For Immediate Release: January 27, 2006
Media Contact: Kristin Barnes, City Theater Company, 302.658.7897 x3850

Before there was Saturday Night Live, there was As Thousands Cheer. The Depression-era sketch comedy wowed audiences with Moss Hart’s satirical take on the headlines of the day and Irving Berlin’s hit songs “Easter Parade” and “Heat Wave.” And now the Barrymore award-winning City Theater Company—Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Company, The Rocky Horror Show—presents this classic musical comedy at the Baby Grand Theatre April 28 through May 20, 2006. Directed by Michael Gray, the cast includes returning CTC stars Melissa Joy Hart, Karen Murdock, TS Baynes, plus Philadelphia favorite Jason J. Michaels.

As Thousands Cheer was introduced in 1933 and went on to become one of the defining Broadway revues of the decade. Groundbreaking in its scope and hilarity, the show was designed around the concept of a newspaper come to life. It poked sly fun at luminaries of the day like Joan Crawford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., John D. Rockefeller, and Herbert Hoover while entertaining the masses with song-and-dance numbers. The show also marked an important moment in history, when, for the first time, an African American actor took the stage with equal billing to the rest of the cast. The incomparable Ethel Waters brought down the house with her chilling rendition of “Suppertime”, and went on to become one of the most influential jazz and blues singers of her time.

On April 28, join the cast and crew of City Theater Company’s As Thousands Cheer for a special opening night reception following the show. Members of Wilmington’s GLBT community are invited to come early for the May 5 performance for our Nite Out pre-show wine and cheese hour.

As Thousands Cheer runs April 28, 29, May 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, & 20 at 8pm, May 5 & 18 at 7:30pm, and May 14 & 20 at 3pm at the Baby Grand Theater. Tickets are $25 general admission, $18 for matinees. Group rates are available. Tickets are available NOW by calling the Grand Opera House box office at 1-800-37-GRAND.

For more information about As Thousand’s Cheer and City Theater Company, please visit www.city-theater.org or call Kristin Barnes at 302-658-7897 x3850.

City Theater Company productions are made possible in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the Arts in Delaware.

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