Shaw Festival’s Mack and Mabel Wows Composer

Media Bulletin #7

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, June 22, 2007 … The cast and crew of the Shaw Festival’s currently running production of the musical Mack and Mabel had a visit yesterday from the show’s creator, Jerry Herman. Mr. Herman, the musical’s composer and lyricist, attended a matinee performance and, much to the delight of the artists involved in the production, followed it up with a surprise backstage visit.

After seeing The Shaw’s production and meeting its creative team today, Mr. Herman said, “This is what it should have been when it opened on Broadway. What a pleasure for me to see my Mack and Mabel performed by such a stellar cast and to meet everyone involved with such a first-class production.”

Mr. Herman, whose credits as a composer include the musicals Hello, Dolly!, and La Cage aux Folles, has called the score for Mack and Mabel (1974) his personal favourite. Mr. Herman, who resides in , is the only composer/lyricist in history to have three musicals that ran for more than 1,500 performances on Broadway.

The book for Mack and Mabel was written by Michael Stewart and revised by Francine Pascal.

For more information on the Shaw Festival’s production, please visit www.shawfest.com.

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Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com for other Shaw Festival media releases.

For more information, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck Patti Broughton Public Relations Director Public Relations Co-ordinator 905-468-2153 or 905-468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 222 1-800-657-1106 ext. 224 [email protected] [email protected]