Nickelodeon and Broadway Across America Announce the First 35 Cities and Dates for 'The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights' Tour

Nickelodeon and Broadway Across America Announce the First 35 Cities and Dates for 'The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights' Tour

Tour Kicks Off March 28 and Will Travel to Markets Including New York, Boston, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Among Others

NEW YORK, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon and Broadway Across America today announced the schedule and cities for the first 35 stops of The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights touring production. The tour will travel to approximately 50 markets total through 2008, beginning with York, PA (March 28-29), Baltimore (April 26-27), Indianapolis (May 17-18), Boston (May 31-June 1), and New York (June 13-15). Additional stops are listed below. Fans can visit www.nickjr.com for additional tour date information and to find a link to buy tickets.

"We're excited about our latest live theatrical endeavor for families," said Stuart Rosenstein, Senior Vice President, Resorts and Theatricals, Nickelodeon Recreation. "The Backyardigans has proven to be a huge hit with Nickelodeon families, and based on the enormous success of the Dora and Diego Live shows, we're confident The Backyardigans Live! will have the same fantastic response from kids and parents across the country."

"We are incredibly proud to be partnering again with Nickelodeon on this new tour of The Backyardigans Live," said Jennifer Costello, Senior Vice President Theatrical - Production, Broadway Across America. "Combining a top-notch creative team with one of the highest-rated shows on children's programming, we are excited about producing another smash-hit with this production."

The Backyardigans Live! comes from the same creative team that produces The Backyardigans for Nick Jr. television, including Emmy-nominated writer, Adam Peltzman, and choreographer, Beth Bogush. Evan Lurie, who penned scores for directors such as Roberto Benigni and Stanley Tucci, and The Backyardigans series, will serve as the composer for The Backyardigans Live!. Drama Desk Award-nominated director, Lou Jacob, has signed on to direct the production. Actors Shawn Shafner, Creighton Fraker, Walter Kemp II, Laura Catlaw and Kandace Nunn have been named to the roles of Pablo, Austin, Tyrone, Tasha, and Uniqua respectively.

Based on the primetime special that premiered Jan.14, The Backyardigans Live! Tale of the Mighty Knights follows Nickelodeon's backyard friends, Uniqua and Tyrone, as they become Knights and embark on a quest to protect King Pablo's unpredictable egg. Along the way, Grabbing Goblin Austin and Flighty Fairy Tasha join the medieval mayhem as the runaway egg hatches feet and makes an unexpected dash all the way up to Dragon Mountain. The Backyardigans will need the audience's help to face a mighty dragon and return the egg to the king. The Backyardigans Live! will have the entire family singing, dancing and laughing along to songs of courage, friendship and the power of imagination.

Nickelodeon and Sony BMG's CD release of The Backyardigans: Born to Play, which features 22 new tracks, including six songs from "Tale of the Mighty Knights", is currently on-shelves at retailers nationwide and available for download on iTunes.

DATE CITY VENUE

Mar 28-29 York, PA Pullo PAC
April 2 Battle Creek, MI Kellogg Arena
April 4-5 Paducah, KY Four Rivers Center
April 6 West Lafayette, IN Elliot Hall
April 8-9 Flint, MI TBD
April 12-13 Appleton, WI, Fox Cities PAC
April 16-17 Cedar Falls, IA McLeod Center
April 18-20 Minneapolis, MN State Theater
April 23-24 Pittsburgh, PA Benedum Center
April 26-27 Baltimore, MD Hippodrome
May 3-4 Camden, NJ Tweeter Center
May 6-7 Holland, MI DeVos Field House
May 8 Bloomington, IL Civic Center
May 9-10 Louisville, KY KCA
May 13-14 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theater
May 15 Ashland, KY Paramount Arts
May 17-18 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theater
May 31-June 1 Boston, MA Colonial Theater
June 3 Norfolk, VA Chrysler Hall
June 4-5 Salem, VA Civic Center
June 7-8 Wallingford, CT Chevrolet Theater
June 10 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center
June 11-12 Springfield, MA Mass Mutual
June 13-15 New York, NY MSG Theater
June 17 Bushkill, PA Mountain Laurel Center
June 19 Albany, NY Palace Theater
June 23-24 New Brunswick, NJ State Theater
June 26 Charleston, WV Clay Center
June 28-29 Washington, DC Warner Theatre

ALL DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE

About Broadway Across America

Formerly Live Nation Theatrical, Broadway Across America presents first-rate touring Broadway shows, family productions and other live theatrical events throughout a network of 42 North American cities. A leader in subscription series programs and group ticketing, Broadway Across America is dedicated to creating memorable and accessible experiences for all guests, selling over 5 million tickets to over 3,000 performances each year. As a producer, current and recent Broadway productions include: Hairspray, Chicago, Monty Python's Spamalot and The Producers. It also manages, operates or consults in the operation of 8 theatres across North America. For more information or to purchase tickets through an authorized agent go to www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com.

About Nickelodeon

Nick Jr. is a specially designed programming block airing on Nickelodeon weekdays from 9 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET/PT). Completely dedicated to preschoolers ages 2-5, Nick Jr.'s Emmy, Peabody and Parents' Choice Award-winning programs are curriculum based, fun and commercial free. At Nick Jr., kids play to learn with innovative, original shows created just for them.

Nickelodeon Recreation is one of the leading producers of top quality theatrical and touring shows for kids and their families. Strategically leveraging Nickelodeon's hits into high quality Broadway level stage productions that tour both domestically and in international markets, the division has executive produced 14 unique multimillion dollar theatrical stage productions that have grossed in excess of $100 million dollars in ticket sales. Dora The Explorer Live, based on the hit Nick Jr. series, recently wrapped its third touring season and just made its debut in Europe in 2007.

Nickelodeon, now in its 28th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 96 million households and has been the number one rated basic cable network for more than 13 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA)(NYSE:and)(NYSE:VIA.B)

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Joanna Roses, +1-212-846-7326, or Thamar Romero,
+1-206-622-2733, both of Nickelodeon; or Amy Gentry of Broadway Across
America, +1-212-846-7491

Web site:

http://www.nick.com/
http://www.nickjr.com/
http://www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/

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