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Stars add to Pittsburgh flavor of 'Flashdance' tour
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Western Pennsylvania natives Rachelle Rak and Matthew Hydzik were announced as co-stars of "Flashdance - The Musical" in a splashy launch for media Nov. 9 at Heinz Hall. The world-premiere tour runs Jan. 1-6, 2013. -
Rachelle Rak, returning to Pittsburgh to launch the tour of "Flashdance - The Musical," belts "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" at a Heinz Hall press event Nov. 9.
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Thirty years after the film "Flashdance" had us dancing to chart-topping songs such as "What a Feeling" and "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," the '80s are coming back, this time in the form of "Flashdance -- The Musical." The world-premiere national tour launches New Year's Day in Pittsburgh, where the movie was filmed, and a second companyheads to Broadway next year.
PG VIDEOWith much fanfare, including a proclamation from Pittsburgh Mayor Ravenstahl that Jan. 1 is Flashdance Day, the tour's three stars were revealed today at Heinz Hall: Pittsburghers Matthew Hydzik as leading man Nick and Rachelle Rak as sassy Tess, along with Emily Padgett as Alex Owens, the blue-collar worker with dreams of being taken seriously as a dancer.
The trio performed four numbers at a morning press conference at Heinz Hall, the Cultural District venue for the show, which is part of the PNC Broadway Across America -- Pittsburgh series. Tickets went on sale today, with a one-time offer of $19.38 for those arriving at the Heinz Hall box office before 9 p.m. dressed in leg warmers, off-shoulder sweatshirts and other reminders of the 1980s.
Sergio Trujillo, the choreographer of Tony winners "Jersey Boys" and "Memphis" making his directorial debut, introduced his cast and said the 1983 movie inspired him to leave his studies as a biochemist and become a dancer. He also recalled how he had come to Pittsburgh as part of a tour of "Kiss of the Spider-Woman."
"I remember coming in for the first time and I was awed by the bridges and the charm of the streets," he said, and showed images of sets influenced by the cityscape.
The film soundtrack featuring "Flashdance -- What a Feeling," "Maniac," "Gloria," and "Manhunt" won a Grammy and featured a handful of radio hits. The new musical, not to be confused with the "Flashdance" that toured in the United Kingdom a few years back, includes those tunes and 14 new songs with music by Robbie Roth, lyrics by Robert Cary and Mr. Roth and a book by Tom Hedley, a co-writer of the original screenplay.
First Published November 9, 2012 2:34 pm
