Please direct all media inquiries to Nancy Engle at (510) 881-6733.

Recent press releases

  July 31, 2009. The Douglas Morrisson theatre presents SULLIVAN & GILBERT

For Immediate Release
Today's Date: July 31, 2009
Release Dates: August 1 to September 30, 2009
Media Contact: Nancy Engle
Web site: www.dmtonline.org <http://www.dmtonline.org>
Media Phone: (510) 881-6733
Media Email: engn@haywardrec.org

PRODUCTION OPENING

What:
"Sullivan and Gilbert" a play with music by Ken Ludwig

Where:
The Douglas Morrisson Theatre
22311 North Third Street
Hayward, CA 94546-6969

Tickets:
Adults $25; Seniors $22; Students $15; and
TBA Members $10

Order Tickets Online at www.dmtonline.org

Director:
Sue Ellen Nelsen

About the Show
Sullivan and Gilbert takes place at the Savoy Theatre in 1890. Gilbert and Sullivan, who have been feuding for years, are forced to work together one more time: Queen Victoria commands a performance of their most popular songs. Part docu-drama, part period comedy, and part "Gilbert and Sullivan's Greatest Hits," this is a delightful revue from the author of Lend Me a Tenor.

  April 17, 2009. The Douglas Morrisson Theatre presents "MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS."

PRODUCTION OPENING

What: Moonlight and Magnolias, by Ron Hutchinson

When: May 15 though May 31, 2009. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm

Where: The Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 North Third Street, Hayward, California

Tickets: Call (510) 881-6777 - Box Office open Tuesday - Friday 12:30-5:30pm. Adults $22; Seniors $20; Students $12

Press Passes: To arrange for press passes to any performance of Moonlight and Magnolias call (510) 881-6733 or (510) 881-6777

Press Photos: Production photos for Moonlight and Magnolias will be available Wednesday, May 13, 2009. Please email press photo requests to engn@haywardrec.org.

ABOUT THE PLAY

1939 Hollywood is abuzz. Legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down produc-tion of his new epic, Gone with the Wind, a film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's novel. The screenplay, you see, just doesn't work. So what's an all-powerful movie mogul to do? While fending off the film's stars, gossip columnists and his own father-in-law, Selznick sends a car for famed screenwriter Ben Hecht and pulls formidable director Victor Fleming from the set of The Wizard of Oz. Summoning both to his office, he locks the doors, closes the shades, and on a diet of bananas and peanuts, the three men labor over five days to fashion a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the most successful and beloved films of all time.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY

"An affectionate portrait of the legendary movie producer David O. Selznick and his collaborators...a lot of fun...dispenses a good deal of insider's dope on the professional and personal dynamics that fueled the production [of Gone with the Wind]...plenty of genuine wit in the dialogue, and the characters are drawn with such affection that one can't help but cheer for them." -NY Post.

"...a Hollywood dream-factory farce...At once a hyperventilating slapstick comedy, an impassioned love song and a blazing critique of Hollywood...just when you think it's all fun and games...[Hutchinson] turns the tables...he has a gift for enveloping you in blackness. And then, with a single line...he also can lift the heavy cloud and get on with the hilarity." -Chicago Sun Times.

"Consumers of vintage Hollywood insider stories will eat up Hutchinson's diverting conjecture as to what actually happened behind those closed doors, a scenario given extra spark by the fractious interplay among the three men and their wildly contrasting demeanors...it's the hellbent determination and entrepreneurial insanity of the independent producer to which Hutchinson pays tribute." -Variety.

"Frankly, my dear, this is one funny play...a rip-roaring farce...[with] witty, pointed dialogue and hilarious situations..." -NY Daily News.

  April 21, 2008. The Douglas Morrisson Theatre presents "URINETOWN."

For Immediate Release
Today's Date: April 21, 2008
April 21 through June 8, 2008
Media Contact: Nancy Engle
Media Phone: (510) 881-6733
Media Email: engn@haywardrec.org

WHAT: URINETOWN, the Musical
Book by Greg Kotis; Music by Mark Hollmann
Lyrics by Greg Kotis & Mark Hollmann

WHEN: May 9 though June 8, 2008
Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Special Thursday performances May 29 and June 5 at 8:00 p.m.

WHERE: The Douglas Morrisson Theatre
22311 North Third Street, Hayward, CA 94546-6969

TICKETS: For Tickets Call (510) 881-6777

About the Show: The Douglas Morrisson Theatre will present Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis's "Urinetown: The Musical," winner of three Tony Awards, as the second offering in the 2008 Season.

The idea for "Urinetown" was born in the spring of 1995 when Greg Kotis, traveling in Europe, encountered pay-per-use toilets at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. It was then that the musical's central idea hit him: a Gotham-like city where all the toilets were controlled by a greedy, crooked corporation with no concern for the poor, bladder-oppressed masses.

According to Kotis, the show "was created in a spirit of defiance against what's typically offered up as stage worthy in America today." The result is pure, hilarious and innovative entertainment. The show parodies many popular musicals and theater conventions and playfully pokes fun at itself. "Urinetown" is also rich with social commentary about the American economy, the division between rich and poor, and the way we abuse the environment we depend on.

In 1999 "Urinetown" got its start when the New York City Fringe Festival was looking to add more musicals to its lineup. "Urinetown" became the hit of the festival, and its success led to a commercial production. Flush with the talents of an all-star creative and producing team, "Urinetown" took home Tony Awards in 2002 for best director, best original score and best book of a musical. "Urinetown" moved on to a national tour and is currently enjoying great success in community theatres throughout the country.

For More Information About the Douglas Morrisson Theatre's production of URINETOWN visit our website at www.dmtonline.org

  April 1, 2008. The Douglas Morrisson Theatre presents "URINETOWN."

Media Contact: Nancy Engle, (510) 881-6733, engn@haywardrec.org

Production Opening

Who: The Douglas Morrisson Theatre

What: URINETOWN - Book by Greg Kotis, Music by Mark Hollmann, Lyrics by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann. Directed by Sue Ellen Nelsen

When: May 9 through June 8, 2008 - Friday and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and Thursdays May 29 & June 5 at 8:00 p.m. Website: www.dmtonline.org

Where: 22311 North Third Street in Hayward, California 94546-6969
Tickets: For tickets call (510) 881-6777 - Tuesday through Friday 12:30-5:30 p.m.

About the Show: One of the most uproariously funny musicals in recent years, URINETOWN is a hilarious tale of greed, corruption, love, and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold. In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides he's had enough, and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom! Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, URINETOWN is an irreverently humorous satire in which no one is safe from scrutiny. Praised for reinvigorating the very notion of what a musical could be, URINETOWN catapults the "comedic romp" into the new millennium with its outrageous perspective, wickedly modern wit, and sustained ability to produce gales of unbridled laughter.