Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Alliance Theatre to Debut New Musical Conceived by Twyla Tharp with Vocals by Frank Sinatra

Sept. 15 – Oct. 11, 2009
Opening Night: Sept. 23, 2009

This September, Twyla Tharp will bring the music of one of the world’s most legendary singers to the stage in the new musical COME FLY WITH ME. Conceived, directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp (who most recently won the Tony Award® for Best Musical for Movin’ Out) and featuring the music and vocals of Frank Sinatra, COME FLY WITH ME is a new musical celebrating love and life as it follows four couples over the course of one night falling in and out of love.

Previews begin Sept. 15, 2009 at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, a 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award® recipient, where it opens Sept. 23 and runs through Oct. 11. Tickets are available at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office by calling 404.733.5000 or online at www.alliancetheatre.org. The show’s producers are planning a North American tour commencing summer 2010 and are in discussions for a possible Broadway run and international engagements.

"It's a profound honor and, frankly, a thrill to be a partner in the premiere of a brilliant work that combines the jaw dropping dance theatre of Twyla Tharp and the music of that icon of icons, Frank Sinatra,” said Alliance Theatre Artistic Director Susan V. Booth. “COME FLY WITH ME gives Alliance patrons and the city of Atlanta the first look at the music and choreography that will be a deeply significant contribution to American theatre—a mix of artistry and excellence not to be missed."

COME FLY WITH ME, 2-2-2

Tharp’s direction and choreography blend the incomparable vocals of Frank Sinatra, an international company of 32 – including world-class dancers and a 17-piece on-stage Big Band
– and a wonderful hit parade of song, including Let’s Fall In Love, Witchcraft, Summer Wind, Body & Soul, It’s All Right with Me, Take Five, That’s Life, Nice ‘n’ Easy and My Way. Renowned jazz artist Dee Daniels is featured at the piano, providing occasional vocals and “the female point of view.”

"Twyla Tharp is America's dance laureate, a genius who understands among other things: discipline, music, dance, relationships, emotions and the human body. Somehow she reaches through the chaos of our lives and, with the help of Frank Sinatra's voice, shows us that everything is going to be all right," said Nancy Sinatra. "Having watched her in this process of creating - inventing - from the smallest detail in pre-production: the casting, set, lighting, clothes and the choice of songs, to the final show we are about to enjoy, I can say she is hands on and in charge. This is one hell of a show. We can all be grateful for the works that she shares with us and I often think, wistfully, about the wonders in her brilliant, beautiful mind that we may never get to see."

By special arrangement with Frank Sinatra Enterprises and The Sinatra Family, COME FLY WITH ME features original recorded “masters” of Frank Sinatra’s voice – arguably one of the most recognized voices in the history of music – backed by a live on-stage Big Band. The show’s score combines newly discovered vocal performances from the Sinatra archives along with signature arrangements of some of his most famous work. The majority of music is comprised of songs from The Great American Song Book, composed by the likes of Irving Berlin, Cy Coleman, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, Hoagy Carmichael, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Richard Rodgers and Jimmy Van Heusen.

According to Tina Sinatra, “Dad was particularly proud of the Twyla Tharp and Mikhail Baryshnikov ballet, SINATRA SUITE. We saw it together at the Kennedy Center and to say he was delighted is an understatement. It brought us all to tears. I don’t think he’d experienced seeing his music set to dance before, which prompted him to ask: ‘Why hadn’t someone done it before?’ He would talk about it for years to come and was ever appreciative of Twyla and Company.”

COME FLY WITH ME features sets by James Youmans (West Side Story), lighting by Donald Holder (The Lion King, Movin’ Out), costumes by Katherine Roth (All My Children), and music supervision by Sam Lutfiyya (Movin’ Out, 101 Dalmatians).

COME FLY WITH ME, 3-3-3

“We are thrilled to bring Frank Sinatra’s music and Twyla Tharp’s choreography to the stage with this incredible new entertainment event,” said Nicholas Howey, executive producer
for His Way Entertainment, LLC in association with WAT Limited and Troika General Management. “COME FLY WITH ME will undoubtedly appeal to theatergoers of all ages and we are excited to launch this production at the Alliance Theatre.”

Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Sept. 15 – Oct. 11, 2009 on the Alliance Stage. There will not be a matinee performance on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Tickets are $25 - $60 and are available at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office by calling 404.733.5000 or online at www.alliancetheatre.org. Discount rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 404.733.4690. Discount rates are also available for members of the military, seniors and students. The Alliance Theatre is located at the Woodruff Arts Center, corner of Peachtree and 15th Street, in Midtown Atlanta.

Do More: Twyla Tharp Lecture

Join us for a very special evening of discussion presented by Tony Award-winner Twyla Tharp Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, 6 p.m. at the Alliance Theatre. Tickets are only $15 ($10 for Alliance Subscribers). Purchase tickets by calling the Box Office at 404.733.5000 or order online at www.alliancetheatre.org.

COME FLY WITH ME is part of the Coca-Cola Series on the Alliance Stage.

Additional Sponsors: COME FLY WITH ME is sponsored by Delta Air Lines – Official Airline of the Alliance Theatre; Marriott Residence Inn – Official Hotel of the Alliance Theatre; and The Home Depot – Set Construction Sponsor of the Alliance Theatre.

Production of COME FLY WITH ME is made possible with grants from the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, the Fulton County Arts Council, the Georgia Council for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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