Una Summer Theatre Staging 'amadeus' July 16-19

Jul. 02, 2009

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@tootsierocha.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

New online ticket purchasing offered through UNA Box Office

FLORENCE, Ala. - Salieri's infamous plot to kill Mozart will take stage in Norton Auditorium July 16-19 to kick off the 2009 UNA Summer Theatre Program. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. July 16-18 and 2 p.m. July 19.

Tickets are $17 for the general public, $12 for seniors ages 60 and up and $7 for students. Producer's Circle Sponsorships, available for $160 each, include front-center orchestra seats to all three UNA Summer Theatre Shows - "Amadeus," John Amos in "Halley's Comet" and The Smothers Brothers - as well as recognition in the show programs and tickets to a Producer's Circle VIP reception. Tickets and sponsorships are available at u2n.tootsierocha.com/summertheatre or by calling the UNA Box Office at 256-765-4636. "Amadeus," written by Peter Shaffer, premiered on Broadway in 1980, starring Ian McKellan as Antonio Salieri and Tim Curry as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The play won five Tony Awards, including Best Play. Shaffer adapted it for the movie version in 1984, which won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. Set in the lush 18th century court of Austrian Emporer Josef, the entire play is underscored with the brilliant music of Mozart himself, creating a stunning visual and aural experience as Salieri is obsessed with the musical genius of Mozart and plots his downfall. In the end, Salieri must realize that Mozart continues to live on through the majesty of his music as Salieri fades into obscurity. A stunning play, "Amadeus" is acclaimed throughout the world as one of the best plays in modern theatre. The UNA production of "Amadeus" will star UNA students Andrew Maxwell as Mozart and Brian Johnson as the young Salieri and UNA alumnus Will Stutts as the old Salieri.

About the UNA Summer Theatre Program

The only professional summer theatre program in the Tennessee Valley, the UNA Summer Theatre Program is a revival of the UNA program of the 1970s that achieved regional and national recognition each summer for hosting some of the brightest stars of stage, screen and television to perform and share their experiences in the entertainment industry. Personalities such as Van Johnson, Janis Paige, Mercedes McCambridge, Peggy Cass, Sal Mineo, Broderick Crawford and many others graced the Norton Auditorium stage as part of the series. UNA was one of the only universities in the Southeast to undertake such an ambitious project. In 2008, the program was revived by Stutts, who, as a UNA student, had been involved with the first Summer Theatre Program. He has since earned recognition as a professional actor, director, producer and playwright. Last summer, in its first year, the revived Summer Theatre Program presented Stutts' own one-man play "Mark Twain's America," the hit musical biography of Tammy Wynette "Stand by Your Man," and brought Emmy Award winner, the irresistible Vicki Lawrence, of "The Carol Burnett Show" and "Mama's Family" fame, to UNA.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: tootsierocha.com and tootsierocha.com/unaworks/.