Even 30 years after it first revved up Broadway audiences, Grease is still the word! Pop idol and Beach Blanket Bingo-movie legend, Frankie Avalon, will reprise his role as Teen Angel from the hit film. This all-new production will meld the stage and film versions into one complete songfest with such favorites as "You're The One That I Want," "Summer Lovin," and "Greased Lightnin'."

Written by Warren Casey and Jim Jacobs, Grease was originally staged as a five-hour amateur production in a Chicago trolley barn. After opening off-Broadway in 1972, the show quickly moved to Broadway that same year, enjoying a run of 3,388 performances - a record that would stand until beaten by A Chorus Line. Nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical, Grease is one of the longest running-shows in the history of Broadway.

Set in 1950's America, Grease follows the story of Danny Zuko, a member of the "Burger Palace Boys" gang at mythical Rydell High, and Sandy Dumbrowski, a sweet innocent who has just transferred there from the cloistered confines of Immaculata High. Having met at the beach, they fall in love immediately, but are separated at the end of summer. Thinking they will never meet again, they are surprised to reunite at Rydell High. Their reunion confirms that they are from two different worlds. So when Danny finally decides not to live up to her image of him as an All-American-Boy track star, she puts on tight jeans and a bouffant hairdo, joins the "Pink Ladies" gang, starts French-inhaling "Hit Parade" cigarettes and (naturally) gets her man.

Grease Tickets and Showtimes:
8pm Tues-Fri; 2pm and 8 pm Sat; 2 pm and 7:30 pm Sun. Audio described 2pm 10/26; open captioning 7:30 pm 10/26 & 8 pm 10/30. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets ($25-$68) by phone at (713) 558-8887 or outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882; in person at Theatre Under The Stars Box Office (800 Bagby at Walker, Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm); on-line at www.tuts.com.

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DECEMBER 18, 2003 - JANUARY 4, 2004
THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE

As one of the Broadway producers, Theatre Under The Stars is thrilled to bring to Houston the 2002 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Based on the 1967 movie that starred Julie Andrews, Carol Channing, Mary Tyler Moore, and Beatrice Lillie, Thoroughly Modern Millie features a new book by Richard Morris (author of the screenplay) and Dick Scanlan, a score by Jeanine Tesori and Scanlan, plus standard songs from the 1920's and the title song from the movie by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. In addition to its six Tony Awards, the production also garnered five Drama Desk Awards.

"We are delighted to be one of the New York producers of this Broadway smash hit," said TUTS President and CEO Frank M. Young. "And we're even more delighted that we will be able to have this new blockbuster for our subscribers during the holidays in our second season at the new Hobby Center for the Performing Arts."

The original Broadway creative team, including director Michael Mayer, choreographer Rob Ashford, librettist-lyricist Dick Scanlan and composer Jeanine Tesori (all Tony Award nominees, with Ashford winning for his musical staging) return for this touring production. Scenery is designed by David Gallo, and costumes are by Martin Pakledinaz, who received a Tony Award for his designs for the show. The lighting is designed by Donald Holder, and the sound by Jon Weston.

Borrowing from the Dorothy-in-Oz myth, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a young girl from Kansas who comes to New York City in search of a new life for herself in the Roaring 20's. The show takes audiences back to a Manhattan at the height of the Jazz Age when women were just beginning to enter the workforce and rewriting the rules of love.

Thoroughly Modern Millie Tickets and Showtimes:
8pm Tues-Fri; 2pm and 8 pm Sat; 2 p.m. and 7:30 pm Sun. Audio described 2pm 12/28; open captioning 7:30 pm 12/28 & 8 pm 1/1. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets ($25-$68) by phone at (713) 558-8887 or outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882; in person at Theatre Under The Stars Box Office (800 Bagby at Walker, Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm); on-line at www.tuts.com.

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JANUARY 15 - FEBRUARY 1, 2004
BRIGADOON

The first big hit for the magical team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, the Scottish-themed musical, Brigadoon, was actually based on a German tale. With a score by Loewe and book and lyrics by Lerner, Brigadoon spawned such classic songs as "Almost Like Being In Love" and "Come To Me, Bend To Me," as well as won a Tony Award for Best Choreography (Agnes de Mille). After opening at the Ziegfeld Theatre on March 13, 1947, Brigadoon ran for 581 performances and established Lerner and Loewe as the successors of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Following the success of Brigadoon, the duo went on to create such hits as Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Gigi, and Camelot.

Brigadoon revolves around two American tourists, Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas, who stumble upon a misty little Scottish town, Brigadoon. Tommy soon falls in love with a local lass, Fiona MacLaren, but as the two men quickly discover, this mysterious little town only reawakens for one day every hundred years. Fiona cannot leave Brigadoon without breaking the centuries-old magic spell, thereby dooming all her friends and relations. If Tommy chooses to stay with her, he must leave behind everything and everyone in the modern world that he knows. Tommy's engagement to another woman back home in New York is an additional complication. He departs for New York only to realize his mistake, and returns to Scotland.

Brigadoon Tickets and Showtimes:
8pm Tues-Fri; 2pm and 8 pm Sat; 2 p.m. and 7:30 pm Sun. Audio described 2pm 1/25; open captioning 7:30 pm 1/25 & 8 pm 1/29. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets ($25-$68) by phone at (713) 558-8887 or outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882; in person at Theatre Under The Stars Box Office (800 Bagby at Walker, Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm); on-line at www.tuts.com.

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MARCH 11 - 28, 2004
FLOWER DRUM SONG

Theatre Under The Stars is pleased to bring to Houston one of Time magazine's "Top 10 Best Broadway Musicals of 2002" - Flower Drum Song. With a new book by Tony Award-winner (M. Butterfly) David Henry Hwang, Flower Drum Song features a glorious score by Richard Rodgers and witty lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and Joseph Fields. After opening on Broadway in 1958, Flower Drum Song ran for 602 performances before closing in 1960. This story of Asians in 1950's America features such hit songs as "A Hundred Million Miracles," "I Enjoy Being a Girl," "Grant Avenue," "You Are Beautiful," and "Love, Look Away."

Based on a novel of the same name by C.Y. Lee, Flower Drum Song tells the story of Mei-li, a young woman who flees to America in the late 1950's when her father, a Chinese opera master, falls under persecution from the Communist government. Arriving in San Francisco, she finds work in a run-down Chinese opera house where the patriarch, Master Wang, struggles to keep old traditions alive, while his American-born son, Ta, dreams of converting the space into a Western-style nightclub. Together with a showgirl and her fast-talking agent, Ta realizes his dream when the old theatre becomes a popular new nightspot, Club Chop Suey. In the whirlwind that follows, Mei-li finds herself falling in love, while the characters grapple with the joys and the challenges of life in the new world. This funny and moving story explores what it means to be an American.

Flower Drum Song Tickets and Showtimes:
8pm Tues-Fri; 2pm and 8 pm Sat; 2 pm and 7:30 pm Sun. Audio described 2pm 3/21; open captioning 7:30 pm 3/21 & 8 pm 3/25. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets ($25-$68) by phone at (713) 558-8887 or outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882; in person at Theatre Under The Stars Box Office (800 Bagby at Walker, Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm); on-line at www.tuts.com.

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APRIL 22 - MAY 9, 2004
JEKYLL & HYDE

The legend returns! Theatre Under The Stars mounts a new production of the Houston favorite, Jekyll & Hyde, in celebration of its 10th anniversary. Based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novella with music by Frank Wildhorn and book and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, this phenomenal musical features such soaring songs as "This Is The Moment," "Someone Like You," and "Bring On The Men." Originally produced in Houston by the Alley Theatre and Theatre Under The Stars, Jekyll & Hyde will receive an all-new TUTS staging.

Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," Jekyll & Hyde tells the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll, a brilliant young doctor and research scientist who, distraught over his father's mental illness, embarks upon a quest to isolate the dual elements of good and evil that are constantly struggling for supremacy inside every human being. However, when his experiment backfires, Jekyll inadvertently gives life to Edward Hyde, his evil alter ego, a murderous being who will let loose a reign of terror on the city of London and those who had ridiculed Jekyll's research.

Jekyll & Hyde Tickets and Showtimes:
8pm Tues-Fri; 2pm and 8 pm Sat; 2 pm and 7:30 pm Sun. Audio described 2pm 5/2; open captioning 7:30 pm 5/2 & 8pm 5/6. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets ($25-$68) by phone at (713) 558-8887 or outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882; in person at Theatre Under The Stars Box Office (800 Bagby at Walker, Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm); on-line at www.tuts.com.

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JUNE 3 - 20, 2004
OLIVER!

Dicken's greatest characters (Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sykes, The Artful Dodger and Mr. Bumble) will spring to life once again when Theatre Under The Stars presents a new production based on Cameron Mackintosh's recent revival production of Lionel Bart's Oliver! The original 1960 production ran 2,618 performances in London's West End before launching on Broadway in 1963. A winner of three Tony Awards, Oliver! features such unforgettable songs as "Food, Glorious, Food," "Consider Yourself," and "Where Is Love?" The recent Mackintosh production of Oliver! was nominated for five Olivier Awards including Best Musical Revival.

Based on Charles Dicken's novel, Oliver Twist, the musical follows young Oliver, an orphan who's life dramatically changes one day over a cup of gruel. After being kicked out of his orphanage for requesting more food, Oliver finds himself on the mean streets of London. There he meets The Artful Dodger, who takes him under his wing and introduces him to a group of pickpockets, Fagin and his boys. During a day of picking pockets, Oliver is arrested for a crime he did not commit. He is proven innocent, and the old man who was robbed, Mr. Brownlow, adopts Oliver. When Fagin and friends decide to kidnap Oliver, the boy's future with Mr. Brownlow is threatened.

Oliver! Tickets and Showtimes:
8pm Tues-Fri; 2pm and 8 pm Sat; 2 pm and 7:30 pm Sun. Audio described 2pm 6/13; open captioning 7:30 pm 6/13 & 8 pm 6/17. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets ($25-$68) by phone at (713) 558-8887 or outside the Houston area at (888) 558-3882; in person at Theatre Under The Stars Box Office (800 Bagby at Walker, Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-4pm); on-line at www.tuts.com.

Sponsors of Theatre Under The Stars during the 2003-2004 Season include ExxonMobil, The Humphreys Foundation, BMC Software, ConocoPhillips, Burlington Resources, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hickam, Humana, Mr. And Mrs. Geoffrey Roberts, Sterling Bank, and JP Morgan Chase. For all of Theatre Under The Stars' 2003-04 shows, air transportation is provided by Continental Airlines, the official airline of Theatre Under The Stars. Media sponsors are KPRC-TV, Channel 2 and the Houston Chronicle.

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