The Bushnell and Elephant Eye Theatrical head to Broadway with The Addams Family

In 2005, The Bushnell® joined four other nationally-renowned performing arts organizations – Citi Performing Arts Center in Boston, the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Association in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust – in forming the producing consortium Five Cent Productions, LLC. Following this formation, Five Cent Productions joined former Disney Theatrical Productions Executive Vice President Stuart Oken and Tony Award-winning producer Michael Leavitt as a producing partner in Elephant Eye Theatrical.

Elephant Eye Theatrical is a theatrical development and production company that creates new book musicals for Broadway and beyond. The company finds and initiates projects, assemble creative teams, fund the genesis and ongoing evolution of the projects, and serve as lead producer when the projects are fully staged. While The Bushnell remains a presenting theater, producing new works allows us to have ownership, exclusivity and, ultimately, profitability from the projects we help create. 

The primary focus this past year for Elephant Eye Theatrical and Five Cent Productions was The Addams Family, which took Broadway by storm, ranking as one of the highest-grossing shows in the 2010-2011 season.  After dazzling audiences since the show opened in 2010, stars Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth exited, and the Broadway cast welcomed Brook Shields (Wonderful Town, Chicago, Cabaret) as Morticia and Roger Rees (The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby, Indiscretions, Uncle Vanya) as Gomez.

A national tour of The Addams Family was announced, and launched in New Orleans in September and will hit over 30 cities in the United States and Canada in the 2011-2012 season, including The Bushnell in February 2012.  The tour will star Douglas Sills as Gomez and Sara Gettelfinger as Morticia.

Several other shows are in development by Five Center Productions/Elephan Eye Theatrical, including Beauty and Bruce Lee: Journey to the West.  Beauty, with book and direction by Tina Landau, lyrics by Michael Korie (Grey Gardens), and music by singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, had its first readings in New York City this past spring and fall.

Additional shows are in development, with details to be announced as the productions take shape.

Please continue to stop by for new information about our producing efforts with Five Cent Productions and Elephant Eye Theatrical!