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SYRACUSE The musical tale of how four blue-collar kids became one of the most well known musical acts in history opens the 2012-13 Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series.
The touring shows in the Famous Artists series are booked by NAC Entertainment Ltd. The Syracuse Famous Artists organization was created in 1943 by Syracuse resident and Syracuse University professor Murray Bernthal, who died in 2010 at age 99. NACs partnership with Famous Artists began about a dozen years ago. Shows are held at the Landmark Theatre on South Salina Street or Crouse Hinds Theater at Mulroy Civic Center, Montgomery Street.
Jersey Boys, which opened Tuesday and runs through Oct. 28 at the Landmark Theatre, takes audiences behind the scenes of the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The group wrote its own songs and sold 175 million records worldwide.
Jersey Boys has won awards for best musical on Broadway and in London and Australia. The musical opened on Broadway in 2005, where it is still playing at the August Wilson Theatre. Songs include Sherry, Big Girls Dont Cry, Cant Take My Eyes Off You, Dawn and My Eyes Adored You.
The shows producers note Jersey Boys is not for all audiences. There are drug references, sexual situations and profane authentic Jersey language.
Here is a short rundown of the seasons other four shows:
Blue Man Group
Jan. 31 to Feb. 3
Landmark Theatre
Founded by Chris Wink, Phil Stanton and Matt Goldman, Blue Man Group is known for its ground-breaking theatrical shows that combine music, comedy and multimedia elements to produce a dynamic mix. The party atmosphere created at its live performances has become a trademark of Blue Man Group. More than 25 million people across the globe have shared in the Blue Man Group experience.
Now, in the groups third decade, the Blue Man is a multinational media and entertainment company that boasts theatrical and digital media operations across three continents.
The Addams Family
March 25 to 27
Crouse Hinds Theater
This musical comedy, based on the Addams Family comic and television characters, tells the story of Wednesday Addams, a princess of darkness, who has fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable, normal family. She confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. But everything changes for the family when it hosts a dinner for Wednesdays boyfriend and his parents.
The Addams Family opened on Broadway in April 2010 and closed in December 2011 after 722 performances.
Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan
April 15 to 17
Crouse Hinds Theater
Tony Award nominee and eight-time Olympic gold medalist Cathy Rigby takes flight in this new production of Peter Pan.
Rigby still carries off the flights and acrobatics that make Peter Pan audiences mesmerized, the New York Times said in a review of the show.
West Side Story
May 28 to 30
Crouse Hinds Theater
The songs from the original 1957 Broadway production are retained in this West Side Story revival, with the addition of a few songs in Spanish. Its a poignant love story told through music and dance of Tony and Maria, the ill-fated couple caught in the gang war between the Sharks and the Jets in New York City. Classic songs include Somethings Coming, Tonight, America, and I Feel Pretty.