NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Andy Cagle Director of Marketing and Communications Richmond Community College 910.410.1811 [email protected]
RCC Turning Back Time To Kickoff DeWitt Performing Arts Series
Hamlet, N.C. (October 13, 2014) – The 2014-15 DeWitt Performing Arts Series will kickoff Tuesday, Oct. 21, with “Smokey Joe’s Café,” the longest running musical revue in Broadway history.
The two-act performance showcases around 40 pop music standards penned by the songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, including hit songs recorded by Elvis, The Coasters, The Drifters and Aretha Franklin. Among the tunes performed by the cast will be “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog,” “Treat Me Nice,” “On Broadway,” “There Goes My Baby,” “Spanish Harlem” and “Stand By Me.”
Headlining the show will be super group The Coasters who will bring to life eight songs written specifically for them by Lieber and Stoller, including “Yakety Yak,” “Poison Ivy,” “Love Potion #9,” “Charlie Brown” and the show’s title cut, “Smokey Joe’s Café.”
“Lieber and Stoller wrote all of these songs in the 1950s and ’60s, and really, they shaped the face of what rock-and-roll is today,” said cast member Seth Danner.
The original Broadway production was nominated for five Tony awards in 1995, and in 1996, it won a Grammy award for Best Musical Show Album.
“It has been sometime since the Cole has hosted a musical revue,” said Cole Auditorium Director Joey Bennett. “We are excited to be able to offer one of the most popular revues in the history of Broadway. This show will encourage you to stand to your feet, clap and dance along.”
Links to promotional videos to get audience members excited about the show are included on RCC’s website, www.richmondcc.edu.
“We are excited to showcase this performance as the season opener,” Bennett said. Smokey Joe’s Café is the first of six shows scheduled for the 2014-15 DeWitt Performing Arts Series, which will also include concerts by The Beach Boys, Collin Raye and folk family royalty Livingston Taylor and Tom Chapin, as well as a piano battle and Rhythm of the Dance.
“Like last year, we do have season tickets available for sale,” Bennett said. “One low price will get you seats to these top quality, professional, touring productions as well as some other perks.”
Season ticket prices range from $115 to $145 per seat and include reserved-seating tickets for all six shows. Individual tickets for Smokey Joe’s Café may also be purchased for $35 through the Cole Auditorium box office.
Box office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can also call the box office at (910) 410-1691. Information is also available on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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