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The National Tour of the scamming, scheming, double-crossing hit Broadway musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, will play Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, July 31 through August 12, 2007. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 1 at 10 am.
The cast of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels includes Tony-nominated actor Tom Hewitt as suave and sophisticated con man Lawrence Jameson. He’s joined by D.B. Bonds, who plays Freddy Benson, the brash and vulgar swindler Lawrence takes under his wing. Other principals include Laura Marie Duncan as Christine Colgate, Chicago stage veteran Hollis Resnik as Muriel Eubanks, Drew McVety as Andre Thibault and Jenifer Foote as Jolene Oakes.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels reunites David Yazbek (music and lyrics) with Tony Award winners Jack O’Brien (direction) and Jerry Mitchell (choreography), the Tony-nominated team behind The Full Monty. The raucous new musical comedy show features a book by Jeffrey Lane that keeps audiences laughing, humming and guessing to the very end.
Based on the popular 1988 MGM film, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels centers on two con men living on the French Riviera – the suave and sophisticated Lawrence Jameson, who makes his lavish living by talking rich ladies out of their money; and a small-time crook named Freddy Benson, who, more humbly, swindles women by waking their compassion with fabricated stories about his grandmother’s failing health. After meeting on a train, they unsuccessfully attempt to work together only to find that this small French town isn’t big enough for the two of them. So they make a bet: the first one to swindle $50,000 from a young heiress, triumphs and the other must leave town. What follows are a series of schemes, masquerades and double-crosses in which nothing may ever be exactly what it seems.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened on Broadway in March 2005 to rave reviews, where it continues to delight audiences at The Imperial Theatre. The New York Times’ Ben Brantley called it, “The most eagerly awaited new musical of the season.” Clive Barnes (New York Post) raved, “A knockout punch to Broadway’s funnybone! One of the liveliest, funniest, best-performed musicals in years. Super-smart and superior in every way.” And Terry Teachout (The Wall Street Journal) proclaimed, “I know funny when I see it, and this show is a perfect hoot! A big hit.” Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was awarded 11 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. The musical had its world premiere at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre in September 2004.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels features the music and lyrics of David Yazbek (The Full Monty) with direction by Jack O’Brien (Hairspray, The Full Monty, Damn Yankees), choreography by Jerry Mitchell (La Cage aux Folles, Hairspray, The Full Monty, Gypsy), and a book by Jeffrey Lane.
Tickets for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which range in price from $18 to $80 and go on sale Friday, June 1 at 10 am, will be available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., and 18 W. Monroe St.), through the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (312) 902-1400, at all Ticketmaster ticket centers or online at ticketmaster.com.