MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL, UNIVERSAL PICTURES STAGE PRODUCTIONS, AND BEACON COMMUNICATIONS SECURE DEAL TO LICENSE BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL TO THEATRES AROUND THE WORLD
Theatrica
l licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) http://www.mtishows.com, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, and Beacon Communications today announced that Bring It On: The Musical http://www.bringitonmusical.
Uniting some of the leading creative minds on Broadway, Bring It On: The Musical is inspired by the hit film Bring It On, and features an original story by Tony Award® winner Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), music and lyrics by Tony Award® winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), music by Pulitzer and Tony Award® winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal), lyrics by Broadway lyricist Amanda Green (High Fidelity) and music supervision by Tony and Grammy Award® winner Alex Lacamoire. The production is directed and choreographed by Tony Award® winner Andy Blankenbuehler (In the Heights).
USA Today lauded the production with, “three boisterous cheers for Broadway’s newest hit,” while The New York Times hailed the show as “an intriguing collaboration among artists with serious Broadway cred” and exclaimed “this high-energy new musical really brings something fresh.” New York Magazine lauded the show as, “wonderfully refreshing; a musical of unexpected charms.”
“MTI is thrilled to work with Universal Pictures Stage Productions and Beacon Communications to showcase the excitement of Bring It On: The Musical on amateur and professional stages across the world,” said Drew Cohen, President of MTI. “Community theaters and high schools in particular will embrace the show’s themes of ‘fitting in’ and personal growth through teamwork. It’s also a great opportunity for two schools to collaborate on a joint production. The subject matter is relevant for all actors, students and audience members and we look forward to making the show available for licensing in the near future.”
Bring It On: The Musical premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA on January 15, 2011 before embarking on its national tour in November 2011. Produced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions/Glenn Ross, Beacon Communications/Armyan Bernstein and Charlie Lyons, and executive producers Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson, the touring stage production landed on Broadway at the St. James Theatre where it officially opened on August 1. Bring It On: The Musical will continue its successful Broadway run until December 30 of this year, with details of a 2013-2014 tour to be announced at a later date.
About Bring It On: The Musical
Bring It On: The Musical tells the story of the challenges and unexpected bonds formed through the thrill of extreme competition. With a colorful assortment of characters, an exciting fresh sound and explosive choreography with aerial stunts, this hilarious, universal story is sure to be everything you hoped for and nothing like you expected.
Our show’s heroine is Campbell, whose lifelong dream was to be the head cheerleader of the Truman High School squad. The big moment has come to announce this year’s cheer captain and Campbell wins! Right away she begins drilling her team for the national championships at the summer cheer camp – until her life as she knows it completely changes: Campbell receives a letter informing her that redistricting will force her to attend Jackson High, a nearby school in a much rougher neighborhood. What’s worse than that? Jackson doesn’t even have a cheerleading squad!
Campbell begins mixing it up with the tougher crowd from Jackson, where the school’s hip-hop dance crew rules the school. Campbell’s challenge is to break into this new crowd, transform the dance crew into a cheer squad and take her team to Nationals!
About Universal Pictures Stage Productions
Universal Pictures Stage Productions is the live stage division of the world-famous motion picture studio. Universal’s record-breaking musical phenomenon Wicked, which opened in 2003, has been the #1 show on Broadway for eight consecutive years. With its two national tours and multiple international productions,Wicked has been seen by more than 30 million people worldwide, making it one of the most successful theatrical ventures of all time. In 2008, Universal’s critically acclaimed musical adaptation of Billy Elliotopened on Broadway and went on to win ten Tony Awards® including Best Musical. It continues to tour nationally and recently celebrated its seventh year on London’s West End. Currently, Universal produces the hit Broadway production of Bring It On: The Musical and the highly anticipated revival of Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino. Recent Broadway credits include The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, winner of the 2012 Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Musical, and the star-studded revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.
About Beacon Communications
Armyan Bernstein and Charlie Lyons are the producers behind the Bring It On series of motion pictures and Bring It On: The Musical. They are partners in Beacon Communications, which is one of the most respected companies in the film business. Their collaboration over the past two decades has produced more than 30 motion pictures, which include: Air Force One (Harrison Ford); The Hurricane (Denzel Washington); The Family Man (Nicholas Cage, Tea Leoni); End Of Days (Arnold Schwarzenegger); Spy Game (Robert Redford, Brad Pitt); Sugar Hill (Wesley Snipes); For Love Of The Game (Kevin Costner); Thirteen Days(Kevin Costner); Open Range (Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Bening); Ladder 49 (John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix); The Guardian (Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher); Raising Helen (Kate Hudson, Joan Cusack, John Corbett); Firewall (Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany); A Lot Like Love (Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet); and The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (Emily Watson, Alex Etel, Loch Ness Monster). Television projects include Castle for the ABC television network and Pu-239 for HBO. Among Beacon’s early movies were The Commitments (Golden Globe Best Picture nominee and winner of four BAFTA awards) and David Mamet’s A Life In The Theatre (winner of the Cable ACE award for best dramatic or theatrical special).
About Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting schools as well as amateur and professional theatres from around the world the rights to perform the largest selection of great musicals from Broadway and beyond. MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these shows to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 60,000 theatrical organizations in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.
MTI is particularly dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger performers. The MTI Broadway Junior Collection® includes JR. titles, 60-minute musicals for performance by middle school children; and KIDS titles, 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children. MTI School Editions™ are musicals that have been annotated for performance by high school students, and the Theatre For Young Audiences (TYA) Collection are 70-minute musicals designed for adults to perform for children.
MTI ShowSpace.com is the theatre world’s online community where practitioners and fans from around the world share advice, photos, videos, sets, props, costumes and more, to help bring their next productions to life.
For more information about MTI and licensing, please call (212) 541-4684 or emaillicensing@mtishows.com