Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills
Presents
Direct from London -- first ever U.S. National Tour
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman's
Whistle Down The Wind
Los Angeles premiere! Eight performances only!
April 22– 27, 2008

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Whistle Down the Wind will have its Los Angeles premiere at the Wilshire Theatre April 15-20 as part of its first-ever U.S. National tour. Directed and produced by Bill Kenwright, the musical comes direct from a record-breaking West End engagement and United Kingdom sell-out tour. Based on the novel by Mary Hayley Bell, and subsequent 1961 movie set in the U.K., Whistle Down the Wind, with book by Patricia Knop, Gale Edwards and Andrew Lloyd Webber and featuring lyrics by Jim Steinman of "Meatloaf" songwriting fame, is now set in Louisiana in 1959.

Featuring a host of award-winning songs including the Boyzone smash hit 'No Matter What,' Whistle Down the Wind tells the story of a young Louisiana girl who finds a mysterious stranger hiding in her barn. When she asks his identity—the first words he utters are 'Jesus Christ;' and it’s as if all her prayers have been answered. While the townspeople are determined to find the escaped felon, she and her friends vow to protect him from the outside world.

This new American premiere production partners renowned top rock lyricist Jim Steinman (Meatloaf’s classic album “Bat Out of Hell,” Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”) and award-winning composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (Cats, Evita, Joseph…) to create a melodic and haunting score that was inspired by the indigenous sounds of the American South – blues, gospel, country and rock ‘n’ roll.

Among the cast are Eric Kunze as The Man and Andrea Ross as Swallow, as well as, Dann Fink, Adam Shonkwiler, Austin J. Zambito-Valente, Nadine Jacobson, Carole Denise Jones, Greg Stone and Kurt Zischke. The ensemble includes Ryan Appleby, Renee Claire Bergeron, Al Bundonis, Raisa Ellingson, Elizabeth Earley, Alexis Hightower, Stephen Horst, James Jackson, Jr., Justine Magnusson, Jason Ostrowski, Thomas Rainey and Mickey Toogood.

Eric Kunze was most recently seen on the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar in the title role. His additional Broadway credits include Marius in Les Miserables, Chris in Miss Saigon and Joe Hardy in the revival of Damn Yankees. Kunze's co-star, Andrea Ross, is an Elliot Norton winner for her roles in Ramona Quimby, The Sound of Music and A Little Night Music. Ross' upcoming debut album, "Moon River," is produced by Whistle Down the Wind composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Bill Kenwright heads the United Kingdom’s largest independent theatre and film production company. He has produced countless shows in London’s West End, on UK tour and on Broadway. As a director, his credits include Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar and Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. He was nominated for a London Theatre Critics’ award for West Side Story and a Tony award for Blood Brothers in New York.

The creative team for the national tour of Whistle Down the Wind includes costume and set design by Paul Farnsworth, choreography by Henry Metcalfe, musical direction by David Steadman, lighting design by Nick Richings and sound design by Ben Harrison.

About Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills

Originally named the Fox Wilshire, the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills opened its doors on September 19, 1930. Designed by renowned theater architect Charles S Lee, the Wilshire serves as an interesting example of Lee's early Art Deco style. With its rich plasterwork and heavy sculpture, the Wilshire is reminiscent of Lee's other early work like the Baroque masterpiece The Los Angeles Theater and the Tower. Lee would later become famous for his clean simple Art Deco lines with theaters like the Bruin and the Academy Theater.

Fox West Coast Theaters built The Wilshire to house their first run feature films. For the first 50 years of its life, the Wilshire served as one of the premiere movie palaces in Los Angeles and has hosted numerous premieres and special events. In November 1953 the Wilshire hosted the premiere of How to Marry A Millionaire starring Marilyn Monroe and Lauren Bacall. On Christmas Day of that year Walt Disney exhibited its new Grand Canyonscope - the first Donald Duck cartoon in Cinemascope which ran with the studio's classic feature 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Other notable events include 1960's special screening of GI Blues starring Elvis and attended by Ronald Regan and the 1970's exclusive engagement of the film Woodstock.

In 1981 the Wilshire Theater was renovated and converted to a stage venue. The Wilshire has hosted numerous theater productions including its opening attraction of Henry Fonda in The Oldest Living Graduate, and national tours of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, A Chorus Line, Jesus Christ Superstar, Legends, Dreamgirls, Once on this Island and many others.