FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Woodstock Musical Theatre Company Contact: Laurie Faith Gibson, Publicity Chair Phone: 815-263-7658 Email: info@woodstocktheatre.com Web: www.WoodstockTheatre.com

Presented by The Woodstock Musical Theatre Company, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is bursting with the rambunctious energy of the original film, all boisterous fun and romance that harkens back to the glory days of the movie musical.  New songs by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn have been added to a melody-drenched classic film score by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul that includes wistful ballads, charming comic turns and rousing showstopping dances.  Many consider it the greatest movie musical of all time.  With its high-stepping athletic dancing, its exuberant high spirits, its side-splitting good humor, and its sweeping romantic escapades, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is as joyous a musical as you'll see anywhere. 

In 1850’s Oregon, Adam Pontipee (Matt Hallstein of Rockford) courts and weds his prospective bride Milly (Lisa Czarny-Hyrkas of Woodstock) in a matter of minutes, without telling her that he has six rowdy brothers she'll be expected to care for as well.  She schools them in the finer arts of courting women, only to have them all turn lovesick for town girls out of their reach.  From Milly's copy of Plutarch, Adam gets the idea of kidnapping all the prospective brides ... and the trouble begins.  The brothers are Steve Ramirez (Benjamin), Tim Peters (Frank) and Tony Spengel (Daniel) of Crystal Lake, Antonio Quaranta (Caleb) of Carol Stream, J. D. Nicholson (Ephraim) of Cary, and Michael Buonincontro (Gideon) of Roselle; the brides are April Noel Milbratz (Dorcas) of Richmond, Christine Amrich (Ruth) of Island Lake, Amy Musinski (Liza) of Harvard, Meredith Freyre (Martha) of Lisle, Maggie McCord (Sarah) of Crystal Lake, and Meriden Dahlfors (Alice) of Woodstock; the suitors are Ryan Tipton (Carl) and Andrew Klouda (Jeb) of Woodstock, Michael Skuban (Luke) and John Swinney (Zeke) of McHenry, David Baker (Matt) of Cary, Bill Daniel (Joel) and Anthony Jay Houston (Zeke) of Crystal Lake; and the townspeople are Lou Czarny, Bob Reed, Kristin Schramer and Drew Thomas of Woodstock, Janaan Rose of Richmond, Bob Sepot and MaryAnn Bennett of McHenry, Joanne Guthrie-Gard of Crystal Lake, and Karl Heilgeist of Brighton, Wisconsin.  The staff includes Jeanna Hills-Carley (Artistic Director), Victoria Cummings (Musical Director), Angie Brandenburg (Choreographer), Janie Czarny (Production Coordinator), Lou Czarny (Technical Coordinator), Rachel Peters (Production Stage Manager), Paul Klouda (Lighting Designer), Kent Wilson (Set Designer/Master Carpenter), Kathy Bruhnke and Trudie Dreyer (Costumers), Barb Klein (Rehearsal Pianist), Joanne Guthrie-Gard (Properties Technician), Virginia Zymonas (Hair/Makeup Designer), Jim Clouse (Scenic Painter), Greg Boyd (Light Board Technician), and Joseph Mirabile (Sound Board Technician).

Based on the MGM film and “The Sobbin Women” by Stephen Vincent Benet, book by Lawrence Kasha and David Landay, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is making its triumphant premiere at the Woodstock Opera House, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, April 8^th – 30^th.  For tickets and information, call the box office at 815-338-5300.  You'll laugh and cheer at this time-honored tale of seven boisterous unruly mountain men who go to hilarious lengths to find and marry the women of their dreams.  And what could be better than a happy ending?  Why, seven happy endings, of course!

 

 

REHEARSAL PHOTOS

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PRODUCTION PHOTOS

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Coming in Mid-April 2005