SILENCE THE MUSICAL RETURNS TO TIMES SQUARE

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BROADWAY @ TIMES SQUARE

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Sean McDermott

Due to popular demand, SILENCE! The Musical resumed performances tomorrow,the other day at the Elektra Theatre in the heart of Times Square. Following the announcement that SILENCE! would be ending its long run December 30th, ticket sales unexpectedly soared, shattering all previous box office records for the show so far. As a result, the producers determined that the smash hit show will reopen on January 19th. Originally announced as a strictly limited engagement through August 13, 2011, SILENCE! was extended numerous times by popular demand and transferred theatres twice, ultimately landing at the new Elektra Theatre, which was constructed especially for the show. SILENCE! opened at Theatre 80 on July 9, 2011 to unanimous rave reviews and spawned a highly successful L.A. production starring Davis Gaines and Christine Lakin.

Winner of the 2012 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical, SILENCE! The Musical is the unauthorized parody of The Silence of the Lambs, with book by Hunter Bell, music & lyrics by Jon and Al Kaplan, and direction & choreography by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli. The show was selected by Time Magazine as one of the Top 5 Musicals of 2011.

In the Academy Award-winning film The Silence of the Lambs, rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling matches wits with the brilliant but insane cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, to catch the serial killer known only as Buffalo Bill. Clarice faces her own demons while racing the clock to unlock Lecter's clues before another innocent girl is killed and skinned by Buffalo Bill. The laugh-out-loud raunchy satire, SILENCE! The Musical, features a singing chorus of floppy eared lambs narrating the action as Buffalo Bill gleefully dances a hoedown while kidnapping hapless Catherine Martin. Even Dr. Lecter, scary as ever, sings about the life he'd like to lead someday outside the prison walls.

With Sean McDermott (star of Broadway’s Miss Saigon, Grease, Falsettos, and Starlight Express) as Hannibal Lecter, the cast of SILENCE! The Musical also features David Ayers, Pamela Bob, Ashlee Dupré, Stephen Hanna, Natalie Joy Johnson, Howard Kaye, Topher Nuccio, Ronica V. Reddick, Kimberly Stern, and Doug Trapp.

Created by Jon and Al Kaplan in 2002, SILENCE! The Musical began as a collection of songs on the internet which immediately attracted a staggering number of fans. The Kaplans' subsequent screenplay SILENCE! The Musical was adapted by Hunter Bell into a live stage show, which also featured newly composed songs by the brothers. Fueled by a rabid cult following, SILENCE! shattered every box office record at the 2005 FringeNYC Festival, winning the award for Best Musical. SILENCE! met with further success in London where it garnered ecstatic reviews at the Above The Stag Theatre.

Set design for SILENCE! The Musical is by three-time Tony winner Scott Pask, with costume design by David Kaley, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, and sound design by Carl Casella. Music Supervisor is Mark Hartman, with musical direction by Brian J. Nash.

SILENCE! The Musical has hosted an unusually large number of celebrity attendees including Jodie Foster, Matt Bomer (twice), Joan Rivers, Kelly Ripa, Jonathan Demme, James Earl Jones, Perez Hilton, Josh Groban, Rachel Dratch, Justin Kirk, Jonathan Groff, T.R. Knight, Lisa Lampanelli, Andy Dick, Neil Simon, Corbin Bleu, Richard Kind, Alec Mapa, Ben Schwartz, Willie Garson, Steven Pasquale, Lindsey Shaw, Mario Cantone, Erin Cummings, Linus Roache, Stephen Schwartz, David LaChapelle, Jeremy Jordan, Chad Allen, Heather Matarazzo, James Lapine, John Kander, Chita Rivera, Danny Burstein, Vicki Lewis, John Billingsley, Georgia Engel, Christian Campbell, Will Swenson, Barrett Foa, Tovah Feldshuh, Randy Harrison, Stephen Flaherty, Julie Brown, Cady Huffman, Audrey Wasilewski, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Barbara Feldon, Shuler Hensley, Reed Birney, Michelle Clunie, Anthony Heald, Donna McKechnie, James Barbour, and Telly Leung.

Produced by Theater Mogul, SILENCE! The Musical runs 90 minutes with no intermission. The playing schedule is Fridays at 7 PM and Saturdays at 2 & 7 PM at the Elektra Theatre, 669 Eighth Avenue (at 42nd St.) Tickets are available by calling 212-352-3101 or through www.SilenceTheMusical.com.