Photo Flash: Goldberg-Produced White Noise Begins Rehearsals in NYC; Mauzy, Padgett Lead Cast

Whoopi Goldberg and her fellow producers for the provocative new rock musical White Noise, officially announce casting for the Chicago premiere at The Royal George Theatre, 1641 North Halsted Street. Directed and choreographed by Broadway's Sergio Trujillo, White Noise began rehearsals today for its eight-week limited run beginning on April 1, 2011 and official opening on Saturday, April 9, 2011.

White Noise is a provocative new rock musical that follows a pair of sisters who are discovered by a powerful record producer, and groomed into a well-packaged rock/pop band, which mixes irresistible harmonies with coded rhetoric into chart-blazing hits. Inspired by real life, White Noise fuses today's headlines and blogs into a cautionary tale that challenges conventional notions of free speech, media and the power of pop culture.

Mackenzie Mauzy (next to normal, Guiding Light, The Bold and the Beautiful) as Eva, Emily Padgett (Rock of Ages, Grease, Legally Blonde) as Eden, Patrick Murney (The Abingdon Theater, Edinburgh Fringe Festival) as Duke and Eric Morris (Mama Mia!, Coram Boy, As The World Turns) as Jake lead the "White Noise" band. The "Bloodbrothas" rap duo is played by Wallace Smith (American Idiot, Hair, Lion King) as Dion and Rodney Hicks (The Scottsboro Boys, Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar) as Tyler. Also featured are John Hickok (Little Women, Aida) as Max, Luba Mason (How to Succeed..., Chicago) as Laurel and Michael Buchanan (Cry Baby, Urinetown at The Mercury Theatre) as Teal Waters. The cast of 21 also includes Joseph Anthony Byrd, Kelli Eileen LaValle, Tess Soltau, Ashley Adamek, Erin McGrath, John Arthur Greene, and Constantine Rousouli. The musicians featured in White Noise include Jesse Vargas (Musical Director, keyboard), Matt Hinkley (keyboard), Hannah Ford (drums), Ben Mason (bass) and guitarist TBA.

White Noise is directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, whose recent Broadway credits include Jersey Boys (2006 Tony Award and 2009 Olivier Award for Best Musical), next to normal (Pulitzer Prize for Drama), Memphis (2010 Tony Award for Best Musical), The Addams Family, Guys and Dolls and All Shook Up. Jesse Vargas is the Music Director. White Noise features a book by Matte O'Brien and music and lyrics by Robert Morris, Steven Morris and Joe Shane. White Noise was originally conceived by Ryan J. Davis with a story and characters by Joe Drymala.

The set is designed by Robert Brill, costumes by Paul Tazewell, lights by Jason Lyons, sound by Garth Helm, and multi-media design by Raj Kapoor.

Producer Whoopi Goldberg comments, "White Noise smacks you in a challenging, emotional and entertaining way. The producing team looks forward to bring this unflinchingly honest new production to Chicago where audiences are sophisticated, aware and open to a musical that will certainly remind them of today's headlines and might awaken a new awareness of current social issues."

Tickets are currently on sale for the 8-week limited engagement, April 1-June 5, 2011, at the Royal George box office, 1641 N. Halsted Street, by phone (312) 988-9000, through TicketMaster or www.whitenoisetickets.com.

Tickets for preview performances, April 1-8, 2011, are $49.50-$59.50. Student tickets are available through the Royal George box office for $25.

The preview performance schedule follows:

Friday, April 1 8:00pm
Saturday, April 2 8:00pm
Sunday, April 3 2:00pm
Tuesday, April 5 7:30pm
Wednesday, April 6 7:30pm
Thursday, April 7 7:30pm
Friday, April 8 8:00pm

Tickets for the regular run, on sale through June 5, 2011, are $54.50-$64.50. Student tickets are available through the Royal George box office for $25.

The performance schedule for the regular run is:
Tuesdays 7:30pm
Wednesdays 7:30pm
Thursdays 7:30pm
Fridays 8:00pm
Saturdays 5:00pm and 8:00pm
Sundays 2:00pm and 5:00pm,

Note: There will be added matinee performances on Wednesday, April 22 and May 18 at 2:00pm. There will be no evening performance on Tuesday April 21 or May 17 and no matinee performance on Sunday, April 10.

White Noise is produced by Holly Way, Jay Strommen, Jimmy Mack, Deborah Taylor, Chris Bensinger, Tom Leonardis and Whoopi Goldberg.

For more information, visit www.whitenoisebroadway.com. Follow White Noise on Twitter, http://twitter.com/wnbroadway and http://www.facebook.com/wnbroadway.

Photo credit: CromCo pix

Whoopi Goldberg and Sergio Trujillo

Whoopi Goldberg and Sergio Trujillo