Broadway Comes To Platteville

Contact: John Hassig, Director of Performing and Visual Arts, Programs & Facilities. (608)-342-1267hassigj@uwplatt.edu

Broadway Comes To Platteville

The '20s come roaring back with a vengeance when the hit musical Chicago comes to the Center for the Arts at the University of Wisconsin - Platteville on May 7th for performances at 4pm and 8pm.

Based on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins (which was based on real events), Chicago is, as we are told in the show's opening lines, "a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery -- all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts." The story revolves around Roxie Hart, a nightclub dancer who dreams of starring in vaudeville. She kills her lover, nightclub regular Fred Casely, and convinces her husband to front the money to hire Chicago's shrewdest defense lawyer. The lawyer, Billy Flynn, turns her crime of passion into celebrity headlines, and Roxie becomes the toast of Chicago -- until other crimes pull the limelight away from her.

Chicago was created by John Kander and Fred Ebb (known for their hit musicalsCabaret and Kiss of the Spider Woman) and Bob Fosse (famous for his innovative staging and choreography). It first opened on Broadway on June 3, 1975 and ran 898 performances. Its current Broadway revival (on which this tour is based) opened November 14, 1996, and is still running.

In 2002 Miramax Films took the Tony Award winning musical to the big screen. Starring Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelley and Richard Gere as Billy Flynn. The box office success and subsequent multiple Oscar wins including Best Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Best Picture lead to the rebirth of the musical and touring success. For the first time since the movie Chicago is live in Platteville!

Chicago is presented by Troika Entertainment, which is celebrating over twenty years of producing musical theatre throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The Center for the Arts hosted a sold-out Troika production (Evita) this past September in Platteville.

"I am so happy to be working with Troika again," said John Hassig, Director of Performing & Visual Arts at UW-Platteville. "They are a top producer of touring Broadway productions in America and internationally. Evita was our first chance to work with them and I look forward to Chicago and many more productions in the future."

The Performing Art Series is made possible by SUFAC, and the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Tickets for these two performances are $40 for General Admission, $38 for UWP Faculty and Staff, $32 for kids under 18 and 22 for UWP Students. Limited seats remain for the 8pm with good seats still available for the 4pm performance.

Tickets are available through the University Box Office. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday 9am-5pm and can be reached by calling (608)-342-1298. The University Box Office is located in the ground floor of the newly renovated Ullsvik Hall University of Wisconsin-Platteville campus on the intersection of Hickory and Main streets. Tickets are also available online 24/7 at http://tickets.uwplatt.edu/. More information on the Performing Arts Series and other performance events can be found at http://uwplatt.edu/arts/cfa.

.