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April 1, 2008

Legally Blonde, Grease to stop first at PPAC

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman
Becky Gulsvig sings a tune in Providence today from the Broadway show, Legally Blonde, in which she is an understudy.

Two popular Broadway musicals will begin their national tours in Providence this fall. The Providence Performing Arts Center will host Legally Blonde The Musical in September, and the tour of Grease will get under way there in early December.

This is the first time PPAC has opened the first national tour of a musical since Dream Girls in 1985, said Lynn Singleton, the theater’s president. A second national tour of Mamma Mia Mia! — a company added to meet increased demand — got its start there about six years ago, he said.

“For us to do two tours in three months is unique,” said Singleton.

The two shows will play the theater for a week each. But the cast and crew will be in town for several weeks beforehand, working out technical bugs and prepping the productions for the road.

The arrival of the two shows is expected to be a boon to the local economy. Legally Blonde alone could translate into more than $1 million in spending, said producer Mike Isaacson, who was on hand for a PPAC press news conference this morning. Isaacson said that 85 company members will be staying in area hotels for a month, and that another 200 friends and family members are expected to join them over the course of the run.

The selection of PPAC to kick off the two tours is also seen as a feather in the cap of the 3,200-seat theater — and for the city of Providence. A number of theaters were vying for the honor of debuting Legally Blonde, said Isaacson, but PPAC won out.

-- Journal staff writer Channing Gray

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 4:55 PM | Permalink

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