Ursinus College's First Large-scale Broadway musical, "Wonderful Town," Part of CEDC's Dinner and a Show

Ursinus College is offering its first large-scale Broadway
musical show Feb. 26 through March 2, Wonderful Town, a 1953 Tony
Award winner with music by Leonard Bernstein. Performances are at 7:30
p.m. with a Sunday matinee only at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 general admission and
$2 for students and senior citizens. They can be purchased at the Box Office,
at www.ursinus.edu/tickets.
(610-409-3030).

The show, which has a book by Joseph Fields and Jerome
Chodorov and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, is based on the 1940 play
My Sister Eileen, which, in turn, is based on short stories by Ruth
McKenney. The story follows Ohio sisters Ruth and Eileen Sherwood, young and
determined newcomers to New York City in 1935, to Greenwich Village, the
setting for Bernstein’s lively, jazzy score.

Wonderful Town will be part of the
Collegeville Economic Development (CEDC) and Ursinus College Dinner and a
Show program, in which 16 area restaurants offer discounts or specials for
meals paired with seeing the show. A list of restaurant follows, or see
the CEDC website, www.collegevilledevelopment.org
(610-454-1050).

Directed by Ursinus Theater Professor Beverly Redman, with choreography
by Ursinus Dance Professor Karen Clemente, with musical direction by Ursinus
Professor of Music Holly Hubbs, the musical is the first in which three major
departments are collaborating. It is the first musical to be performed in the
Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center, and the first to use the pit orchestra
space in the Lenfest Theater there.

Redman, who holds a Ph.D. in Theater from the University of
California San Diego, has expertise in voice and speech, theater history and
directing. Clemente, who has degrees in dance education from Temple University,
is an accomplished choreographer. Hubbs leads the Ursinus College Jazz and Wind
ensembles.

Part of Wonderful Town’s appeal is the
spirited music written by one of the great American composers (Bernstein also
wrote West Side Story), says Redman. “This is one of his lesser known musical
theater works, but it encapsulates a quintessential American story of the
American Dream, in this case, two young women moving from rural Ohio to New
York City seeking a professional life. Once there, they encounter American
immigrants, a kind of diversity they had never known before, and they
experience culture shock and hardships of poverty. It is 1935, so they have
made this move during the Depression. Of course, it is a musical, so it is
presented in a lighthearted way. Nevertheless, it draws on one of our country’s
most challenging times and the kind of grit it took to survive.”

Clemente says she is “looking forward to this collaboration
of our three arts programs and the rewards it will bring for the students and
faculty.” She has a “sentimental interest” in the story since she grew up in
Ohio and visited relatives in New York every summer.

Hubbs auditioned 15 musicians who fill the pit, and several
are given the opportunity to showcase their talent by playing three or four
instruments throughout the musical.

Students are excited, Clemente says, adding she senses “a
palpable energy, a sense of excitement.”

Individuals ordering tickets online will be issued a receipt
which they can show at the restaurant of their choice. They will need the
receipt also at the Ursinus Box Office to pick up their tickets. Theatergoers
should arrive at the box office at least 15 minutes before the show begins.

It is recommended that participants in Dinner and a Show
make reservations with the restaurant. The Lenfest Theater in the Ursinus
Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center is to the side of the West parking lot off
Ninth Avenue.

Participating restaurants include:

Bonjung Japanese
Restaurant – BYOB, A free special appetizer per table when ordering a main
entrée (Collegeville) NOTE:  Open on Sunday for dinner only from 4
to 8:30 p.m.

Copperfield Inn
10 percent off each dinner (Limerick)

DaVinci’s Pub 10
percent off each dinner (Collegeville)

Marzella’s Pizza
BOB 10 percent off each dinner (Collegeville)

My Friend’s Tavern
a special side dish (Collegeville)

Phamous Phil’s BBQ
BYOB 10 percent off each dinner (Collegeville Lower Providence)

Rocco’s Brick Oven
Pizzeria BYOB 10 percent off each dinner (Collegeville)

Thai
Basil Bistro BYOB Free appetizer up to a $10 value (Collegeville) NOTE: Closed 
Sundays

The Pizza Stop
BYOB for wine - 10 percent off each dinner (Collegeville)

The Trappe Tavern
10 percent off each dinner (Trappe)

Tortuga’s Mexican Eatery,
10 percent off each dinner

WIBS Wings Ribs More
BYOB 10 percent off each dinner (Collegeville)

Marlys BYO 10
percent off each dinner (Phoenixville) NOTE:  Marlys is closed on
Sundays

Shagun Fine
Indian Cuisine BYOB Free appetizer up to a $10 value (Collegeville) NOTE:
Open on Sunday for dinner only from 5 to 9 p.m.

GreenHeart Cafe BYOB -10% off your dinner, located in the
Pit Stop http://www.yelp.com/biz/greenhart-cafe-collegeville

Osteria Restaurant -
10% off your dinner (Collegeville, Lower Providence) NOTE:  On
Sundays Osteria is open 1 to 9 p.m.

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