Press Releases

May 1, 2007

Contact:
Dale B. Stark
Public Relations Manager
Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
(515) 246-2363 : desk
(515) 770-3253 : cell
dstark@civiccenter.org
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN THEATRES AND PRODUCERS ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF 2007 TOURING BROADWAY AWARDS
Civic Center’s 2006-2007 Betts Broadway Series presentations SPAMALOT, DOUBT, and THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA win major awards

DES MOINES, Iowa – The League of American Theatres and Producers announced the winners of the 2007 Touring Broadway Awards recently in New York City.  The 2006-2007 Betts Broadway Series’ MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT, DOUBT, and THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA - as well as two shows previously presented at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines – were the big winners.

MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT, in which the Civic Center invested through its participation with the Independent Presenters Network, earned awards for Best New Musical, Best Direction, and Best Production Design.  The award for Best Play went to DOUBT.  THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA won for Best Musical Score.  Past Civic Center presentations MOVIN’ OUT won the Best Choreography award and CHICAGO received Best Long-Running Musical award.

The Touring Broadway Awards, established in 2001, are the first national awards to recognize Touring Broadway.  League presenters representing over 240 markets act as a blue-ribbon panel to select award recipients from their Broadway Series.

Following the announcement of the Touring Broadway Awards, the League kicked off its week-long annual Spring Road Conference which is a gathering of presenters and theatre owners/operators from around the country, Broadway producers, and general managers.   This year, the League’s Spring Road Conference was co-chaired by Civic Center CEO & President Jeff Chelesvig.  In addition to co-chairing this year’s conference, Chelesvig’s has also served on the League’s Board of Governors, chaired various committees, and currently acts as one of 730 voters for the annual Tony Awards® (Iowa’s only Tony voter).  Chelesvig’s active participation in the League allows him to develop and cultivate relationships with producers and national booking agents thereby positioning the Civic Center as an attractive destination for popular shows such as SPAMALOT, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and DISNEY’S THE LION KING.

For additional information, or to request an interview with Jeff Chelesvig, Civic Center President & CEO, please contact Dale B. Stark, Public Relations Manager at (515) 246-2363 or dstark@civiccenter.org.

Additional information about the awards is available at www.TouringBroadwayAwards.com.

Additional information about the Civic Center is available at CivicCenter.org.

The League of American Theatres and Producers
The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc., founded in 1930 as the League of New York Theatres and operating under the “Live Broadway” trademark, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry.  The League’s 600-plus members include theatres owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in 240 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry.  Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and across the U.S. and Canada.

Contact:
Alan Cohen, Director of Communications
The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc.
226 W. 47th St., New York, NY  10036
(212) 703-0225, acohen@broadway.org

The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines is a private not-for-profit corporation celebrating 27 years of presenting the performing arts to Iowa and the surrounding states.  It is the presenter of major Broadway and educational touring companies, performers and groups, and is the performing home of many local and regional groups, including the Des Moines Symphony and StageWest.  All performances of the Broadway Series are supported by Betts Auto Campus. 

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