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by LAUREL GRAEBER
Published Friday, January 26, 2007

© 2006-8 Mike Mitchell, Jr. All Rights Reserved
Broadway Veterans Set for New Musical 'America'

broadwayworld.com

Tuesday, June 12, 2007; Posted: 2:47 PM - by BWW News Desk



Double Play Connections and Meredith Lucio will present the world premiere production of a new musical, Take Me America, directed by Gregg Wiggans, with musical direction by Nate Patton, about asylum in America, inspired by the P.O.V. documentary Well-Founded Fear. 

Take Me America will play 6-shows only at the WorkShop Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 4th Fl.).  Performances begin Monday, July 16 and continue through Friday, August 3 as part of the eighth annual Midtown International Theatre Festival.


"Follow nine refugees in their quest for asylum in the US and the three INS agents who decide their fate.  Do they stay or do they go?  How would you decide?  Get it wrong and you might as well sentence them to death.... or worse.   Inspired by true stories from the asylum process; stories of life and death.  They are real, sometimes humorous, but always compelling," as press notes describe.

The cast includes several Broadway veterans: Ana Andricain (Marie Christie, Beauty and the Beast), Eric Chan (Flower Drum Song, Miss Saigon, Shogun the Musical, Anything Goes), Michelle Liu Coughlin, Jan Leslie Harding (The Green Bird, founding member of the Bat Theatre Company at The Flea), Mike Mitchell, Jr., Ellen Mittenthal, Natasha Tabandera (Bombay Dreams, Mamma Mia, Miss Saigon) and Ernest Williams.

The show has book and lyrics by Bill Nabel and music by Bob Christianson. The production features choreography by Denny Paschall and dramaturgy by Peter Flynn.

The production features costume design by Michael Piatkowski and lighting design by Amanda Woodward.  Ms. Woodward is the stage manager.

Tickets are $18 and are now available online at www.SmartTix.com or by calling 212-868-4444.  More information can be found at www.takemeamerica.com.
BROADWAYWORLD.COM




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Chuckleball: Jailhouse Jocks, a Sports Musical Parody, to Play Snapple Theater
By Ernio Hernandez
12 Oct 2007


The musical revue Chuckleball: Jailhouse Jocks will begin a limited engagement at Off-Broadway's Snapple Theater Center Oct. 24.

The production will officially open at the midtown Manhattan venue — which is currently home to The Fantasticks and Perfect Crime — Oct. 26. The revue, which plays in the Studio Theatre space, will continue through Dec. 30.

Billed as a "sports comedy and parody musical revue... in the style of the long-running Forbidden Broadway and The Capitol Steps," Chuckleball "lampoons the foibles, fumbles and felonies of today's sports headlines: O.J. Simpson's sports memorabilia caper, Michael Vick's dog-fighting fiasco and Isaiah Thomas' sexual harassment hullabaloo are just a few of the stories that receive a parody pounding in this face-paced romp from the locker room to the court room," according to show materials.

The cast will feature Katey Daniel, Noah DeBiase, Mike Mitchell Jr. and Justin Senense.

Jason Goldstein (who also produces) and Ian Nemser co-direct and wrote the stage show. Meg Zervoulis is musical director. Brad Resnick serves as production manager.

Chuckleball last played in New York at The Producer's Club Theatre in 2004. The work has since been seen in other incarnations — including Chuckleball: Performance Enhancers, Chuckleball: I Keep Working My Way Back From Juice and Chuckleball: There's Always Room For Balco — across the country.

The approximately 95-minute show will play Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM. Additional performances include Oct. 24 at 2 PM and Oct. 25 at 8 PM.

Tickets to Chuckleball: Jailhouse Jocks at the Snapple Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street (at Broadway), are available by calling (212) 921-7862. For more information visit chuckleball.com.



Yearning to breathe free
Take Me America

Book and Lyrics By Bill Nabel
Music by Bob Christianson
Directed by Bill Nabel
Produced by Double Play Connections LLC
and Meredith Lucio


Midtown International Theatre Festival
(www.midtownfestival.org for schedules)



WorkShop Theater MainStage,
312 W. 36th St., 4th Floor
Equity showcase (closed
August 3, 2007
)
Review by Byrne Harrison


"...The acting is strong in this production. Most notable were Kolinski as the conflicted Gerald, the delightful Jan Leslie Harding one of Gerald's no-nonsense coworkers, Denny Paschall, as a non-observant Jew fleeing persecution in Russia, and Mike Mitchell, Jr., as Jean, a Haitian who will say or do anything to come to America..."

GOTHAM BASEBALL MAGAZINE
"CHUCKLEBALL IS A GRAND SLAM!"

Written by Mark Healey
Tuesday, 06 November 2007

"........Both Noah DeBiase ("James)  and Mike Mitchell Jr. (Isiah) are talented singers and move well, but  their characterizations of the well-known duo give a context to the performance that a sports fan can really appreciate.  Meantime, their ease and fluidity on stage immediately resonates with the theater aficionado.

The best part is, there's so much more.  Specifically, 90 minutes of non-stop performing by the
aforementioned DiBiase and Mitchell, and the equally talented Katey Daniel and Justin Senense

Each has a signature moment, and in some cases, more than one.

Mitchell spends the night transforming from character to character, and there are points when you
think there's another actor in the show.  From O.J. Simpson to Marion Jones to Barry Bonds, his
attention to detail and character development is impressive at any level.  In the intimate Snapple
Theater, it's extraordinary.

The Bonds number is uncanny, and his accompanying tune (I Never Get Booed in San Francisco)
sung to the tune of the Tony Bennett standard is both hilarious, ironic and downright spot on as
editorial commentary.........."
"...Mike Mitchell, Jr. lends a more immediate form of comedy to the cast; he has his best moments in short scenes. His imitation of hyperactive boxing promoter Don King demands attention and his Marion Jones must be seen to be believed..."
WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER - WWW.NYUNEWS.COM

Sports stars satirized in 'Chuckleball'
Josh Harrison
Issue date:
11/30/07 Section: Theater

How do you like your ham? If the answer is sugar-cured and country-flavored, then Manhattan Children's Theater's latest production should appeal to your tastes. Although not a revisionist ''Three Little Pigs'' (the Wolf is still bad), this musical adaptation has a sweet premise -- that celebrating differences is better than fighting over them -- and its rousing rockabilly tunes and lyrics, by Kyle C. Norris, keep the sentiments from becoming saccharine. The book, by Sarah Norris (this is a married couple; she also wrote some of the lyrics), sets the tale in the South, where the pigs live with Mama, a sow of ample girth (Katie Knipp, with the help of strategically placed pillows). But her offspring -- Patty (Julie Mozdy), Patterson (Mike Mitchell Jr.) and Pat (Stephen McFarland), above from left -- are little in every sense, and get into fistfights when they're teased. Mama suggests that they enter the local talent contest as the Three Little Pigs, showing pride in their smallness. The trio really can sing (no ''American Idol''-style stumbling here), and young audiences should enjoy their ode to food, which includes warm words for bacon: veggie bacon, that is. Big Bad Wolf (Chris Will), who combines Johnny Cash's fondness for black with a James Dean swagger, is already something of a country star, with his own agent, Rae Coon (Molly Roberson). Bad, as he's called, can't resist the idea of tricking the pig family into becoming his dinner. Traditionalists who long to hear the refrain of ''Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin'' will have their wishes satisfied at this point, when the pigs, deceived into thinking Mama has skipped town over their squabbling, build private houses. Ably directed by Bruce Merrill, the production offers amusing slapstick and an opportunity for young theatergoers to help give Bad a taste of his own medicine. With all the practice they get from blowing out birthday candles, children should have no trouble huffing and puffing a gale-force wind. (Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 2 p.m., through Feb. 25, with an additional show on Feb. 19 at 1 p.m., 52 White Street, near Church Street, TriBeCa, 212-352-3101; $15.) LAUREL GRAEBER
'Chuckleball' Performed at Knicks & Jets Games





The cast of the sports themed, Chuckleball: Jailhouse Jocks currently playing at the Snapple Theater Center sang the national anthem last night, November 20 at the New York Knicks basketball game.  The cast had also performed the "Star Spangled Banner" this past Sunday, November 18 at the New York Jets football game.

Last night's basketball game was the New York Knicks vs the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden at 7:30PM.  Sunday's football game was between the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Meadowlands.

"Chuckleball: Jailhouse Jocks is the sports comedy and parody musical revue currently playing at the Snapple Theater Center.  The fast-paced revue is a unique theatrical event consisting of musical numbers that lampoon the headlines and the sidelines.  Four actors impersonate dozens of top athletes and there scandalous stories," explain press notes.

The cast includes Katey Daniel, Noah DeBiase, Mike Mitchell Jr. and Justin Senense.  It is written and directed by Jason Goldstein and Ian Nemser.

Chuckleball: Jailhouse Jocks plays Mondays at 8PM, Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 7PM. Tickets priced at $45 are on sale through the end of the year and are available at Ticketmaster.com or by calling (212) 307- 4100.

The Snapple Theater Center is located at 1627 Broadway at 50th Street. For more information, visit www.chuckleball.com.