involved in the Woodminster organization all his life, and succeeds his father James Schlader as Director of the theater. Choral Director is Trente Morant, formerly Artistic Director of the Oakland Youth Chorus and Musical Director for a number of theaters in the Bay Area and East Coast. Conductor is William R. Williams, the Conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony Preparatory and Discovery Orchestras as well as Conductor of the Summer Repertory Theater at Santa Rosa Junior College for the last several summers. Choreographer is Harriet Schlader, who started her professional career in the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall and has been choreographing shows at Woodminster since 1967.

The role of Dolly Levi, one of the most famous in musical theatre, will be played by Carol Swarbrick. Her Broadway career includes leads in “Side by Side by Sondheim”, “42ND Street,” “Whoopee!,” and the 1994 revival of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. Opposite Swarbrick in the role of “half-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder is Gene Brundage, who was in the long-running Los Angeles production of “Phantom of the Opera,” and national tours including “Show Boat.” Woodminster audiences will remember him as Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha” and Mr. Biggley in “How to Succeed in Business…” The rest of the cast of 35 are professional and non-professional actors from 17 different Bay Area city, ranging from Santa Rosa to Pleasanton, from Daly City to Walnut Creek. Vandergelder’s employee Cornelius Hackl is played by San Francisco actor David Neufeld, who has performed in theatres all over the Bay Area including Berkeley Rep, the Lamplighters, Willows, Shotgun Players, and numerous others. The role of his romantic interest Irene Molloy is performed by Orinda actress Stephanie Rhoads, who received a Dean Goodman Choice Award when she played the same role with The Mountain Play. She has performed in many international, national, and regional productions, and is a co-founder of 42nd Street Moon. Other key roles are portrayed by Stacy Sanders (Minnie Faye), Scott Woodward (Barnaby Tucker), Todd Schlader (Ambrose Kemper), Kristin Hanna (Ermengarde), and Constance Lopez (Ernestina).

Tickets are $20-$33, with discounts for groups, seniors, and those aged 16 and under. Season tickets are also available, and provide a significant discount for people who wish to see all three shows. Woodminster also has a "Kids Come Free" program, where a child 16 or younger can attend free accompanied by a paying adult. For information about tickets, call 510-531-9597 or visit http://www.woodminster.com.

This is the third time “Hello Dolly” has been presented at Woodminster, with previous productions in 1971 and 1990. "Hello Dolly" is presented by arrangement with Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc., 560 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022. The book is by Michael Stewart, the music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play “The Matchmaker” by Thornton Wilder. The original production was directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, and produced for the Broadway Stage by David Merrick and Champion-Five, Inc.

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 the last 39 years, the organization has been producing summer musicals at Woodminster Amphitheater. For more information, visit http://www.woodminster.com.

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