UDPAC Presents Disney’s Mary Poppins

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Lauren Stevenson Yacina

610.506.1355 • lauren.Stevenson@verizon.net

Dan Luner

610.945.8428 • dluner13@gmail.com

Mainstage at Upper Darby Summer Stage proudly presents, “Disney’s Mary Poppins.”

The Broadway-style musical is an exciting, mystical and upbeat take on the Disney family-favorite.

July 16, 2014 - Drexel Hill, PA. Upper Darby Summer Stage proudly presents its crown jewel of the 40^th season, the mainstage production, “Disney’s Mary Poppins” on July 31 and August 1, 7 and 8 at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center. 

The full-length production with live orchestra is full of moments that audience members will recognize from the famous Disney film. Featuring more adventures from the books of P.L Travers, the stage show presents a new take on the story. Audiences should expect to enjoy the familiarity of the subject matter, but also be wowed by exciting new developments in the plot. With magic, flying and every form of dance imaginable, the mainstage production will be an experience audiences won’t forget soon.

Performances will take place on July 31, August 1, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. with matinee performances on August 1 and 8 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $10-16 and may be purchased online at www.udpac.org or by calling the box office: 610.622.1189. All shows take place at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, 601 N. Lansdowne Ave., Drexel Hill, PA. The facility is wheelchair accessible and parking is free. The show runs approximately two and a half hours with intermission and is recommended for ages eight and up.

The mysterious narrator, Bert (Ronnie Keller of Conshohocken) introduces us to the troubled Banks family and while young Jane (Lucy Criscuolo of Rosemont) and Michael (Dylan Rooney of Springfield) have sent many a nanny packing before, Mary Poppins  (Katie Horner Wayne) arrives on their doorstep up for the task at hand. With a spoonful of sugar, she must teach the family how to value each other and the world around them.

Director Marcus Stevens is a New York based actor, writer and director. As an actor, he has starred in Manhattan's renowned Forbidden Broadway and can be heard on the two of the original cast albums. Marcus has also worked at many of country's premiere regional theaters, including the Walnut Street Theater, The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and The Sacramento Music Circus and Casa Manana. A Richard Rodgers award-winning writer, Marcus has had his plays produced in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Fresno, Toronto and New York City. His musical “Yo, Vikings” was just recently published by Samuel French Inc.

Stevens said, “From my point of view, the show is about the existence of mystical, positive forces in the universe (Mary and Bert) helping us find our way.” He added, “The Banks family learns that though life is never easy, you can't let it crush you. You must do your best to enjoy every little moment with the people you love.”

Upper Darby Summer Stage’s mainstage program offers young adults up to the age of 28 the opportunity to collaborate in a professional atmosphere while presenting audiences with top-notch productions that include professional level sets, lighting, costumes and are accompanied by a live orchestra.

The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center is jointly sponsored by the Upper Darby School District Board of School Directors and Upper Darby Township Mayor and Council through the Department of Recreation and Leisure Services.

###

Update on Tina Fey’s Homecoming to Upper Darby Summer Stage!

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Lauren Stevenson Yacina

610.506.1355

lauren.stevenson@verizon.net

 ***UPDATE!***

Upper Darby Summer Stage alum, Tina Fey, returns on August 16 to kick-off

40th season and to host fundraising event

Tickets are available to support one of the longest running Children’s Theater programs in the country. The event will feature the 10th anniversary screening of “Mean Girls” followed by a Q&A session with the writer, producer and Emmy-award winning actress, Tina Fey

July 31, 2014 – Drexel Hill, PA – Tina Fey returns to Upper Darby Summer Stage on August 16! Before there was “Second City,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Mean Girls” and “30 Rock,” there was Upper Darby Summer Stage where Tina Fey acted and directed. Upper Darby Summer Stage is one of the nation’s longest running and most successful Children’s Theater programs and a valuable community asset. Summer Stage was recently named one of the eight best-known summer theater programs for young performers in the nation by Backstage.com.

Executive Director Harry Dietzler and Summer Stage alum, Tina Fey

Upper Darby Summer Stage will kick-off its 40th season on August 16 with the fundraising event hosted by Tina Fey. Tickets are available to support the theater program with the purchase of a new sound system for the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, an investment of approximately $300,000. Upper Darby Summer Stage was established in 1976 and welcomes over 700 young participants each summer and over 30,000 ticket-holders to the series of family-friendly musicals.

Tickets for the event include a 10th anniversary screening of “Mean Girls,” loosely based on Tina Fey’s experience at Upper Darby High School. The screening will be projected onto three large screens, strategically positioned for maximum viewing from all seats. The movie will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Tina. TV Guide Magazine Senior Writer and Summer Stage alum Damian Holbrook will moderate the Q & A. Tickets may be purchased by online: www.udpac.org or by calling the box office at 610.622.1189. Tickets are $40 – $100 and are tax deductible.

“Before the Emmy Award-winning actress, comedian, producer and writer became a household name, Tina Fey acted, directed, ushered and worked in the box office at Upper Darby Summer Stage,” said Harry Dietzler, Executive Director. “Several of our current staff members were in productions directed by Tina.” She paid tribute to Upper Darby Summer Stage in her NY Times best-selling book, “Bossypants.” “As we move into our 40th year,” said Dietzler, “We are pleased, excited and grateful that Tina is will help us with our goal to upgrade our audio capabilities as we continue to raise the bar on the level of family-friendly entertainment we offer the community.”

Tina grew up in Upper Darby Township and attended Upper Darby High School. She made her movie debut as a writer and co-star in 2004 in “Mean Girls.” She has won multiple awards including a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy Award forBest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work in “30 Rock.”

The event is a non-press event.

The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center is jointly sponsored by Upper Darby Township Mayor and Council and the Upper Darby School District Board of School Directors through the Department of Recreation and Leisure Services.

###

Tina Fey is coming to the UDPAC!

SAVE THE DATE! – AUGUST 16, 2014

Writer, producer and Emmy Award-winning actress Tina Fey will appear at an event to support Upper Darby Summer Stage and kick off 40th season!

Ms. Fey will greet supporters at an exclusive screening of the 10th anniversary of “Mean Girls.” Proceeds will support a new sound system for Upper Darby Performing Arts Center

July 1, 2014 – Drexel Hill, PA – Upper Darby Summer Stage proudly announces that alumna Tina Fey – writer, producer and Emmy Award-winning actress – will kick-off the 40th season with an appearance at an exclusive 10th anniversary screening of “Mean Girls” on August 16, 2014. Ms. Fey wrote the screenplay and co-starred in the movie, loosely based on her years at Upper Darby High School.

The August 16th event will feature a meet-and-greet with Ms. Fey at 6:30 pm, a screening of the movie at 7:30 pm and a question-and-answer session after the movie screening. Proceeds will support a new sound system for the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center and will launch the 40th season celebration of Upper Darby Summer Stage. The event will take place at Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, 601 N. Lansdowne Avenue, Drexel Hill, PA.

Tickets for the exclusive meet-and-greet with Ms. Fey are $150 and include the movie screening, as well as participation in the question-and-answer session after the screening. Tickets to the screening and question-and-answer session only are $100. Tickets will go on sale on July 7 and may be purchased online at www.udpac.org.

The actress, comedian, writer and producer known for her work on Saturday Night Live (SNL, 1998-2006) and on the critically acclaimed NBC series, 30 Rock (2006-2013), was born and raised in Upper Darby Township and participated in Upper Darby Summer Stage. Ms. Fey made her movie debut as a writer and co-star in 2004 in “Mean Girls.” She has won multiple awards including a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her work in 30 Rock.

Founded in 1976 and known as one of the country’s most successful youth theater programs, Upper Darby Summer Stage welcomes over 700 young participants each summer and 30,000 ticket-holders from throughout the Delaware Valley.

The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center is jointly sponsored by Upper Darby Township Mayor and Council and the Upper Darby School District Board of School Directors through the Department of Recreation and Leisure Services.

Press release written by Lauren Stevenson Yacina

Upper Darby Summer Stage offers Scholarships to local Foster Children in Memory of Summer Stage Participant

Press Release For Immediate Release 

Contact: Lauren Stevenson Yacina
Upper Darby Performing Arts Center 610.506.1355 lauren.stevenson@verizon.net 

Upper Darby Summer Stage offers Scholarships to local Foster Children in Memory of Summer Stage Participant

May 11, 2013 – Drexel Hill, PA – On the one-year anniversary of the death of Terrance Calvert, a long-term Summer Stage participant and staff member, Upper Darby Summer Stage announces a scholarship program for teens in foster care.

Upper Darby Summer Stage begins its 38th season this summer and has become one of the nation’s oldest and most successful youth theater programs. Over 700 young people from throughout the Delaware Valley participate in the program each summer learning theater skills and more. From the staff to the students, the Upper Darby Summer Stage community is made up of kind and talented individuals that are driven by fervor for musical theater and a natural inclination to help others.

Tristan Horan, a senior at Haverford High School and active Summer Stage participant, is organizing the Summer Stage Foster Child Program, entitled T’s Kids Scholarship Program, in memory of his friend Terrance Calvert. “I can’t think of a better way to remember Terrance than to offer others the opportunity to participate in the program he loved,” said Tristan.

The public is encouraged to contact Tristan if they are aware of a teen in foster care that would benefit from the Upper Darby Summer Stage program. Tristan may be reached at 610.675.4424 or TsKidsScholarship@gmail.com. 

Terrance Calvert was an active member in the Upper Darby Summer Stage community. He was a living example of how the Summer Stage community cannot only support and nurture artistic talents but also provide a loving and supporting environment for children. Terrance was placed into foster care at a very young age. Like many children in foster care, he faced many challenges. His life changed when he discovered Upper Darby Summer Stage.

Starting out as a student in the children’s theater program, Terrance displayed immense talent, an extraordinarily loving personality, and an inspiring passion for helping others. Terrance eventually became a staff member, sharing his passion for musical theater as a choreographer in the Children’s Theater program. Terrance was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma, kidney cancer, in 2011. The Summer Stage family was with Terrance every step of the way. During the summer of 2012, Terrance showed great courage by continuing to support the Upper Darby Summer Stage program despite experiencing the physical toll that cancer was taking on his body.

Terrance’s soul and spirit refused to stop his mission to give back. In his last months, Terrance spoke about his love for his friends, his family, the arts, and the Upper Darby Summer Stage community.

 ###

Let The Magic Begin

A little gem is located at 601 North Lansdowne Avenue in Drexel Hill.

The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center (UDPAC) has been delighting families in Upper Darby Township for 37 years.  Each year, more than 50,000 people travel from all over the Delaware Valley to attend any of the 80 plus performances.

The UDPAC seats 1,650 in a state of the art performance facility.  Performances sell quickly and are a delight for all who attend.

(source)

The Children's Theater Show line up is as follows:

The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley, Jr. July 10, 11, 12 Disney's My Son Pinocchio, Jr. July 17, 18, 19 Disney's The Little Mermaid, Jr. July 23, 24, 25, 26

Freckleface Strawberry, The Musical July 31, August 1, 2 A Year with Frog and Toad August 7, 8, 9 Willie Wonka, Jr. August 14, 15, 16

Tickets for the Children's Theater performances range from $6 - $9.

The Main Stage Production will be Fiddler on the Roof, with ticket prices ranging from $10 - $13.

Members save $1.00 on all ticket prices. Not a member? Click this link to sign up today!

Questions? Call the Box Office at 610-622-1189 or visit them online at www.udpac.org.

Click-Clack-Moo at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center

The professional touring company Theatreworks USA brings “Click, Clack, Moo” to the stage on April 12, the musical based on the Caldecott award-winning book. At Upper Darby Performing Arts Center! Live, family entertainment at a price for every family member to enjoy!

DETAILS: A hilariously "moo-ving" musical about compromise, based on the award-winning book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin. The show is directed by John Rando (Tony Award- winner for Broadway’s Urinetown). “Click, Clack, Moo” received Lucille Lortel Award nominations for “Outstanding Musical” and “Outstanding Choreography,” and a Drama Desk nomination for “Outstanding Lyrics.”

 Theatreworks USA is America's largest and most prolific professional not-for-profit theatre for young and family audiences. Since 1961, Theatreworks USA has enlightened, entertained, and instructed over 72 million people in 49 states and Canada, now performing for about four million people annually. Every year, the company tours approximately 16 shows from its ever-growing repertoire of 115 plays and musicals.

At Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, we’re proud to bring this quality theater experience to our young audiences at extremely affordable ticket prices!

WHEN: April 12 at 7:30 pm
WHERE: Upper Darby Performing Arts Center 601 N. Lansdowne Avenue Drexel Hill, PA 19026 TICKETS: $6 - $9 610.622.1189 - Box Office www.udpac.org


 

Spoken Hands at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center

The world music percussion ensemble, Spoken Hand, brings its pulsating rhythms to Upper Darby Performing Arts Center March 22

Known for its high-energy live performances, the acclaimed percussion orchestra blends North Indian tabla, Afro Cuban bata, Brazilian samba and West African djembe in an exhilarating evening of traditional and contemporary drumming and choral compositions

DREXEL HILL, PA – March 6, 2012 – The acclaimed world music percussion ensemble, Spoken Hand, blends the pulsating rhythms of North Indian tabla, Afro Cuban bata, Brazilian samba and West African djembe in an exhilarating evening of traditional and contemporary drumming and choral compositions. The high-energy performance takes place at Upper Darby Performing Arts Center on March 22 at 7:30pm.

Tickets are $7-$10 and UDPAC members save $1 off each ticket. Tickets may be purchased online at www.udpac.org or by calling the box office: 610. 622.1189. Upper Darby Performing Arts Center is located at 601 North Lansdowne Avenue in Drexel Hill, PA. The 1,600 seat theater is just minutes from the Main Line and Center City Philadelphia and offers free parking. The performance is one hour and appropriate for all family members ages seven and over.

A celebration of polyphonic rhythms, Spoken Hand unifies four percussion batteries into one distinct voice. Since its inception over fifteen years ago this uniquely robust orchestra of percussionists has traveled the road to perform giving drums their individual voices.  Linking the past and present, the sacred and secular with a symphonically textured fusion of traditional and contemporary drumming and choral compositions, Spoken Hand has twice earned the title of “Best World Music/Roots Performance” by Philadelphia City Paper, and continues to share this cultural musical experience with audiences far and wide.

Artistic Director Daryl Kwasi Burgee recently interviewed on WHYY TV discussed formulating Spoken Hand. “The drum is always in accompaniment to something else. And I realized that most people aren’t aware of the harmonic and the melodical aspects of the drum. Giving people the opportunity to experience that in a collage of melody and sound, that’s what this project was all about. It was the opportunity to give the drummer voice.”

The four corners of the world are represented as Spoken Hand fills the stage with percussionists who blend the rhythmic Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, North Indian, and West African sounds in an artistic mission to share with audiences their passion for music.

The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center and Upper Darby Summer Stage are jointly sponsored by the Upper Darby School District Board of School Directors and Upper Darby Township Mayor and Council through the Department of Recreation and Leisure Services.

A Christmas Carol at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center

TheatreworksUSA brings “A Christmas Carol” to Upper Darby Performing Arts Center December 21

‘Tis the season for merriment and fun! The professional touring troupe presents the timeless classic for every member of the family!

A Christmas Carol, performed by the professional actors of TheatreworksUSA, comes to Upper Darby Performing Arts Center on December 21 at 7:30pm. Catch the holiday spirit with this classic story of a man whose cold heart is warmed after a Christmas Eve encounter with the supernatural.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.udpac.org or by calling the box office at 610.622.1189. Tickets are $6 - $9, a price the entire family can enjoy. (Members save $1). The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center is located at 601 North Lansdowne Avenue in Drexel Hill, PA, minutes from the Main Line and Center City Philadelphia. The Performing Arts Center offers free parking and is wheel-chair accessible. The performance is approximately one hour and recommended for children ages 6 and up.

Ebenezer Scrooge greets every Christmas with his usual attitude of “bah, humbug!” To him, the holiday is simply a waste of a work day, and he resents having to pay his loyal employee, Bob Cratchit, for having the day off. As for the poor in the streets, Scrooge feels they should all disappear, and “decrease the surplus population!”

Scrooge is then visited on Christmas Eve by his former business partner, the long deceased Jacob Marley. The Specter is forever burdened with chains in the afterlife for having been so cruel while alive, and Marley warns Scrooge that he will suffer the same fate unless he changes his ways. He then explains that on this Christmas Eve, Scrooge will be visited by three spirits, representing Christmases past, present, and future, who will show him the error of his ways and, ultimately, the result of having such a cold heart.

The professional actors from TheatreworksUSA perform the holiday favorite, A Christmas Carol at UD Performing Arts Center December 21 at 7:30pm. 

Theatreworks USA’s A Christmas Carol began its national tour in fall 1999. Since 2000, two companies of this production have criss-crossed the country every holiday season. Theatreworks USA has a distinguished history of not only providing young audiences with their first taste of the performing arts, but also giving young actors, writers, directors, and designers an early opportunity to work in this field.

The Upper Darby Performing Arts Center and Upper Darby Summer Stage are jointly sponsored by the Upper Darby School District Board of School Directors and Upper Darby Township Mayor and Council through the Department of Recreation and Leisure Services.