“Rat Pack Lounge” Opens at Old Church Theatre
July 7th, 2014 – The 60s musical Rat Pack Lounge premieres July 16, right on the heels of the reprise production of Life Could Be a Dream, at Dakota Prairie Regional Center for the Arts (DPRCA)’s Old Church Theatre in New Rockford. The musical features hit crooner classics woven into a story of comedy and drama, old Las Vegas charm in a modern setting, and much of the same cast and crew from the hit production of Life.
The trio of famed Rat Pack crooner vocalists - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. - return to earth from heaven with a mission: to save their old acquaintance Vic from making a dangerous decision. Their souls “beam down” into the bodies of living people with connections to Vic and his bar, The Rat Pack Lounge, in Las Vegas. These unlikely heroes set out to save both Vic and the Lounge, and maybe even themselves. The show includes 30 hit Rat Pack songs from the 60s, with a live house band for an authentic Vegas experience.
The show is directed by Dakota Prairie Regional Center for the Arts’ (DPRCA’s) Artistic Director, Elliott Schwab, and produced by Managing Director Deb Belquist, with musical direction by Annette Hovey and choreography by Patrick Kasper. Technical direction and set design for the show are by Jared Kolles, with lights and sound by Case Dillon and Braxton Meehan. DPRCA’s live house band provides all the instrumentation for the show, with piano by Annette Hovey, keyboard by Tessa Hartl, Scott Westby on drums, Cathy Bowman on bass, and guitar by Steve Bowman.
Returning cast members from Life Could Be a Dream are Elliott Schwab, DPRCA’s Artistic Director and master’s program graduate in Music from NDSU, as Vic; Tony Peterson, music teacher at West Fargo Sheyenne High School, playing Sammy Davis, Jr.; Alex Hovey, a senior at NDSU in Music Education, as Frank Sinatra; and Jacee Engels, a recent graduate of New Rockford-Sheyenne School with state-level accomplishments in music, theatre, and the arts, in the role of Angie the angel. New to the DPRCA stage for this production is Joel Schock, recent graduate of the NDSU School of Music, as Dean Martin.
Tickets to Rat Pack Lounge are $25, available now at www.dprca.com or through the box office at (701) 947-2174. The show opens July 16 and runs through August 10. Show dates and seat availability are listed online, with 7:30 p.m. performances for most shows and a few 2:30 p.m. matinees. Rat Pack Lounge is sponsored by Farmers Union Insurance.
Next up for DPRCA will be the annual Wine Tasting Fundraiser, scheduled for Saturday, September 13, featuring live music by David Lee. More information will be released as it becomes available.
Volunteers and ushers are always needed and welcome. To connect with DPRCA, visit our website or find us on Facebook at “Dakota Prairie Regional Center for the Arts” for the most up-to-date photos, video clips, and updates.