Media Contact: Dawn Kellogg Communications Manager (585) 232-1366 ext. 3059 [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GEVA’S 41ST SEASON KICKS OFF WITH A FOOT STOMPING MUSICAL, PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES

Geva creates the 30th Anniversary production of the Tony-nominated musical. Audiences welcomed onstage with uniquely interactive set.

Rochester, N.Y., August 13, 2013– Geva Theatre Center invites Rochester to join in the down-home country fun of Pump Boys and Dinettes with book, lyrics and music by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann and directed by Mark Cuddy, with choreography by Peggy Hickey and musical direction by Nathan Dame. Pump Boys and Dinettes begins performances on September 10 and runs in the Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage through October 13.

Welcome to the Double Cupp Diner, way down on Highway 57 between Frog Level and Smyrna, where the cherry pie is fresh, and the waitresses are like the coffee – hot! The boys from the gas station next door play a high-octane blend of country and bluegrass packed with entertaining toe- tappers about life, love, and good times. Come on in and let good American folk melt your troubles away with a generous serving of great music and foot-stomping fun.

Pump Boys and Dinettes began as a two-man act at the Cattleman Restaurant in New York City in 1980. Jim Wann, one of the creators, recalled: “I was a scuffling songwriter/guitarist and Mark Hardwick was a piano player/actor. ... Mark and I were unemployed and happy to take a job playing five nights a week in the Cattleman Lounge, attached to a restaurant on one of the darker blocks west of Grand Central. Our mission was to play country standards to entertain the "tired businessman" who had come for the drinks, the steaks, and the waitresses in classic Western saloon girl attire. On slow nights we'd play original songs I was writing for Mark's emerging comic persona.... Mark came in one night wearing a matching dark blue twill shirt and trouser outfit and I went out and bought one just like it. By and by we had oval patches over the pockets with our names in them. ... So we became guys who worked at the gas station. ... Our imaginations were taking over and our Pump Boys repertoire began to grow.” It became so popular that the show was expanded to incorporate two women (the Dinettes) and two more actor/singer/musicians. In 1981 it premiered Off-Broadway at the Chelsea West Side Arts Theatre in a production starring the five creators: John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan (a Rochester native whose most recent Geva appearance was in The Music Man in 2010), John Schimmel and Jim Wann. It transferred to the Princess Theatre on Broadway in 1982 where it ran for nearly 600 performances. Pump Boys and Dinettes was nominated for the 1982 Tony Award for Best Musical as well as four Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Music. It has been performed all over the world, including London’s West End where it ran for over a year.

Geva’s production will uniquely feature an interactive environment. Prior to the show and during intermission, patrons will be able to purchase beverages and desserts right on the set. “Part of the charm of this musical is the country welcome that emanates from the stage,” states director Mark Cuddy, “and the way audiences fall for the characters in the gas station and diner. I thought, ‘well, let’s show some real hospitality by inviting folks onstage to buy their concessions. You never know who you’ll be rubbing elbows with’.”

The cast of Pump Boys and Dinettes are consummate musicians as well as singers and actors and will all be making their Geva Theatre Center debuts. Farah Alvin (Broadway’s Nine, The Look of Love, Saturday Night Fever, Grease! and A Christmas Carol) and Erin Maguire (Forbidden Broadway and the New York cast of Five Course Love) are the percussion-playing Dinettes; and Johnny Kinnaird (Broadway’s Million Dollar Quartet), Travis Artz (Off-Broadway’s The Awesome 80's Prom), Nathan Dame (the national tour of The Addams Family), and Jonathan Spivey are the Pump Boys, playing rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass and keyboards respectively.

Pump Boys and Dinettes is directed by Mark Cuddy and the design team includes Vicki Smith (scenic design), Devon Painter (costume design), Don Darnutzer (lighting design) and Ian Hildreth (sound design). Choreography is by Peggy Hickey and the Music Director is Nathan Dame.

Pump Boys and Dinettes is produced with support from Maxwell Boev Medical Group, Harter Secrest & Emery and Kim and Janet Tenreiro.

Pump Boys and Dinettes begins performances September 10 and runs in the Mainstage through October 13.

For further information, photographs or to arrange interviews, please contact: Dawn Kellogg, Communications Manager, (585) 232 1366 x 3059 PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Previews: September 10, 11, 12 @ 7:30pm September 13 @ 8pm September 14 @ 2pm (Open Captioned Performance*) Opening: Saturday, September 14 @ 8pm (40th Anniversary Gala) Performances: Sunday, September 15 @ 2pm and 7pm Tuesday, September 17 @ 6pm Wednesday, September 18 @ 7:30pm Thursday, September 19 @ 7:30pm Friday, September 20 @ 8pm Saturday, September 21 @ 4pm and 8:30pm Sunday, September 22 @ 2pm (Sunday Salon) and 7pm Tuesday, September 24 @ 7:30pm Wednesday, September 25 @ 7:30pm Thursday, September 26 @ 7:30pm Friday, September 27 @ 8pm Saturday, September 28 @ 4pm and 8:30pm Sunday, September 29 @ 2pm (Audio Described Performance) and 7pm Tuesday, October 1 @ 7:30pm Wednesday, October 2 @ 2pm Thursday, October 3 @ 7:30pm (Sign Interpreted Performance) Friday, October 4 @ 8pm Saturday, October 5 @ 4pm and 8:30pm Sunday, October 6 @ 2pm (Sunday Salon) and 7pm Tuesday, October 8 @ 7:30pm Wednesday, October 9 @ 2pm Wednesday, October 9 @ 7:30pm Thursday, October 10 @ 7:30pm Friday, October 11 @ 8pm Saturday, October 12 @ 4pm and 8:30pm Sunday, October 13 @ 2pm (Closing performance)

TICKET PRICES: Tickets start at $25.

RESERVATIONS: (585) 232-GEVA (4382), Website: www.gevatheatre.org

LOCATION: Geva Theatre Center, 75 Woodbury Blvd, Rochester, NY 14607

* Open captioning is being provided, in part, by TDF and TAP Plus which is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature

GEVA THEATRE CENTER Founded in 1972, Geva Theatre Center is a not-for-profit, professional theatre company dedicated to creating and producing professional theatre productions, programs and services of a national standard. As Rochester’s leading professional theatre, Geva Theatre Center is the most attended regional theatre in New York State, and one of the 25 most attended in the country, serving up to 170,000 patrons annually, including more than 16,000 students.

The 552-seat Elaine P. Wilson Mainstage is home to a wide variety of performances, from musicals to American and world classics. The 180-seat Ron & Donna Fielding Nextstage is home to Geva’s own series of contemporary drama, comedy and musical theatre; Geva Comedy Improv; Geva’s New Play Reading Series and the Hornet’s Nest - an innovative play-reading series facilitating community-wide discussion on controversial topics. In addition, the Nextstage hosts visiting companies of both local and international renown.

Geva Theatre Center offers a wide variety of educational, outreach and literary programs, nurturing audiences and artists alike. Since 1995, the organization has been under the artistic direction of Mark Cuddy. *ENDS*