(Gainesville, Fla. – July 2, 2008) - Nickelodeon and Broadway Across America announces a brand-new, national touring production of The Backyardigans Live!  Tale of the Mighty Knights!  The Backyardigans Live! will be making a stop in Gainesville on July 24 for two performances.  Tickets can be purchased by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or from any Ticketmaster outlet.  Fans can visit http://www.nickjr.com/ for additional local market tour dates and to find a link to purchase tickets. 

“We’re excited about our latest live theatrical endeavor for families,” said Stuart Rosenstein, Senior Vice President, Resorts and Theatricals, Nickelodeon Recreation.  “The Backyardigans has proven to be a huge hit with Nickelodeon families, and based on the enormous success of the Dora and Diego live shows, we’re confident The Backyardigans Live! will have the same fantastic response from kids and parents across the country.”

“We are incredibly proud to be partnering again with Nickelodeon on this new tour of The Backyardigans Live!,” said Jennifer Costello, Senior Vice President Theatrical - Production, Broadway Across America.  “Combining a top-notch creative team with one of the highest-rated shows on children’s programming, we are excited about producing another smash-hit with this production.”

The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights!, based on the primetime Nickelodeon special which premiered January 14, 2008, follows Nickelodeon’s backyard friends, Uniqua and Tyrone, as they become knights and embark on a quest to protect King Pablo’s unpredictable egg. Along the way, Grabbing Goblin Austin and Flighty Fairy Tasha join the medieval mayhem as the runaway egg hatches feet and makes an unexpected dash all the way up to Dragon Mountain. The Backyardigans will need the audience’s help to face a mighty dragon and return the egg to the king. The Backyardigans Live! will have the entire family singing, dancing and laughing along to songs of courage, friendship and the power of imagination.

The Backyardigans Live! includes some of the same creative team that produces The Backyardigans for Nick Jr. television, including Emmy-nominated writer, Adam Peltzman, and choreographer, Beth Bogush.  Drama Desk Award-nominated director, Lou Jacob, has also signed on to direct the production.

On Tuesday, January 22, Nickelodeon and Sony BMG released the ultimate playtime playlist when The Backyardigans: Born to Play CD hit retailers nationwide.  The third CD from the hit series features 22 new tracks, with six songs from Tale of the Mighty Knights! including Adam Pascal performing the “Zeppelinesque” rock-opera ballad, Not an Egg.  The CD is also available digitally on iTunes, with a special deluxe edition that includes four exclusive bonus tracks and a digital folder. Additionally, on February 26 The Backyardigans Tale of the Mighty Knights! one-hour television movie was made available on DVD at retailers nationwide. 

Since its debut on Nickelodeon’s preschool weekday lineup, The Backyardigans has become the number-two-rated preschool show on all of commercial TV among the target audience of preschoolers.* 

Nickelodeon and Broadway Across America’s most recent project, Go, Diego, Go Live! The Great Jaguar Rescue, has sold more than 600,000 tickets and has set the bar for touring family shows as the top grossing touring family show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.  Go, Diego, Go! Live will travel to 40 markets across the United States and Canada in 2008.  For more information, visit http://www.nickjr.com/.

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The Backyardigans Live!
Tale of the Mighty Knights!
Thursday, July 24, 4 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

Ticket Prices: $16-30

Web sites:  University of Florida Performing Arts: http://www.performingarts.ufl.edu/
  Nick Jr.: http://www.nickjr.com/

To Purchase tickets, call the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or call Ticketmaster at 800-277-1700 (toll-free).  Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, the University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Union or from any Ticketmaster outlet, or online at http://www.ticketmaster.com/. Cash checks, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

For interviews and other press inquiries, please contact Amy Douglas at 352-273-2476.

For high resolution photos and/or artwork, please click here.

Performance dates, times and programs are subject to change.

About University of Florida Performing Arts
University of Florida Performing Arts does more than entertain.  It breaks down walls.  It breaks down the walls between people by increasing cultural awareness through programming that attracts artists and audiences from around the globe.  It breaks down the wall between patron and performer with educational programs such as master classes, artist residencies and pre- and post-performance discussions.  It breaks down the wall between health and illness with AIM Together, a collaborative program between UFPA and Shands HealthCare that brings world-class performing artists to those who are hospitalized.  It breaks down the wall between idea and realization by commissioning and nurturing new work.  Art doesn’t have walls.  But sometimes life does.  UFPA breaks down the walls, enriching the lives of the citizens in the Heart of Florida, helping to make Gainesville “the #1 place to live.”

About Broadway Across America
Formerly Live Nation Theatrical, Broadway Across America presents first-rate touring Broadway shows, family productions and other live theatrical events throughout a network of 42 North American cities. A leader in subscription series programs and group ticketing, Broadway Across America is dedicated to creating memorable and accessible experiences for all guests, selling more than five million tickets to more than 3,000 performances each year. As a producer, current and recent Broadway productions include Hairspray, Chicago, Monty Python’s Spamalot and The Producers.  It also manages, operates or consults in the operation of eight theaters across North America.  For more information or to purchase tickets through an authorized agent go to BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com.

About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon Recreation is one of the leading producers of top quality theatrical and touring shows for kids and their families. Strategically leveraging Nickelodeon’s hits into high quality Broadway level stage productions that tour both domestically and in international markets, the division has executive produced 14 unique multimillion dollar theatrical stage productions that have grossed in excess of 100 million dollars in tickets sales.

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (ET/PT).  Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.’s Emmy, Peabody and Parents’ Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum-based, fun and commercial free.  At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

Nickelodeon, in its 28th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 96 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for more than 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

*Source: Nielsen Media Research

Click here for a coupon to save 50% off normal ticket prices.*

*Discount does not apply to balcony seating; balcony seats may be purchased for $10.  Other restrictions may apply - see coupon for details.

Discount tickets must be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office.  Half-price discount does not apply to Balcony seating; discounted tickets for the Balcony may be purchased for $10.  Other restrictions may apply.  See coupon for details.
 

For press inquiries, please contact Amy Douglas at 352-392-1900, ext. 324.

June 20, 2008

Björn Again brings the fun-filled tunes of Swedish pop group ABBA to the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – If you’ve got the summertime blues, then University of Florida Performing Arts has the cure for what ails you.  Head back to the 1970s for a little nostalgic fun with Björn Again - The ABBA Show, July 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

As one of the most popular acts of the 1970s, ABBA’s hit songs have had a surprising, enduring legacy.  Formed in 1972, ABBA quickly became a popular act, topping the charts worldwide with their catchy lyrics and multiple harmonies (achieved by overdubbing the female singers’ voices).  Björn Again is the ABBA-endorsed, live concert experience that captures all of the fun of the original group.  More than a tribute act, ABBA’s musicians are talented in their own right, re-creating the hits – and the concert experience – that made ABBA famous worldwide and produced hysteria among its many fans.

The Swedish foursome (who used the first letters of their given first names to create the acronym that became “ABBA”) has sold more than 370 million albums worldwide and continues to sell one to two million records per year – a feat made even more amazing by the fact that they broke up more than 25 years ago.  While ABBA disbanded in 1982, just a little over 10 years after they got started, Björn Again has been going strong for 20 years, touring for longer and playing for more people than the original group did.

Travel back in time and find your inner Dancing Queen as Björn Again takes to the stage in a glitter-laden spectacle that will have crowds singing and dancing all night to ABBA’s biggest hits, including Take a Chance on Me, Waterloo, Fernando and more.

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Björn Again - The ABBA Show
Friday, July 11, 7:30 p.m.
Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

Ticket Prices: $15-30

Web sites:  University of Florida Performing Arts: http://www.performingarts.ufl.edu/
  Björn Again: http://www.bjornagain.com/

To Purchase tickets, call the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or call Ticketmaster at 800-277-1700 (toll-free).  Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, the University Box Office at the University of Florida Reitz Union or from any Ticketmaster outlet, or online at http://www.ticketmaster.com/. Cash checks, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

For interviews and other press inquiries, please contact Amy Douglas at 352-392-1900, ext. 324.

For high resolution photos and/or artwork, please click here.

Performance dates, times and programs are subject to change.

University of Florida Performing Arts does more than entertain.  It breaks down walls.  It breaks down the walls between people by increasing cultural awareness through programming that attracts artists and audiences from around the globe.  It breaks down the wall between patron and performer with educational programs such as master classes, artist residencies and pre- and post-performance discussions.  It breaks down the wall between health and illness with AIM Together, a collaborative program between UFPA and Shands HealthCare that brings world-class performing artists to those who are hospitalized.  It breaks down the wall between idea and realization by commissioning and nurturing new work.  Art doesn’t have walls.  But sometimes life does.  UFPA breaks down the walls, enriching the lives of the citizens in the Heart of Florida, helping to make Gainesville “the #1 place to live.”

For more information, click here.

For more information on Hapa, click here.

For more information on Robert and Rebecca Bluestone, visit http://www.robertbluestone.com/.

For more information about AIM Together, click here.

For more information on The Ten Tenors, visit http://www.thetentenors.com/.

For more information about AIM Together, click here.

For more information on Ther Persuasions, visit http://www.thepersuasions.net/.

For more information about AIM Together, click here.