Joe Mantegna Hosts with Special Guests Scott Bakula,
Robert Culp, Ja'Net Dubois, Hector Elizondo, Morgan Fairchild,
Peter Gallagher, Shelley Long, Sheryl Lee Ralph, The Rembrandts,
The Smothers Brothers and More

Media support generously provided by KCET Television

Principal Conductor John Mauceri leads the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a television music extravaganza, Television Night at the Hollywood Bowl II, on Friday, July 9 at 8:30 p.m. The program features themes from The West Wing, JAG, the Simpsons, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, plus tributes to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and Captain Kangaroo. Host Joe Mantegna, star of the CBS series Joan of Arcadia, helps present the work of television's greatest songwriters and composers. Additional stars including Scott Bakula, Hector Elizondo, Morgan Fairchild, Peter Gallagher, Shelley Long, The Smothers Brothers, and many others join the Orchestra in a celebration of TV composers and favorite theme songs.

The event features Broadway crossover stars performing their stage hits, as well as guest conductors leading the Orchestra in works of their own. Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch), The Rembrants (Friends theme) and Shelley Long (Cheers) lead the audience in a sing-a-long of some of the most famous television themes of all time. The night concludes with a brilliant fireworks display above the newly-constructed Hollywood Bowl shell. This program is produced in cooperation with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation.

JOHN MAUCERI's accomplishments extend nationally and internationally, not only to the world's greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, before large television and radio audiences, and in recording studios and major publications. Mauceri has received substantial recognition for his work as one of the principal forces behind the movement to preserve two of America's great art forms, the American musical and music for the American cinema. He is equally at home conducting artists ranging from Plácido Domingo (during a live broadcast of the Grammy Awards) to Madonna (with whom he recorded the soundtrack to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita), from Garth Brooks (an inaugural inductee into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame) to the Smashing Pumpkins (for the 1996 MTV Music Awards). Carol Burnett, Chicago, John Denver, Rodney Gilfry, Jonathan Pryce, Jane Eaglen, Jennifer Larmore, Patrick Stewart, Tito Puente, Charlotte Church, and Trisha Yearwood are among the multitude of artists who have performed with Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra have presented an astonishing number of premieres, and during his tenure, opera and ballet returned to the Bowl's stage. In addition to his Hollywood Bowl position, Mauceri has served as music director for the Pittsburgh Opera since June 2000. The only American ever to have held the post of music director of an opera house in Great Britain and Italy, he served as music director of the Scottish Opera, and recently completed his three-year tenure as music director (direttore stabile) of the Teatro Reggio in Torino.

One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and in 1991 gave its name to the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, a resident ensemble that has filled a special niche in the musical life of Southern California. The 2004 season introduces audiences to a revitalized Hollywood Bowl, featuring a newly-constructed shell and stage and the addition of four stadium screens enhancing stage views in the venue. To this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. While the Bowl is best known for its sizzling summer nights, during the day California's youngest patrons enjoy "SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl," the Southland's most popular summer arts festival for children, now in its 35th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and last summer close to one million admissions were recorded. It is no wonder that the Bowl's summer music festivals have become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers and Disneyland.

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

Friday, July 9, at 8:30 p.m.

Television Night at the Hollywood Bowl II

HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

John Mauceri, conductor

Joe Mantegna, co-host

Scott Bakula

Ja'Net Dubois

Morgan Fairchild

Peter Gallagher

Shelley Long

Donna McKechnie

Vic Mizzy

David Newell

Sheryl Lee Ralph

The Rembrandts

The Smothers Brothers

Sally Struthers

Deney Terrio

Barry Williams

Media support for July 9 generously provided by KCET Television
Tickets ($1 - $88) are on sale now at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office, by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, at all Ticketmaster outlets (Robinsons May, Tower Records, and Ritmo Latino locations), or online at HollywoodBowl.com. Groups of 12 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850-2050 for further details. For general information or to request a brochure, call 323.850.2000.

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