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  • SING-A-LONG SOUND OF MUSIC RETURNS TO THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL HOSTED BY ACTRESS MELISSA PETERMAN
  • Sep. 19, 2008
  • Featuring Signature Costume Parade and Special Appearance by Charmian Carr, who Played "Sixteen-Going-On-Seventeen" Liesl in the Film

    FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2008

    6:00 p.m. Pre-Show Costume Parade; 7:30 p.m. Movie

    The Hollywood Bowl transforms into the world's largest movie theater when Sing-A-Long Sound of Music returns for the sixth time on Friday, September 19, 2008, at 7:30 p.m., with the event's signature costume parade hosted by actress-comedienne Melissa Peterman at 6 p.m. The evening also features a special appearance by Charmian Carr, who played eldest Von Trapp daughter, Liesl, in the film. The “Sing-A-Long” version of the beloved Twentieth Century Fox classic film, celebrating the most successful movie musical and the number one family film ever, is a screening of the classic Julie Andrews film musical -- the winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture -- in glorious full-screen Technicolor and spectacular six-track digital sound, complete with subtitles so the whole audience can sing along.

    The evening, traditionally a sell-out year after year, attracts both long-time devotees of the film and fresh new audiences alike. Creativity and imagination rule the costume parade, which is open to all audience members and in the past has featured everything from adorable Von Trapp children to brown paper packages tied up with string and the gazebo – in human form -- where Rolf and Liesl dance as well as a healthy assortment of Marias and nuns in all shapes, sizes and sexes. Everyone receives a complimentary Fun Pak filled with interactive props to brandish at appropriate points in the film, and Peterman coaches the audience in their use during the pre-film activities; she also conducts a vocal warm-up.

    The Sound of Music continues to be the most popular film musical in history. Based on the 1959 Broadway show, with original songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, the film, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premiered on March 2, 1965, in New York City. Since then, it has earned more than $160 million. For more than four decades, generations of adults and children have enjoyed the timeless story of the governess Maria and the family von Trapp. Sing-A-Long Sound of Music is produced with Sing-A-Long Productions by arrangement with Twentieth Century Fox and the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization.

    MELISSA PETERMAN is an actress who was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating Minnesota University magna cum laude with theatre as one of her majors, she was cast as Madeline Monroe in Hey City Theater’s production of Tony & Tina’s Wedding. Following more than 600 performances, she went on to work as a writer and performer at the improvisational comedy theater The Brave New Workshop, which boasts such alumni as Louie Anderson, Peter Tolan, and Al Franken. While with the Brave New Workshop, she also performed at the Chicago Improv Festival and the Big Stink Comedy Festival in Austin, Texas. Melissa made her film debut as “Hooker #2” in the 1996 Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning movie Fargo. She has also appeared in the comedies Recipe for Disaster and How High with Fred Willard, Hector Elizondo and Spalding Gray, and Method Man. In 2001, she landed a role in the WB sitcom Reba alongside country singer Reba McEntire, playing the new woman for Reba’s former husband, Brock. She played the character “B.J.,” a nutty woman who was the mother to young “Henry.” On television, she appeared in the Oxygen sketch comedy show Running With Scissors, guest-starred on Just Shoot Me!, hosted Comedy Stage, a CMT comedy series, and hosted the CMT special Red Neck Dreams. She also appeared on the World Cup Comedy Challenge series and on the celebrity edition of Trading Spaces with her Reba husband Christopher Rich. She has done voiceovers for The Pitts and American Dad. She starred in a play, Bad Seed, which was nominated for an Ovation award. She appeared as an amateur chef in the movie Cook-Off!, which premiered at the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen, Colorado. At the Hollywood Bowl, Melissa hosted The Wizard of Oz Sing-A-Long in 2003 and The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long in 2004 and 2005 during her summer hiatuses from Reba, and again in 2007. Recently Melissa starred in the ABC pilot Cedric in the independent comedy feature Dirty Politics (www.dirtypoliticsthemovie.com). She has been appearing with Reba and Kelly Clarkson in the Two Worlds, Two Voices tour throughout the US and is performing for the third time at the 2008 Les Girls National Breast Cancer Coalition Foundation (NBCCF) charity event. If you have a question for Melissa you can visit her on her website and "Ask Melissa!" at www.MelissaPeterman.net. Melissa and her husband and son reside in Los Angeles. She is thrilled to be back at the Hollywood Bowl and still likes to remind Reba that she got to sing at the Bowl first!

    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 introduced 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 40th season. Attendance figures over the past several decades have soared: in 1980 the Bowl first topped the half-million mark and close to one million admissions have been recorded. In February 2008, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the fourth year in a row at the 19th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards. The Bowl's summer music festival has become as much a part of a Southern California summer as beaches and barbecues, the Dodgers, and Disneyland.

    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

    FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2008


    6:00 p.m. Pre-Show Costume Parade; 7:30 p.m. Movie

    HOLLYWOOD BOWL, 2301 N. Highland Ave. in Hollywood



    Sing-A-Long Sound of Music



    MELISSA PETERMAN, host

    Tickets ($5 - $67) are on sale now at HollywoodBowl.com, at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office (Tuesday–Sunday, noon–6 p.m.), by phone 323.850.2000 or by calling Ticketmaster at 213.480.3232, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Groups of 10 or more may be eligible for a 20% discount, subject to availability; call 323.850.2050 for further details.

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  • Contact:

    Laura Stegman, Laura-Stegman@hotmail.com; 310.470.6321; For photos: 213.972.3034