Broadway Blockbusters, Hippodrome Arts Center to put Baltimore’s Entertainment Scene in the Spotlight

March 27, 2003

BALTIMORE – With the opening of the Hippodrome Performing Arts Center and the regional premieres of HAIRSPRAY and THE PRODUCERS, the new MEL BROOKS musical, the 2003-2004 Toyota Broadway in Baltimore season promises to establish the city as a hub for world-class entertainment.

At a news conference today, The Hippodrome Foundation unveiled next season’s Broadway series, including the shows scheduled to appear in the renovated Hippodrome.

The new performing arts center will make its debut in February with the Baltimore-Washington premiere of Mel Brooks’ hit THE PRODUCERS. The center is expected to become the region’s premier showcase for Broadway shows and other performances, including modern dance, jazz, gospels and family entertainment.
Featuring state-of-the-art technology, the Hippodrome will enable Baltimore to present the most technically-sophisticated productions, such as THE PRODUCERS, the new MEL BROOKS musical and MAMMA MIA!, which no theatre in the city can currently accommodate.

“ The renovation of the Hippodrome and the high-caliber productions coming to our city are evidence that Baltimore is indeed a vibrant, resourceful city. The performing arts renaissance in our great city signals that the future for Baltimore is very bright,” said Baltimore City Mayor Martin O’Malley.

The Toyota Broadway in Baltimore season begins in September at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre when HAIRSPRAY comes home to Baltimore. The production’s two-week run launches the US tour of this widely acclaimed musical comedy, based on John Waters’ classic cult film.

Next, theatergoers will spend A NIGHT WITH DAME EDNA, THE SHOW THAT CARES, followed by THE EXONERATED, a powerful new drama about innocent death-row survivors, and a special return engagement of THE GRADUATE, with a star to be announced shortly.

In February, the Toyota Broadway in Baltimore season moves to the Hippodrome Performing Arts Center for THE PRODUCERS, the new MEL BROOKS musical, followed by a special return engagement of the international sensation LES MISÉRABLES. Rounding out the season is Broadway’s newest blockbuster MAMMA MIA!, based on the songs of ABBA.

About the 2003-2004 Broadway Season

HAIRSPRAY
Mechanic Theatre September 9 – 21, 2003

Broadway’s new musical-comedy phenomenon takes you back to 1962 Baltimore, as 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a big girl with big dreams – and even bigger hair! – change the world…and still have time to win the boy she loves? This mega-hit is piled bouffant-high with laughter and romance – and enough deliriously tuneful new songs to fill a nonstop platter-party. As The New York Times says, "If life were everything it should be, it would be more like HAIRSPRAY. It’s irresistible!"

A NIGHT WITH DAME EDNA, THE SHOW THAT CARES
Mechanic Theatre October 21 – November 2, 2003

With Tony Award® in hand, DAME EDNA comes to Baltimore with the funniest show you will ever see!

"During my Broadway triumph I fell in love with America and American audiences. My ultimate aim was to visit YOU Possums, but let’s face it, I’m human, and schlepping around America with all those heavy gold statuettes I keep winning slowed me down. Now, I’m back on tour ready to meet you in Baltimore with the glorious gift of laughter for a night you will never forget. I’ve missed you Possums. DON’T MISS ME."
Til we meet across the footlights… LOVE, DAME EDNA

THE EXONERATED
Mechanic Theatre November 11 – 23, 2003

THE EXONERATED, a powerful new play about six innocent survivors of death row, will rock your view of the world, justice and the American way. Over the summer of 2000, playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen traveled throughout the United States, interviewing 40 of the (then) 89 former death-row prisoners. They went as far south as Texas and Florida, as far north as Illinois and just about everywhere in-between to meet the people whose stories appear in THE EXONERATED. Their verbatim interviews and individual court documents form the core of THE EXONERATED, directed by film and television star Bob Balaban.

THE GRADUATE
Mechanic Theatre January 6 – 18, 2004

THE GRADUATE. A cult novel. A landmark Hollywood film. A theatrical sensation in London and New York. Broadway's smash-hit comedy is on its way back to Baltimore. This hilarious coming-of-age story about Benjamin Braddock, an innocent college grad who is seduced by an older woman, Mrs. Robinson, and then falls in love with her daughter, Elaine, has been called a "sensational triumph, rich, full and funny!" Kathleen Turner, Jerry Hall and Lorraine Bracco have all played the legendary Mrs. Robinson. Stay tuned to see who's coming to seduce you!

THE PRODUCERS, the new MEL BROOKS musical
Hippodrome Performing Arts Center February 10 – March 14, 2004

Everything you’ve heard is true! "Mel Brooks has put the comedy back into musical comedy. THE PRODUCERS is the funniest, most fearlessly irreverent thing ever seen on stage!" - USA Today. And now you can experience the biggest Tony Award®-winner in Broadway history when it comes to Baltimore to open the newly-renovated Hippodrome Performing Arts Center!

LES MISÉRABLES
Hippodrome Performing Arts Center April 13 – 25, 2004

Around the globe, night after night, tens of thousands of people are swept away by the power, the passion and the triumph of the human spirit that is LES MISÉRABLES. The winner of over 50 international theatre awards, including eight 1987 Tony Awards®, and the show the International Herald Tribune calls "the musical of the century" returns to Baltimore for a limited engagement!

MAMMA MIA!
Hippodrome Performing Arts Center May 11 – 30, 2004

Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’ MAMMA MIA! – It’s ABBA’s greatest hits woven into three wonderful love stories: a young girl about to be married; her mother about to confront the past; and the best love story of all – the audience about to jump out of their seats with joy! This heartwarming and hilarious tale, together with more than 20 classic ABBA songs, including "Dancing Queen", "The Winner Takes It All", "Knowing Me, Knowing You" and "Mamma Mia", will have you singing and dancing in the aisles.

Season ticket packages are now on sale and range from $204 - $602, depending on performance time and seat location. Subscriptions are available by calling 1.800.343.3103, online at www.broadwayacrossAmerica.com/baltimore, or in person at the Mechanic Theatre Box Office.

About The Hippodrome Foundation
The Hippodrome Foundation, Inc. (formerly the Baltimore Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.) is a non-profit organization established in 1976 by the City of Baltimore to operate the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, the major Broadway venue for the greater Baltimore region. For 27 years, this not-for-profit organization has presented more than 220 productions of the best of live theatre in Baltimore. Recognizing the demands and expectations of the new world of theatre and the performing arts, the organization undertook the renovation and adaptation of the historic Hippodrome Theatre with world-class partners, the Maryland Stadium Authority and Clear Channel Entertainment. The Hippodrome Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization that provides the citizens of Baltimore with continuous presentation of live entertainment and educational programming. With its programming partner Clear Channel Entertainment, the Hippodrome will attract first-rate, world-class theatre and performing arts to downtown Baltimore.

About Clear Channel Entertainment
Clear Channel Entertainment, a leading producer and marketer of live entertainment events is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Worldwide (NYSE: CCU), a global leader in the away-from-home advertising industry. Clear Channel Entertainment currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books approximately 130 live entertainment venues, including more than 100 in North America and 30 in Europe. In 2002, more than 65 million people attended approximately 29,000 events promoted and/or produced by the company, including: Live music events; Broadway, West End and touring theatrical shows; family entertainment shows; and specialized sports and motor sports events. The company, which operates throughout North America, Europe, South America and Australia, also owns independently operated athlete representation businesses, which provide management, marketing and financial consulting services to many of the world’s top professional athletes. More information may be found by visiting www.cc.com and www.clearchannel.com.

Visuals and show production shots are available online at www.themechanic.org/press.