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By Michelle Berry
Staff Writer
Celebrity Attractions has announced yet another exciting line-up for the 2008-09 season in Amarillo.
Shows to be presented are “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” “The Pajama Game,” “The Rat Pack Is Back,” and “Annie”.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will be presented in Amarillo Oct. 21-22, 2008. The production is a one-act musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin, and centers around a fictional spelling bee set at Putnam Valley Middle School in Putnam County, N.Y.
Six off-kilter adolescents compete in the spelling bee, run by three quirky grown-ups, learning that winning isn’t everything.
The musical has earned good reviews and box office, and was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including Best Book.
Another unusual aspect of the show is that it offers the chance to audience members, strictly on a volunteer basis, to become part of the action as on-stage spellers. The show is recommended for mature audiences.
“The Pajama Game” will be presented Jan. 27-28, 2009.
The production is a musical based on the novel “7 1/2 Cents” by Richard Bissell, and features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.
The story of the show focuses on labor difficulties in a pajama factory, where demands by workers for a raise are not being heard.
Despite the issues going on, Babe, the complaint committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent, find love.
The original Broadway production of “The Pajama Game” opened in 1954, running for over 1,000 performances, and was revived twice, once in 1973, and again in 2006. The original production won a Tony Award for “Best Musical” and the 2006 revival won a Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Musical”.
“The Rat Pack Is Back” will be presented Feb. 17-18, 2009, and is a spirited tribute to the original Rat Pack. The show was written and produced by Sandy Hackett, son of legendary comedian Buddy Hackett.
The show features vocal recreations, humor, and a live big band, sending audiences back to that time in history. It will feature such songs as “That’s Amore,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Mr. Bojangles,” and many more.
“Annie” will be presented March 31-April 1, 2009. The musical is based upon the Harold Gray comic strip, “Little Orphan Annie,” with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan.
The musical ran for close to six years on Broadway, spawned many productions worldwide, as well as tours across the United States, and won the Tony Award for “Best Musical”. The most well-known pieces from the musical are “Tomorrow,” and “It’s the Hard-Knock Life.”
Season tickets for the production are now on sale.
To purchase season tickets, call 378-3096, or purchase in person at the Amarillo Civic Center, 401 South Buchanan. The ticket office is open Monday-Saturday from 12-6 p.m.
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