New Pizza Division

John bought out a Pizza joint in NYC…not really, but it’s fun to pretend. He was in town promoting Dreamworks’ “Madagascar Live!” however. Tickets and tour dates are available here. BTW, to our friends in NY, Mad Live will be at Radio City Music Hall April 15-24!

-Dan TWW

John is Going MAD (Live)

Mr. Tellem has been “on the ground” for the past week, helping open our client’s new show, Madagascar Live! Brought to you by Dreamworks and Broadway Across America, the stage show is traveling to 70 cities this year. Read more from the press release here.

John sent us a photo from day 5 and he’s already showing signs of stress:

-Dan TWW

Flatley’s Lord of the Dance is Back

Lord of the Dance...coming to a theatre near you.

For those of you who’ve known us at Tellem a while, you’ve probably been our guests at a local Lord of the Dance performance…our drummer Dan is a fan, since the performance is so rhythmic but how in the world is this show still popular after nearly 15 years of constantly touring the US and Canada??

Because:

• who doesn’t like a classic story of good v. evil?
• show’s fancy footwork encompasses various forms of Irish dance and music
• wide appeal. Student newspapers to print/broadcast media outlets enthusiastically cover the production
• the dancers are AMAZING. the average age of performers is 22. “Each one is a superstar,” says Flatley
• women can check out some athletic, handsome men; men get to check out some athletic, beautiful women
• 21 scenes, fun costumes, captivating lighting/staging, love story make for great date night
• the show has excellent tour publicists – HAD to sneak that in 🙂

What else does Flatley say about the dancers in his show?

They give of themselves in a way that is unique alone to Irish dancing, stretching a form of dance that has evolved over more than 2,000 years.

Can you believe this? More than 100 million people worldwide have seen Lord of the Dance.

And millions have seen one of our favorite cast members, Jason Gorman, leap just like so:

Wonder if Jason can slam dunk while doing this?

The show has an ability to connect with the audience and initiate and captivate a new generation.  Adding to the visceral and emotional impact are costumes, lighting and staging that are cinematic in scope.

Flatley, who originated the role of the Lord, is the company’s Artistic Director, a position he has held since the troupe’s stunning 1996 debut in Dublin.  Irish dance lovers and music fans alike will get a chance to experience the engaging, rhythmic adventure that has helped catapult Celtic dance mania and Irish dancing into the global spotlight.  No wonder Lord of the Dance has jettisoned its ticket sales to more than $800 million worldwide.

Still wondering whether you should see the show? The New York Post says LOTD is “fascinating, rewarding and above all, entertaining.” OK…the Los Angeles Times said it is “a showpiece extravaganza.”

For a list of tour dates, visit www.lordofthedance.com, click “tour dates” and then be sure to click “Troupe II” on the left sidebar.

The lovely ladies of Lord of the Dance

Storytime Live! – This is SERIOUS!!!

Storytime Live! cast hit the stage.

Last week, John had the joy of heading directly into the “Snow-icane” to open Nickelodeon’s Storytime Live! U.S. theatrical tour. The show just completed the successful first full week of shows in York, Pittsburgh and Toledo — next, headed to Wallingford, State College, Syracuse and Appleton (Wisconsin).

John was sooo excited by all the snow, he sent this Crackberry pic to us, back here in sunny SoCal:

Outside the theatre in York, day before opening!

Come the opening night performance, John texted us:

Fan reactions = priceless.  Lots of kids coming dressed as Kai-lan.

Best part of the show? Ming Ming the Duck from Wonder Pets whose best line is “This Is SERIOUS!!!!!!”

The show is visiting scores of cities this year. As we said in a previous post, the production features four different Nick properties (all current top-rated preschool television shows) including: Dora the Explorer, The Backyardigans, Wonder Pets! and Ni Hao, Kai-lan.

For more information, visit www.nicklivetour.com

-Dan TWW

Cats, Fix Nation Fundraiser at Katsuya

Our friends at FixNation have partnered with the national tour of CATS the Musical for a night of fundraising and friendraising, March 10th. Fur-real. Kick off your night with the FixNation family, A-list celebrities and members from the cast of CATS by pawing some appetizers and cocktails at the pre-show VIP reception at Catsuya *cough* Katsuya. After you’ve had your fill of catnip it’ll be time to head over to the Pantages for a special performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s smash hit, CATS the Musical.

Tickets are available to the public for $250 each and include the reception and a well-situated seat at the performance.

For more information on becoming a sponsor, contact Mark Dodge, president of FixNation at mark@fixnation.org or call 818-735-6531.