"NIGHT OF THE LIVING SHOW TUNES" Jan. 5-6

When the holidays are over and you've had your fill of cute and warm-hearted, come spend an evening with The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre, as New Line Theatre presents their quirky "A New Line Cabaret, Episode IV: Night of the Living Show Tunes," Monday and Tuesday, January 5 and 6, 2009, for two nights only, at the acoustically perfect Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington, right behind the Fabulous Fox Theatre. The New Line All-Stars bring you an evening of songs from brilliant, rule-busting musicals like Spring Awakening, The Wild Party, Little Shop of Horrors, The Rocky Horror Show, Avenue Q, High Fidelity, Sweet Charity, Jacques Brel, Songs for a New World, A New Brain, and many more.

For the first time, New Line will set aside a portion of the proceeds from this concert to create a new musical theatre scholarship to be awarded in the spring to a high school senior planning to study musical theatre in college.

Always trying to beat back the myth that musicals are all sappy, silly, and old-fashioned, New Line once again dives headlong into the kind of aggressive, adult musical theatre that has given this company eighteen seasons of improbable success. As they do in each of these concerts, the New Liners explore what it is to be human in these times -- the beautiful, the ridiculous, and the just plain screwed up -- all set to the music of some of the greatest American composers and lyricists. With songs like "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" from March of the Falsettos, this is an evening that serves as a gentle reminder that it's been fifty years since Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote their last musical. This is no longer the art form of the last century; this is a vibrant, thriving, evolving art form that can and does speak to these intense times. For more info about the concert, visit www.newlinetheatre.com/sheldon09.html.

Artistic director Scott Miller says, "One reason we put these concerts together every few years is so audiences can really listen to this incredible music and these brilliant lyrics with nothing else to distract them -- no sets, no props, no other baggage, not even a story -- just the amazing artistry and intensity of some of the best writing you've ever heard. Even if you know some of these songs in their original context, you'll hear them fresh and you'll realize how smart and funny and deeply, deeply emotional so many of them are. This is our chance to showcase the very best of American theatre writers."

The cast includes Mara Bollini, Nikki Glenn, Joel Hackbarth, Amy Kelly, Nicholas Kelly, Khnemu Menu-Ra, Katie Nestor, Talichia Noah, Jeffrey Pruett, John Rhine, Todd Schaefer, Deborah Sharn, Kimi Short, Margeau Steinau, Scott Tripp, and Jeffrey M. Wright. The show is conceived and directed by Scott Miller. For a full list of songs, visit Miller's blog at http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com.

New Line Theatre is a professional company dedicated to involving the people of the St. Louis region in the exploration and creation of daring, provocative, socially and politically relevant works of musical theatre. New Line receives funding from the Regional Arts Commission, the Fox Associates Charitable Foundation, and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. The rest of New Line's season includes the hilariously weird rock musical "Return to the Forbidden Planet" April 30-May 23, 2009; and Broadway hit, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" July 16-August 8, 2009. For more about New Line, go to www.newlinetheatre.com/contact.html.

New Line continues to offer the New Line Free Seats, ten seats put aside for every performance, free to anyone with a valid college student ID, one ticket per ID. The New Line Free Seats will be available at the box office from 7:00 p.m. to 7:55 p.m. on performance nights only.

"A New Line Cabaret, Episode IV: Night of the Living Show Tunes" runs two nights only, Monday and Tuesday, January 5-6, 2009, at 8:00 p.m., at the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington, right behind the Fabulous Fox Theatre, as part of the Sheldon's Notes from Homes Series. All tickets are $10 and are on sale now at all Metrotix outlets. To charge tickets by phone, call Metrotix at 314-534-1111 or visit Metrotix.com. This show contains some adult language and content. For other information, visit New Line Theatre's full-service website at www.newlinetheatre.com. All programs are subject to change.