BBBay Presents Their 2009 Season

BROADAWAY BY THE BAY (BBBay), the Peninsula's premiere musical theatre company, is proud to present its dynamic 2009 season featuring three full scale productions as well as an intimate presentation of the music of Broadway legend Cy Coleman.

Under the leadership of Artistic DirectorBrooke Knight and Executive DirectorJim Gardia, BBBay's 44th season kicks-off with a rousing revival of George and Ira Gershwin's tap dancing musical comedy CRAZY FOR YOU (April 2-19, 2009). Next, BBBay presents the captivating and exotic Rodgersand Hammerstein classic, THE KING AND I (July 16-August 2), followed by THE FULL MONTY (September 17 - October 4), the spunky and heartwarming Broadway hit based on the British film of the same name. The 44th season closes with BROADWAY UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: A TRIBUTE TO Cy Coleman (November 5 - November 8), featuring Tony Award winnersDavid Zippel and Lillias White and Ovation Award winner Jason Graae.

Each production plays at the 1600-seat San Mateo Performing Arts Center. 2009 Season subscriptions (4 shows) range in price from $100 - $164 and are available now by calling (650) 579-5565. Single tickets, ranging from $20 - $48, go on sale February 18, 2009. Target® is proud to, once again, underwrite Broadway By the Bay's Family Matinee series which provides specially priced tickets for the Saturday matinee performance of every production for the 2009 season.

CRAZY FOR YOU

Music and Lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin
Book by Ken Ludwig
April 2-19, 2009 (Press Night Saturday, April 4)
San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware, San Mateo

Winner of three 1992 Tonys, including Best Musical, and billed as "The New Gershwin Musical," Crazy for You is the story of Bobby Child, a well-to-do 1930's playboy, whose dream in life is to dance. Largely based on the songwriting team's 1930 production, Girl Crazy, Crazy for You collects some of the Gershwins' most memorable standards, including "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take that Away from Me," "Embraceable You," and "Someone to Watch Over Me." Called "riotously entertaining" by the New York Times, this modern classic features high energy comedy, fabulous dance numbers, and best loved songs of the Golden Age of Musicals.

THE KING AND I

Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rogers
Based on "Anna and the King of Siam" by Margaret Landon
Original Choreography by Jerome Robbins
July 16 - August 2, 2009 (Press Night Saturday, July 18)
San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware, San Mateo

Based on the novel Anna and the King of Siam, this lavish Rodgers & Hammerstein musical is the true story of Anna Leonowens, a British school teacher, who arrived in Bangkok in 1862 with her son at the behest of King Mongkut to teach his own children and wives English and culture. Some of the most cherished songs in the American songbook come from this legendary score, including "Getting to Know You," "Shall We Dance," and "Hello Young Lovers." A captivating spectacular, the New York Times proclaimed the show "a beautiful excursion into the rich splendors of the Far East, done with impeccable taste," when it opened on Broadway in 1951.

THE FULL MONTY

Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek
Book by Terrance McNalley
September 17 - October 4, 2009 (Press Night Saturday, September 19)
San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware, San Mateo

Nominated for 10 Tony Awards, this hilarious and inspiring musical, adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, is the story of six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, New York, low on both cash and prospects, who come up with a bold way to make some quick money. In the process, working through their fears, self-consciousness, and anxieties, they overcome their inner demons (over everything from being overweight to child custody, bigotry to being gay), and find strength in their camaraderie.

BROADWAY UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, A TRIBUTE TO CY COLEMAN

November 5-8, 2009, (Press Night Saturday, November 7)
San Mateo Performing Arts Center, 600 N. Delaware, San Mateo

Led by City of Angels collaborator and fellow Tony Award winner David Zippel (The Lady in White), this tribute to the brilliant Cy Coleman and his extraordinary contributions to musical theatre will feature music from Mr. Coleman's award winning shows, includingSweet Charity, The Will Rogers Follies, Barnum, On the Twentieth Century, Little Me, and Seesaw, as well as his hit singles including "Witchcraft," "When in Rome," and "The Best is Yet to Come." With performances from Broadway stars Lillias White, seen on Broadway in Mr. Coleman's The Life, for which she won a Tony Award, as well as Dreamgirls, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Chicago, and Jason Graae star of productions including Forbidden Broadway (for which he won an Ovation Award),Forbidden Hollywood, Falsettos, andA Grand Night for Singing, this intimate look at a musical legend will include inside stories as well as show-stopping numbers from some of Broadway's greatest shows.

BROADWAY BY THE BAY, the largest theatre company on the Peninsula, has won numerous awards, including over 40 Theatre Critics Circle Awards, and has garnered acclaim throughout the San Francisco Bay Area as a destination for professional-quality musical theatre. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Brooke Knight and Executive Director Jim Gardia, Broadway By the Bay produces three full-scale musicals and one intimate composer/lyricist series each season, presented to over 40,000 audience members at the 1,600 seat San Mateo Performing Arts Center.

Lauded for its efforts in education, Broadway By the Bay's Youth Theatre Conservatory - for ages 4-17 - gives younger students solid foundations in acting, singing, and dancing for the musical theatre. For those 18 and over, the Musical Theatre Conservatory offers professional classes to adults of all ages. Students aspiring to achieve a professional level of performance skills are taught by instructors who have excelled in their specialties. Musical Theatre Conservatory's intensive summer program is offered in conjunction with Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.