UPN 9 PRESENTS “HOORAY FOR BROADWAY” SPECIAL

May 19, 2005, New York, NY – From one-man shows to glitzy musicals and knock out dramas, HOORAY FOR BROADWAY is a televised journey of Broadway’s best! Hosted by film/theater critic Pat Collins, this UPN 9 original production will give viewers a front row seat to the hottest shows in town. Tune in on its “Opening Night” Sunday, May 22 from 8 - 9 p.m. on WWOR/UPN 9.

“This is one of the more extraordinary seasons Broadway has seen in years,” said Pat Collins, host of the UPN 9 special. “And we are delighted to celebrate New York City’s live theater.”

Complete with a look at this year’s TONY nominees, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the screen-to-stage adaptation of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, viewers will also hear from a star-studded cast of players: Alan Alda (Glengarry Glen Ross), Christina Applegate (Sweet Charity), Hank Azaria (Spamalot), Delta Burke (Steel Magnolias), Billy Crystal (700 Sundays), Tim Curry (Spamalot), Whoopi Goldberg (Whoopi: The 20th Anniversary Show), Harvey Fierstein (Fiddler on the Roof), Cherry Jones (Doubt), James Earl Jones (On Golden Pond), John Lithgow (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Kathleen Turner (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and more.

UPN 9’s Broadway Special, produced by veteran producer Gail Yancosek, includes scenes and clips from many of today’s award-winning and critically acclaimed shows: A Streetcar Named Desire, All Shook Up, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Doubt, Glengarry Glen Ross, Julius Caesar, Little Women, On Golden Pond, Spamalot, Sweet Charity, Steel Magnolias, The Glass Menagerie, The Pillowman and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

With more than 15 years of combined experience producing Broadway specials for the tri-state area, Collins and Yancosek are sure to entertain and inform television viewers and Broadway audiences alike. HOORAY FOR BROADWAY is a UPN original production, hosted by Ch. 9 film/theater critic Pat Collins and executive produced by veteran producer Gail Yancosek. WWOR/Ch. 9 will air an “Encore Presentation” on Saturday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m.

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