The Spangler Group INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION PARTNERS, LLC New York / Los Angeles Larry G. Spangler [email protected] / 717-224-0840 The Biggest and Most Exciting New Family Musical to Hit Broadway Since “Lion King” From the creative team that brought you Broadway’s smash hit “Jersey Boys” OSCAR, TONY, OLIVIER and OUTER CIRCLE CRITICS AWARD winning WRITER MARSHALL BRICKMAN and TONY, OLIVIER, DRAMA DESK and OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD winning DIRECTOR (“Jersey Boys”) DES MCANUFF INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION PARTNERS, LLC New York / Los Angeles Larry G. Spangler [email protected] / 717-224-0840 The Spangler Group CONTENTS COMMENTARY PRESS RELEASE SHOW OPENING & OVERVIEW BRINGING TRIGGER & BULLET TO BROADWAY CREATIVE & DEVELOPMENT TEAM A NEW MUSICAL International Production Partners, LLC A NEW MUSICAL COMMENTARY by Marshall Brickman In our contemporary culture, innocence and sincerity are frowned upon as old fashioned, simplistic, corny, not hip. In this era of stock market manipulation, corruption at every level of government and a bottom-line mentality that cuts across every stratum of society – values like honesty, self-sacrifice, even the Golden Rule, are dismissed as weakness. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” has now become “Do unto others. Period. And then get the hell out.” If there’s anything that can be stated about RR (and Dale) it’s that he’s straight as an arrow, strong, honest, with a clear moral compass, loyal, a devoted husband and father… in dramatic terms, too good to be true. Even in the throes of grief from losing a wife or a child, he remains (as does Dale) stoic, resigned but up-beat, hardly questioning God’s purpose in visiting upon them their personal tragedies. One assumes that privately there was some questioning of God’s design, rage at their losses – but that was never integrated into their public personas, except to acknowledge their tragedies and use them as raw material with which they built a spiritual haven. This simple, straight-shooting morality – seeing the world in good and bad terms, without apologies and explanations, is what the RR “brand” has to offer. The Spangler Group New York Los Angeles 160 Koser Road Lititz, PA 17543 A NEW MUSICAL For immediate release, please Contact: Polk & Co. – Matt Polk, Tom D’Ambrosio, Frances White ([email protected]) CREATIVE TEAM ANNOUNCED FOR NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL HAPPY TRAILS The Extraordinary Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in Song & Story Book by MARSHALL BRICKMAN Directed by DES McANUFF Broadway-bound Musical Sets Sights on 2016 Produced by LARRY G. SPANGLER and THE SPANGLER GROUP (New York, NY) – Producer Larry G. Spangler and The Spangler Group announced today the creative team for HAPPY TRAILS, a new musical based on the life and career of American icons Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans. The musical will feature a book by Academy Award-winner Marshall Brickman (Annie Hall, Manhattan, Jersey Boys, The Addams Family), and direction by two-time Tony Award-winner Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys, Big River, Tommy). The Spangler Group New York Los Angeles 160 Koser Road Lititz, PA 17543 A NEW MUSICAL Roy Rogers was one of the most visible stars of his era, making a significant impact across all media: film, radio, TV, and recordings – even selling over 150 million comic books to multiple generations of avid fans. Between 1945 and 1975, he starred in 88 films, seen by an estimated 80 million people a year. His British fan club boasted over 90,000 members. The top rated “Roy Rogers TV Show” aired 100 episodes and his image was featured on over 2.5 billion boxes of Post Cereal. His journey - from an impoverished childhood in Ohio to an unlikely reign as one of Hollywood’s most popular stars; the poignant and inspiring story of the family he and Dale raised, their endurance, faith and humor in the face of almost impossible obstacles – and how Trigger got to be the only horse in Hollywood ever to be billed above the title - would be a highly improbable tale if it weren’t all true. Additional creative team members, production details, and casting for all roles including Trigger, Smartest Horse in the Movies and Bullet The Wonder Dog, will be announced in the coming months. “I’m excited to be able to introduce Rogers to a new generation – and to re-introduce him to his older fans,” said book writer Marshall Brickman. “At the height of his popularity, Roy had millions of fans worldwide and reigned for decades as the embodiment of simple, honest American values. It will be interesting to contrast that ideal with the current environment of ambivalence and moral uncertainty.” “The story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans is deeply emotional with all kinds of surprising twists and turns,” said director Des McAnuff. “It’s an inspirational part of American history that is ideally suited to the times we live in as an elixir for all that ails us. It dusts off old fashioned kindness and human decency in a way that I believe audiences will find magnetically compelling. It is also a great vehicle for a Broadway production as it has the spectacle of a Hollywood western along with a brainy German Shepherd and the smartest horse in the world. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to stage this extraordinary musical.” The Spangler Group New York Los Angeles 160 Koser Road Lititz, PA 17543 A NEW MUSICAL “I couldn’t be happier with the team we’re assembling to tell the unique story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and I know we will honor the Roy Rogers legacy,” said producer Larry Spangler. “Beyond their films, TV shows, and hit records, Roy and Dale’s personal character are at the heart of HAPPY TRAILS - not only what they and their family went through, but the clear-eyed resolve and strength with which they met every challenge along the way.” THE SPANGLER GROUP was formed by Larry G. Spangler and Walter Hoelzel to develop and bring to market entertainment projects including Broadway musical theater, feature films (movies) and television. The business model is comprised of numerous projects structured as manager managed LLC joint ventures and is designed to capitalize on a variety of revenue opportunities generated from the exploitation of the intellectual property owned and managed by each of the companies. The Roy Rogers IP is one example of this model that includes theatrical and motion picture box office, television proceeds, syndication, licensing, product sales and merchandizing. For more information, please visit www.HAPPYTRAILSMUSICAL.com Follow HAPPY TRAILS on Twitter: @happytrailsbway Follow HAPPY TRAILS on Facebook at facebook.com/happytrailsbway The Spangler Group New York Los Angeles 160 Koser Road Lititz, PA 17543 The Spangler Group SHOW OPENING & OVERVIEW BY MARSHALL BRICKMAN As the audience enters... ON STAGE, in one, hangs our translucent olio, reminiscent of early vaudeville and traveling “Wild West” shows. Projected on the olio is the legend: HAPPY TRAILS! The Extraordinary Life and Times of Internationally Beloved King of the Cowboys ROY ROGERS! And Queen of the West MISS DALE EVANS! Featuring TRIGGER! Smartest Horse in the movies! A NEW MUSICAL Bullet, the Wonder Dog! Sons of the Pioneers! Amazing Early Memories! Untold secrets! Tragedy redeemed by Faith! Tales of Loyalty and Devotion! Pleasing Musical Interludes! International Production Partners, LLC A NEW MUSICAL The SONS OF THE PIONEERS, a singing/instrumental quintet (bass, a few guitars, fiddle, etc., to be decided) is stationed off-center and serves up vocal or instrumental music to ease scene transitions. As the audience settles in, we hear the “Please turn off your cel phones” announcement, the house lights go to half, THE CONDUCTOR raises his baton, but then - Gunshots! What’s going on? SCENE: THE GUNFIGHT - STAGE AND THEATER A bunch of GOOD GUYS and BAD GUYS are having a gunfight all over the theater and you can tell who’s who because the BAD GUYS wear black hats and the GOOD GUYS wear white hats. One of the GOOD GUYS wears a lawman’s badge. Now an UNDERSCORE sneaks in (Roy’s theme), as in the old westerns, adding to the excitement. A BAD GUY appears in the mezzanine and fires at a GOODGUY in one of the boxes; the GOOD GUY jumps from the box onto the stage (or swings down on a cable) and there’s running and yelling and shooting and so on. Dependent, of course, on the theater. The fight seems to be about a GIRL being kidnaped and she’s in extreme distress. Now we notice something odd about both sides of this conflict: the guys fighting are leached of all color, as if pulled out of an old black and white grade B western, circa 1941 and brought to life. No color in their clothing or their skin, just various shades of black and white and grey. Now the olio projection dims, revealing a spare badlands scene: rocks, scrub, an organ pipe cactus. The scenery is continued on the cyc, in black and white and shades of grey. Olio rises. The Spangler Group New York Los Angeles 160 Koser Road Lititz, PA 17543 A NEW MUSICAL Built into the center of the cyc (or some distance downstage) is a movie screen. The screen appears to be of one piece, but is in fact composed of strips of elastic reflective material, like a wide-stripped Venetian blind turned 90 degrees, more of which in a moment. (If another, more efficient design can replace this idea, so much the better.) We will call this our “portal screen.” On the screen is being projected the center of the badlands scene which continues either side of the cyc, matching in B & W.