BRING IN DA NOISE, BRING IN DA FUNK EVENTS The Joseph Papp Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival, George C. Wolfe,
Producer, is pleased to announce that BRING IN 'DA NOISE, BRING IN 'DA FUNK,
winner of four 1996 Tony Awards, will begin a limited, premiere engagement in Houston's
Jones Hall, April 27 - May 2 as part of the 1998 - 1999 MasterCard Broadway Series.
Tickets will go on sale Sunday, March 21. Prices range from $15.00 - $49.50 and may be
purchased at all Ticketmaster ticket centers or charge-by-phone at 713-629-3700.
George C. Wolfe, who won a Tony Award for his direction of NOISE / FUNK, will return to
direct a new ensemble of performers for the first national tour, featuring the Tony award-
winning choreography of Savion Glover.
BRING IN 'DA NOISE, BRING IN 'DA FUNK is the groundbreaking ensemble musical
based on an idea by Savion Glover and George C. Wolfe. Conceived and directed by Mr.
Wolfe, and choreographed by Mr. Glover, NOISE / FUNK utilizes the rhythms and energies
of tap to celebrate the history of the beat by presenting text and songs which are comprised
of Mr. Glover's tap; poetry by Reg E. Gaines; and music by Zane Mark, Daryl Waters and
Ann Duquesnay. Derick K. Grant, a member of the world premier production at The Public
Theatre, recreates Glover's choreography for the tour.
George C. Wolfe and Savion Glover first worked together in 1992 on the landmark
Broadway musical Jellys Last Jam. During the summer of 1994, Wolfe presented Glover
in Dancing Under The Stars at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, an evening of tap
dancing that was part of The Public Theater's Mondays at the Delacorte program.
NOISE / FUNK grew out of Wolfe's idea of Savion as a living repository of rhythm. Wolfe
comments: "From generation to generation, tap dancers taught each other their steps. The
old timers passed their information on to Savion, and it landed in his feet, his being, and his
soul. Re-inventing these steps he has created a new form, and through his choreography in
NOISE / FUNK, he is teaching tap to a new generation of dancers."
NOISE.IFUNK started as a workshop during the summer of 1995 at The Public Theater,
where it opened in November to virtually unanimous critical acclaim by theater and dance
critics, playing until January 1996. It then transferred to Broadway in April, 1996 and
reopened to a second round of rave reviews, nine Tony Award nominations including best
musical, and sell-out crowds. In his review of the Broadway production, Ben Brantley of
The New York Times exclaimed: "Sing hallelujah! NOISF / FUNK is alive and flying higher
than ever. This white-hot exchange of energy can sometimes be found at a rock concert, but
rarely at a Broadway musical." NOISE / FUNK shattered Ambassador Theater house
records during its three triumphant years on Broadway.
BRING IN 'DA NOISE, BRING IN 'DA FUNK has set design by Riccardo Hernandez,
lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, costume design by Paul Tazewell,
sound design by John Weston and projection design is by Batwin+Robin.
The Grammy nominated original cast recording of BRING IN IDA NOISE, BRING IN
'DA FUNK is available on RCA Victor.
BRING IN 'DA NOISE, BRING IN 'DA FUNK was conceived and developed in The
Public Theater's LuEsther Lab which is devoted to the creative process and the development
of new work. Funding for the Lab is provided by the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust,
The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The New York Times Company
Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, The Frederick
Loewe Foundation and the Herb Alpert Foundation.
The world premiere of BRING IN 'DA NOISE, BFJNG IN -DA FUNK at The Public
Theater was made possible, in part, by generous grants from The LuEsther T. Mertz
Charitable Trust, Dorothy and Lewis Cullman, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the
Harkness Foundation for Dance.
The Tickets for the Houston engagement of BRING IN 'DA NOISE, BRING IN 'DA FUNK
will go on sale Sunday, March 21 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster ticket centers
including Foley's and Kroger. To charge-by-phone, call 713-629-3700; for groups of 20 or
more, call 713-693-2692 or toll free at 1-800-889-8457. Ticket prices range from $15.00 to
$49.50. Performance times are Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
matinees at 2:00 p.m. with a specially priced $15.00 matinee on Thursday, April 29 at 1:00
p.m. Please note: the 2:00 matinee on Saturday, May 1 will be captioned for the hearing
impaired. The TDD # for tickets is l-800-755-6244.
The MasterCard Broadway Series is made possible by MasterCard International. With
headquarters in Purchase, NY, MasterCard International is a global payments company with
one of the world's most recognized brands. It is dedicated to helping more than 22,000
financial institutions provide their customers with a variety of payments.
Additional support for the 1998 - 1999 MasterCard Broadway Series is provided by
Continental Airlines, Of'ficial and Exclusive Airline and Lucent Technologies, Official
Communications Technology Sponsor.
