Everything's Coming up Roses with Tony Award-winning Gypsy

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

October 25, 2007

“The greatest of all American musicals” (The New York Times), Gypsy is the story of a quintessential stage mother, her dreams for her children, and the daughter who dared to live her own dream. From the first trumpet blast to the last hot spotlight, this classic Broadway show packs a powerful wallop, serving up one popular standard after another -- songs like “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Let Me Entertain You,” “You Gotta Have a Gimmick,” “Rose’s Turn,” and “Together, Wherever We Go.”

Hot on the heels of the recent Broadway revival, Phoenix Entertainment (which also produced last season’s Man of La Mancha at The Paramount) brings Gypsy to Charlottesville’s historic theater on Wednesday, November 7 at 8 pm.

Special Media Sponsor for this performance is Shenandoah Valley & Beyond Magazine.

Based on the memoirs of entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee, Gypsy tells the story of overbearing stage mother Rose, who is determined to make her girls the stars of vaudeville. Rose overwhelmingly favors younger daughter June, who headlines the act, while Louise is relegated to the chorus. Rose’s attention eventually turns to her older daughter, but it is Louise who discovers her own talent, becoming a bigger star than Rose ever dreamed possible. Set against the freewheeling days of vaudeville and burlesque, Gypsy explores ambition, jealousy, family relationships, and the bittersweet loss of innocence.

Gypsy was written by three virtuosos of American musical theater: Arthur Laurents (book), Jule Styne (music), and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics). The original production starring Ethel Merman and directed by Jerome Robbins was an instant hit when it opened at the Broadway Theatre in 1959. Subsequent revivals have garnered a total of three Tony Awards® and featured such talents as Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, and Bernadette Peters in the role of Rose.

Starring as Rose in the Paramount-bound production of Gypsy is Richmond native and Virginia Tech grad Kathy Halenda. A professional actor and singer for twenty-five years, Halenda has performed in more than 180 productions, including 12 national tours, where favorite roles include Nancy in Oliver!, Mae West in Ziegfeld, Raffaela in Grand Hotel, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, and Maggie Jones in 42nd Street.

Halenda’s extensive regional credits include the title roles in Mame (which she performed last fall at Richmond’s Barksdale Theatre), Hello Dolly, Evita, and Annie Get Your Gun. Her one-woman tour de force, The Brassy Broads of Broadway,premiered at Danny’s Skylight Room in Manhattan. At home in any venue from opera hall to beer hall, Halenda also received the honor of singing the National Anthem at Madison Square Garden for a nationally-televised New York Knicks game and at Boston’s Fenway Park for a Red Sox/Yankees match-up.

Tickets for Gypsy starring Kathy Halenda on Wednesday, November 7 are $58.50, $61.50, $64.50, and $69.50. Half-price student rush seats and group discounts are also available.

Tickets are currently on sale online and through The Paramount's Box Office at 434.979.1933.