CRT to Present PIRATES OF PENZANCE, Beg. Tonight, 7/12

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) presents Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operetta THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, directed by Broadway veteran Terrence Mann, starring Seán Martin Hingston as the Pirate King, Steven Hayes as the Major-General and Connecticut native Diane Phelan as Mabel. Performances begin tonight, July 12 at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, Storrs and run through July 22. For tickets and information call the Box Office at 860.486.2113 and visit www.crt.uconn.edu.

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
Written by W.S. Gilbert
Composed by Arthur Sullivan
July 12 – 22, 2012
Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre

Directed by Broadway's Terrence Mann, this pinnacle of musical ridiculousness is as wacky, irreverent and as entertaining today as it was when it first opened in 1879. It is the story of Frederic who was, as a child, apprenticed to a band of orphaned pirates by his nurse-who, being hard of hearing, had mistaken her master's instructions to apprentice the boy to a pilot. By the end, the tenderhearted pirates, a modern Major-General-played by last season's audience favorite Steven Hayes (Horton in Seussical), the Major-General's bevy of beautiful but unwed daughters, and the timid tap dancing Constabulary all contribute to a comic cacophony that can be silenced only by invoking Queen Victoria's name. Join us for the goofy glory of Gilbert and Sullivan at its hilarious swashbuckling best!

The show will be directed by Broadway veteran Terrence Mann and will feature Seán Martin Hingston as the Pirate King, best known for his Broadway appearances in Promises, Promises and Crazy For You. His TV/Film credits include Across The Universe, The Producers and Sex and the City. Steven Hayes is playing the Major-General. He recently portrayed The Barber in 2012 Nutmeg Summer Series production of Man of La Mancha. He also won Outstanding Actor at the NYC Fringe Festival. Diane Phelan is playing Mabel. She is a Connecticut native from New Haven. Her NYC credits include Disenchanted! and Carousel.

THE CAST

Seaìn Martin Hingston (Pirate King) Broadway: Promises, Promises, Curtains, Contact, Crazy For You. NYC Theater: The Cocoanuts, Encores! A Connecticut Yankee, Boys From Syracuse, L'Il Abner, Kristin Chenoweth at Carnegie Hall and The Met. Bernadette Peters at Carnegie Hall,The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at Radio City. Regional: Kiss Me Kate (L.A. Ovation Award Nomination) A Wonderful Life, The Pirate, What a Glorious Feeling,Yankee Doodle Dandy, Paula Vogel'sThe Long Christmas Ride Home, A.R. Gurney's Let's Do It!, Chita and All That Jazz, Evita, Lloyd Webber's Requiem/ Variations. Australia: Cats, 42nd Street, Man of La Mancha. Film: Across The Universe, The Producers, Beyond the Sea, Center Stage. TV: The Bronx is Burning, Sex and the City, Law and Order-Criminal Intent, Live from Lincoln Center - Contact, An Evening with the Boston Pops, One Life to Live, Guiding Light.

Steven Hayes (Major-General) recently appeared as The Barber in 2012 Nutmeg Summer Season production of Man of La Mancha and as Horton the Elephant in 2011 Nutmeg Summer Series production of Seussical: The Musical. He is an award winning comedian, actor and writer, as well as the host of the classic movie review/comedy show: STEVEN HAYES: Tired Old Queen at the Movies on YouTube. As an actor, he also starred in the motion picture, The Big Gay Musical directed by Casper Andreas and in Fine Line Features' Trick directed by Jim Fall, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Sundance Film Festival. Off-Broadway he starred in the world premiere of Queen's Blvd directed by Vincent J. Cardinal and appeared at Dixon Place in Bradford Scobie's Moisty The Snowman Saves Christmas. Steven won Outstanding Actor at the New York International Fringe Theatre Festival for The Penguin Tango. He performed his one-person show; STEVEN HAYES Hollywood Reunion and STEVEN HAYES: Tired Old Queen at the Movies LIVE! with John Bixler at GAYFEST NYC. Steven is a three-time winner of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs MAC Award for Outstanding Comedian and Characterization, the Backstage Bistro Award and the ASCAP Popular Music Award.

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