For info contact Donna White at donnawhite@glmt.org or 978-319-8867

GLMT announces summer shows 

LOWELL, Mass. – The Greater Lowell Music Theatre, in partnership with the UMass Lowell Center for Arts and Ideas, is pleased to present its 2014 summer season of musicals.

All shows are performed in Durgin Concert Hall, located on UMass Lowell’s South Campus at 35 Wilder St. Tickets range in price from $20 to $30, and may be purchased online at www.glmt.org or by calling 978-319-8867. Reduced price season subscriptions are available.

The summer schedule is: “Fiddler on the Roof” (June 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. and June 29 at 2 p.m.), one of Broadway’s all-time favorites, featuring Tony nominee Eddie Mekka, star of TV’s “Laverne and Shirley,” as “Tevye.” Directed by Jack Neary with musical oversight by Leon Grande and choreography by Lisa Pilato-Fuller, the show features Andrea Grande, Deb Poppel and Rick Sherburne. Songs include “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” and, of course, “If I Were a Rich Man.” “Chicago, a Musical Vaudeville” (Aug. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 3 at 2 p.m.), the longest-running American musical in Broadway history is a non-stop spectacle with sizzling songs, snappy choreography and a story to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. The show features Jessica Dee, Kate Grande and Jerry Bisantz, along with songs “Razzle Dazzle,” “Roxie,” and “All That Jazz.”

“GLMT’s swift ascendance in the public eye is in no small way attributable to our affiliation with the UMass Lowell family. We feel at home in Durgin and confidently bring these musicals to the stage this summer,” said Neary, the company’s artistic director. “Eddie Mekka has been performing ‘Tevye’ in ‘Fiddler’ for 20 years, and, among many other raves, one critic wrote his performance ‘makes you forget all others.’ We are thrilled to have him with us. Though the style and energy of ‘Chicago, a Musical Vaudeville’ is worlds apart from ‘Fiddler,’ it too, packs a show-stopping wallop with its Jazz Age music and merry murderesses. We have gathered two casts of remarkable quality and can’t wait to bring these shows to Wilder Street.”

Neary, who graduated from UMass Lowell in 1973, formed the GLMT in 2012 with fellow UMass Lowell graduate Leon Grande ’76, ’89, the company’s musical director, and choreographer Phyllis George. Business manager Donna White is also a UMass Lowell graduate.

“UMass Lowell’s partnership with GLMT continues to bring top-notch musical theatre to the campus and community,” said Paul Marion, the university’s executive director of community relations. “In addition to being excellent, highly entertaining productions, the musicals showcase some of our richly talented alumni and current students. The audiences always leave saying they can’t wait for the next show.”