FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S THE KING AND I

BASED ON THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED LINCOLN CENTER THEATER PRODUCTION that was the WINNER OF FOUR 2015 TONY AWARDS®

including BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

WILL PREMIERE IN MILWAUKEE AT THE MARCUS CENTER

APRIL 9-14, 2019

NETworks Presentations LLC announces that the national tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I, based on the 2015 Tony Award ®–winning Lincoln Center Theater Production, will make its Milwaukee premiere at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts for eight shows as part of the Associated Bank Broadway at the Marcus Center and Broadway Across America-Milwaukee series. Tickets go on sale at 10:00 am on Friday, November 16. To purchase tickets, visit MarcusCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com, call 414-273-7206 or in person at the Marcus Center Box Office at 929 North Water Street, Downtown Milwaukee. Groups 10 or more SAVE! and should call Group Sales at 414-273-7121 x210 or x213. One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest works, THE KING AND I boasts a score that features such beloved classics as “Getting To Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance” and “Something Wonderful.” Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist King, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and children. In the words of Bartlett Sher, director of the 2015 Broadway production and the first national tour, “Great classics come back to us when we need them the most. In order to live up to the scale of its ambition, we have to go both backward and forward in time. It’s like having one foot in the past as deeply as we can, one foot in the present, and our eyes looking out as far ahead as we can to see how it resonates.” Tony Award®–winning director Bartlett Sher was reunited for The King and I with the award-winning creative team from the Lincoln Center Theater productions of South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza. The creative team for this new tour includes direction by Shelley Butler, based on Sher’s original direction, featuring sets by Michael Yeargan (Tony Award® winner for South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza), costumes by Catherine Zuber (seven-time Tony

Award® winner, including The King and I), lights by Donald Holder (Tony Award® winner for South Pacific and The Lion King), sound by Scott Lehrer (Tony Award® winner for South Pacific), musical supervision by Ted Sperling and casting by Jason Styres, CSA. Choreography by Tony Award® winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies) has been recreated for this tour by Associate Choreographer Greg Zane, based on the original choreography by Jerome Robbins. The production features the musical’s original 1951 orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennet with dance and incidental music arranged by Trude Rittmann. Tour director Shelley Butler says, “Now feels like the perfect time to bring forward this powerful story with its depiction of clashing cultures and its journey toward understanding. It is a great pleasure to helm the tour with a dynamic cast of 33 actors, including an array of international company members. It is an honor and a privilege to continue the vision of Bartlett Sher and the brilliant Lincoln Center Theater creative team.” For more information, including the 2018–2019 touring schedule, please visit TheKingAndITour.com facebook.com/TheKingandIMusical twitter.com/KingandIMusical instagram.com/kingandimusical “I doubt I’ll see a better production in my lifetime.”—The Wall Street Journal “Five stars. Grand and glorious.”—Time Out New York “Absolutely stunning.”—Variety

# # # For interviews, photos and biographies, please contact: Molly Sommerhalder Phone: 414-273-7121 x399 Email: msommerhalder@marcuscenter.org ABOUT THE MARCUS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Established in 1969, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is the premier performing arts community gathering space in Southeastern Wisconsin. As the Marcus Center moves into its 49th year, it continues to build bridges between diverse members of our community through high-quality arts entertainment in the region and the state. The touring Broadway series, sponsored by Associated Bank, is recognized as bringing the best of Broadway entertainment to Milwaukee for the past 20 years and provides opportunities to educate, entertain and engage audiences. The Marcus Center is also the home to the Milwaukee Symphony, Milwaukee Ballet, Florentine Opera, First Stage plus a variety of other important community and family events throughout the year. For more information about events visit the Marcus Center website at www.MarcusCenter.org. The Marcus Center is a private non-profit 501(c) 3 corporation and is a dedicated veterans memorial in Milwaukee.

ABOUT ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) has total assets of $33 billion and is one of the top 50 publicly traded U.S. bank holding companies. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Associated is a leading Midwest banking franchise, offering a full range of financial products and services from more than 270 banking locations serving more than 110 communities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, and commercial financial services in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas. Associated Bank, N.A. is an Equal Housing Lender, Equal Opportunity Lender and Member FDIC. More information about Associated Banc-Corp is available at www.associatedbank.com. Broadway Across America (BAA) is part of The John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office. Led by 13-time Tony-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 44 markets with over 400,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney’s The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, The Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton. Current and past productions include The Band’s Visit, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Hairspray, Mean Girls, The Producers and Waitress.