CONTACT:
Mark Metzger, Managing Artistic Director
Town Hall Theatre
27 North Main Street / Dayton, OH 45459
(937) 433-8957
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: 4.4.2011
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP’S TOWN HALL THEATRE PRESENTS
THE ZOOT THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTION OF:
THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP – What happens when great minds think alike? Magic! Town Hall Theatre
and the Zoot Theatre Company join forces to present Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth, an
adventure story like non-other!
The Landmark Children’s Theatre Company presents the Zoot Theatre Company’s production of THE
PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH at Town Hall Theatre in Centerville April 15-17, 2011. Given ZTC’s unique
style of puppetry and masks in performance, this show promises to be a hit with audiences!
The show will be presented one week-end only, with a show on Friday at 7pm and on Saturday and
Sunday at 3pm, April 15-17th.
Milo is bored stiff. Nothing interests him at all, not even his toy collection. The Demons of Ignorance are
certain he will be their next victim, telling him “If you get the urge to do anything – don’t. It could be
dangerous.” To the rescue comes the fantastical Phantom Tollbooth and the beginning of a remarkable
journey! Suddenly it’s up to Milo and a “watch” dog named Tock to save the Kingdom of Wisdom.
The play is based on the book written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer and often
receives comparisons with Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Mr. Juster claimed that his father’s
fondness for puns and The Marx Brothers’ movies were a major influence. The book became an instant
classic after its publication in 1961 and has continued to enthrall readers ever since. The story is filled
with puns, and many plot elements, like Milo's sudden jump to the Island of Conclusions, are the
consequences of taking English language idioms literally.
Town Hall Theatre is located at 27 North Main Street in the “Heart of Centerville”, directly beside
Panera Bread. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for students and seniors and $10 for children 12 &
under. All day of show tickets are $15. Reserve tickets online at www.townhalltheatre.org or call
937-433-8957. The show runs 70 minutes and is recommended for children ages 4 and up.
The production represents the fourth time that Town Hall Theatre and the Zoot Theatre Company have
worked together but the first time that THT has presented a show entirely created by ZTC. The show is
directed by John Lavarnway, who most recently directed ZTC’s Moby Dick at the Schuster Center’s
Mathile Theatre.
ZTC’s Artistic Director Tristan Cupp and Executive Director, Michael Stick, hatched the project with
Mark Metzger, Managing Artistic Director of Town Hall Theatre as a way of “extending Zoot’s show runs
at the Mathile,” explains Metzger. “The opportunity for our two organizations to pool production and
marketing resources to present the show first at Town Hall Theatre and then, subsequently, at the
Mathile, is a win-win for our audiences and our organizations.”
FOR OUR PRESS CONTACTS: For an electronic copy of this press release as well as hi-resolution
photographs, please visit our website at www.townhalltheatre.org and click on our Media Link.
For more information on this production and to find out more about our summer offerings, please
contact the Box Office at (937) 433-8957 or log on to our website at www.townhalltheatre.org.
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Town Hall Theatre is a program of the Washington Township Recreation Center
and receives additional funding from the Ohio Arts Council and Montgomery County.
Additional funding for this show provided by CompuNet Clinical Laboratories.