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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>I thought some of you may wish to attend and probably should.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Richard Payne, President<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>937-396-5573or 937/829/3368<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Rchpay7@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> General Manager [mailto:srotheatregm@gmail.com] <br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, January 4, 2018 5:26 PM<br><b>To:</b> General Manager <srotheatregm@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> TITANIC THE MUSICAL with audio description - Promo code included!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt'>Special offer for patrons who will be utilizing the audio description at the one performance at which it will be provided: USE PROMO CODE AUDIO FOR A SPECIAL BUY ONE - GET ONE FREE OFFER FOR THE 2PM PERFORMANCE ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25th FOR PURCHASES MADE BY FEBRUARY 15th!<br><br>To reserve headsets for audio description after placing an order online, either e-mail <a href="mailto:srotheatregm@gmail.com">srotheatregm@gmail.com</a> with your name or call us at 614-427-3324 and leave a message.</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=right style='text-align:right;text-indent:.5in'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=right style='text-align:right;text-indent:.5in'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt'> <u>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</u></span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span lang=EN>Contact: Kristofer Green, Artistic Director</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span lang=EN><a href="mailto:sro.kristofergreen@gmail.com"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1155CC'>sro.kristofergreen@gmail.com</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=right style='text-align:right'><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt'>614-427-3324 </span><span lang=EN><a href="http://www.srotheatre.org"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#1155CC'>www.srotheatre.org</span></a></span><span lang=EN style='font-size:10.0pt'> </span><span lang=EN> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>SRO THEATRE’S 2017-2018 SEASON CONTINUES WITH </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>AN AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE OF</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><span lang=EN style='font-size:14.0pt'>TITANIC THE MUSICAL</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>(Columbus, Ohio) January 2, 2018 -- SRO Theatre Company’s 33rd season continues with <i>Titanic The Musical,</i> Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s stunning musical about the ill-fated ocean liner and its passengers.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>The production, directed by SRO Theatre Artistic Director Kristofer Green, will play the Columbus Performing Arts Center’s Van Fleet Theatre beginning with a preview performance on Thursday, February 15, 2018. The Tony Award musical officially opens Friday, February 16 and will run through Sunday, February 25, 2018.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>Audio description for people who are blind or hearing impaired will be available at the Sunday, February 25th performance. To reserve a headset for the audio description, patrons should call (614) 427-3324 or e-mail <a href="mailto:srotheatregm@gmail.com">srotheatregm@gmail.com</a> at least two weeks before the performance to secure availability. Patrons taking advantage of this accessibility feature are advised to arrive by 1:15 p.m. for pre-performance program notes.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>Based on the real-life passengers and crew of the RMS Titanic, the musical won 5 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Score. The story focuses on the hopes and aspirations of the souls aboard the greatest ship in the world. Unaware of the fate that awaits them, the Third-Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the newly-enfranchised Second Class dream of achieving the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and the millionaire Barons of the First Class dream of their hegemony lasting forever.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><i><span lang=EN>Titanic The Musical </span></i><span lang=EN>is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of events that took place in the final hours of April 14, 1912 aboard the RMS Titanic. On her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, the unsinkable ship collided with an iceberg and slowly sank. It was one of the most tragic disasters of the 20th Century. 1517 men, women and children lost their lives.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>The discovery of the wreck of the RMS Titanic in 1985 attracted Yeston's interest in writing a musical about the famous disaster. "What drew me to the project was the positive aspects of what the ship represented – 1) humankind's striving after great artistic works and similar technological feats, despite the possibility of tragic failure, and 2) the dreams of the passengers on board: 3rd Class, to immigrate to America for a better life; 2nd Class, to live a leisured lifestyle in imitation of the upper classes; 1st Class, to maintain their privileged positions forever.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>The collision with the iceberg dashed all of these dreams simultaneously, and the subsequent transformation of character of the passengers and crew had, it seemed to me, the potential for great emotional and musical expression onstage."</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Stone and Yeston knew that the idea was an unusual subject for a musical. "I think if you don't have that kind of daring damn-the-torpedoes, you shouldn't be in this business. It's the safe-sounding shows that often don't do well. You have to dare greatly, and I really want to stretch the bounds of the kind of expression in musical theater," Yeston explained.</span><span lang=EN> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Yeston saw the story as unique to turn-of-the-century British culture, with its rigid social class system and its romanticization of progress through technology. "In order to depict that on the stage, because this is really a very English show, I knew I would have to have a color similar to the one found in the music of the great composers at that time, like Elgar or Vaughan Williams; this was for me an opportunity to bring in the musical theater an element of the symphonic tradition that I think we really haven't had before. That was very exciting.”</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>The musical premiered on Broadway on April 23, 1997 and ran for 804 performances before closing on March 21, 1999.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><i><span lang=EN>Titanic The Musical </span></i><span lang=EN>features a talented local cast that includes <b>Jesse Daniel Trieger </b>(Frederick Barrett), <b>Kristen Basore </b>(Kate McGowan), <b>Keith Robinson </b>(Captain EJ Smith), <b>Brandon Maldonado </b>(Thomas Andrews), <b>William Macke </b>(Frederick Fleet/Benjamin Guggenheim), <b>Bill Hafner </b>(J. Bruce Ismay), <b>Paul Lee </b>(Isidor Strauss) and <b>Jack Miller </b>(Jim Farrell). </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><b><span lang=EN>FULL CASTING</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Frederick Barrett -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jesse Daniel Trieger</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Harold Bride ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nick Van Atta</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Frederick Fleet/Benjamin Guggenheim ---------------------------------------------------- William Macke</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Wallace Hartley/Joseph Bell ---------------------------------------------------------- Adam James Cooper</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Thomas Andrews/The Major ------------------------------------------------------------ Brandon Maldonado</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>J. Bruce Ismay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bill Hafner</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Captain E.J. Smith ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keith Robinson</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Kate McGowan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kristen Basore</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Jim Farrell/John Thayer/Boxhall ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jack Miller</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Murdoch/J.J. Astor ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thor Collard</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Alice Beane -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ciera Bierbaugh</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Edgar Beane/Lightoller -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Clay</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Henry Etches/Pitman ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Weston McAloney</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Charlotte Drake Cardoza ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Susan Gellman</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Isidor Strauss --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Lee</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Ida Strauss ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wendy Cohen</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Charles Clarke/George Widener --------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Murdock</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Caroline Neville --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taryn Hammond</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Eleanor Widener ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Emma Macesich</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Marion Thayer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mina Foreman</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Kate Mullins/Mme. Aubert --------------------------------------------------------------------- Grace Rinehart</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Kate Murphey/Madeleine Astor --------------------------------------------------------------- Kara Hancock</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Bellboy/Frank Carlson/JH Rogers ---------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Robison</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Hitchens/Bandsman Bricoux ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kevin Tate</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Edith Corse Evans ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Susan Loar</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN>Jack Thayer ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eli Wilson</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN>CALENDAR LISTING</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><i><span lang=EN>Titanic The Musical- </span></i><span lang=EN>SRO Theatre Company, Columbus Performing Arts Center Van Fleet Theatre, 549 Franklin Ave.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>Contact: 614-427-3324,<a href="http://www.srotheatre.org"><span style='color:black;text-decoration:none'> </span></a><a href="http://www.srotheatre.org"><span style='color:#1155CC'>www.srotheatre.org</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>Details: Based on the real-life passengers and crew aboard the ill-fated ocean liner, Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s stunning musical focuses on their hopes and aspirations.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>Showtimes: 8 p.m. Thursday Feb. 15 (preview), 8 p.m. Friday Feb. 16, 8 p.m. Saturday Feb.17, 2 p.m. Sunday Feb. 18, 10:30 a.m and 8 p.m. Friday Feb. 24, 8 p.m. Saturday Feb. 25, 2 p.m. Sunday Feb. 26.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>Tickets: $25, $22 for students and senior citizens, $20 preview</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><b><span lang=EN>ABOUT SRO THEATRE COMPANY</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN>Committed to producing both classic and contemporary works that break cultural and generational boundaries, SRO Theatre Company continues to operate as one of Columbus' oldest not-for-profit theaters. In SRO’s 33-year history, it has won international acclaim for the quality of its productions, its depth and diversity and the excellence of its many community programs.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal style='text-align:justify'><span lang=EN> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal align=center style='text-align:center'><i><span lang=EN># # # </span></i><o:p></o:p></p><p class=gmail-msonormal><span lang=EN> </span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>