Turn of the Century

Goodman Theatre starts its 2008/2009 season on a high note with the greatest music of the 20th century in Turn of the Century, a star-studded romantic tour through time and the American songbook, directed by the nine-time Tony Award-winning director/ choreographer Tommy Tune. The latest work from Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice- the Tony Award-winning team who co-authored the smash sensation Jersey Boys- stars Jeff Daniels (Terms of Endearment, The Squid and the Whale, Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July) and Rachel York (City of Angels, Victor/ Victoria, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and features music from a number of styles and eras. Turn of the Century will runs September 19 - November 2 at the Goodman Theatre.

"We proudly welcome Broadway legend Tommy Tune and his first-rate cast and creative team to the Goodman, and launch our new season with what is bound to be the centerpiece of the fall theater offerings in Chicago," said Artistic Director Robert Falls. "Marshall and Rick have written a fresh, wildly imaginative new musical that will delight, surprise and astonish. We are thrilled to be its first home."

Turn of the Century tells the story of a modern cabaret duo Dixie Wilson (York)-an aspiring chanteuse who can't catch a break with a gig or a guy-and Billy (Daniels), her sexy cocktail pianist who knows the songs and loves the ladies. The friction between the two of them is immediate; so is the chemistry. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1999, the century turns, but in the wrong direction: the duo is catapulted back in time, before the hit songs of the 20th century have been created. Together, Billy and Dixie co-opt the songs that make the whole world sing, becoming the stars they've dreamed of being, at the turn of the century.

"What excites me most about Turn of the Century is that it is an original musical; it's not based on a person's life, a movie, or a television show-it's an original idea. Rick, Marshall and I have been working on the show for three years. It's been a wonderful process," said Director Tommy Tune who throughout his career as a longtime director (The Club, Cloud 9, Nine, The Musical), choreographer (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, A Day in Hollywood/A Night in Ukraine, Grand Hotel, The Will Rogers Follies), singer, dancer (Baker Street, A Joyful Noise, How Now Dow Jones) and actor (Michael Bennett's Seesaw, My One and Only), has worked with the creators of some of the songs included in Turn of the Century.

Co-Authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who earned widespread acclaim with Jersey Boys, join forces once again on this new musical. "Turn of the Century will deliver beloved music in a way that electrifies the audience in the way it did the very first time one heard Summertime or Alexander's Rag Time Band." said Elice.

Tickets to Turn of the Century are $25 to $82 and may be purchased online at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the Goodman Theatre Box Office, 170 North Dearborn Street, or charged by phoning 312-443-3800.