Nationwide tour has stops from coast-to-coast, including Atlanta, Georgia
Tickets and tour dates available at www.thehitstour.com

LOS ANGELES—February 28, 2023—“HITS the Musical” today announced that Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and six-time Grammy winning legend Dionne Warwick and Damon Elliott, her Manager-Producer son, are joining the production team as Executive Producers. The nationwide tour launched in February 2023 and will have stops in cities across the country including Atlanta, Georgia. The singing and dancing extravaganza will open at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on March 28. Tickets are on-sale now at www.thehitstour.com.

“HITS! The Musical” is an unforgettable production of non-stop, foot-tapping fun and excitement for music lovers young and old. Ranging in age from 10 to 22, the show will take audiences on a musical journey, performing medleys of 80 of America’s most iconic songs—including such well-known classics as “Hero,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Singing in The Rain” and more.

“The talent of these budding young superstars was so impressive that I just had to be a part of this extraordinary musical,” says Warwick. “I’m thrilled that this amazing cast will have the opportunity to perform on a national stage and showcase their singing and dancing talents while bringing everyone’s favorite songs to life.”

With her instantly recognizable voice and memorable songs, Warwick has been an icon of American pop music for more than 50 years and ranks #74 on the Billboard Hot 100’s “Greatest Artists of All Time.” An established international musical star, she is one of the most charted vocalists of all time. Warwick has more than 56 hit singles—12 in the top ten—and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. In addition to her Grammy Awards, Warwick is the recipient of numerous other prestigious awards, including induction into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the R&B Music Hall of Fame and the Apollo Theater Walk of Fame. Three of her songs (“Walk on By,” “Alfie” and “Don’t Make Me Over”) have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Today, Warwick is still going strong. She will be performing at select locations in North America during 2023, including the star-studded MusiCares dinner on February 3 honoring Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson. She also attended the 65^th GRAMMY Awards which was held February 5.

Recently, she recorded “Peace Like A River,” a duet with Dolly Parton, who also wrote the song, which will be released in late February. She was also the subject of documentary feature “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over,” which will air on CNN on February 4 at 9:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. PST and then will begin streaming on HBO Max. Additionally, her frequent tweets have earned her the title “Queen of Twitter” for her frank interactions with her numerous followers including many celebrities.

That her career remains in full flight is due largely to the support of her son, Damon Elliott, who is a successful, well-known and respected record producer, singer, songwriter and composer in his own right. As a multi-platinum producer known for taking Destiny’s Child and Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony to a whole other level, Elliott’s exceptional touch extends to numerous genres evidenced by his current Grammy nomination helming White Sun’s latest, Mystic Mirror, up for Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album with 2023 honors awarded Sunday, February 5.

Elliott produced the hit single Applause for this year’s “Tell It Like a Woman” (Goldwyn), written by songwriter Diane Warren, who holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations, for which he received an Oscar nomination this week. Additionally, he produced the title track, Gonna Be You, for the upcoming film “80 for Brady” (Paramount), which was also written by Diane Warren, and sung by Dolly Parton, Belinda Carlisle, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Estefan and Debbie Harry.

“The show is a first class production with a cast of extremely talented young people,” says Elliott. “We are delighted to be a part of this musical which features songs the audiences will know and will be a memorable experience for the entire family.”

HITS! The Musical was created by Bob Gries, founder and executive producer, to give 29 talented young performers the opportunity to take center stage and showcase their individual talents.

The allure of working with the finest young artists in the country drew a superb creative team who wanted to help showcase all their talent, including Cynthia Nekvasil, Director; Chloe Lowery, Associate Director; Tony Bruno, Musical Arranger/Composer; Grady Bowman, Choreographer; Camille Trust, Musical Director; Courtney Lopez, Assistant Director; Barry Lather, Set and Lighting Designer; and Cynthia Nordstrom, Costume Designer.

For more information about the tour, go to www.thehitstour.com.

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HITS! The Musical 2023 SCHEDULE

February 23 & 25      Asheville, NC                 The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts

March 1                   Concord, NH                 Chubb Theater at Capital Center for The Arts

March 3                   Rochester, NY               Kodak Theater

March 7                   New Haven, CT              Shubert Theater

March 8                   Englewood, NJ              Bergen Performing Arts Center

March 10                 Glenside, PA                 Keswick Theatre

March 11                 Pittsburgh, PA               Benedum Center for the Performing Arts

March 15                 Cleveland, OH               Mimi Ohio Theater

March 16                 Columbus, OH               Southern Theater

March 18                 Easton, PA                    State Theater

March 19                 Baltimore, MD              Lyric Theater

March 22                 Washington, DC            Warner Theater

March 23                 Durham, NC                  Carolina Theater

March 24                 Charlotte, NC                Knight Theater

March 25                 Norfolk, VA                   Harrison Opera House

March 26                 Charleston, SC               Charleston Music Hall

March 28                 Atlanta, GA                   Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

March 29                 Orlando, FL                   Dr. Philips Center for Performing Arts

March 30                 Jacksonville, FL              Times Union Performing Arts Center

April 1                      Ft. Lauderdale, FL          Parker Playhouse

April 2                      Tampa, FL                     Straz Center for Performing Arts

April 5                      Birmingham, AL             Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex

April 6                      Huntsville, AL                Von Braun Center

April 7                      Nashville, TN                 Tennessee Performing Arts Center

April 8                      Louisville, KY                 Brown Theater

April 12                    Lexington, KY                Lexington Opera House

April 13                    St. Louis, MO                Touhill Performing Arts Center

April 15                    Detroit, MI                    Royal Oak Music Theatre

April 16                    South Bend, IN              Morris Center

April 19                    Appleton, WI                Fox Cities Performing Arts Center

April 20                    Milwaukee, WI              Pabst Theater

April 21                    Minneapolis, MN          Pantages Theatre

April 22                    Des Moines, IA              Hoyt Sherman

April 23                    Cedar Rapids, IA            Paramount Theater

April 25                    Kansas City, MO            Folly Theater

April 27                    San Antonio, TX             Tobin Center

April 29                    Dallas, TX                      Music Hall at Fair Park

April 30                    Houston, TX                  Cullen Theater

May 3                      Phoenix, AZ                   Herberger Theater Center

May 4                      Tucson, AZ                    Fox Tucson Theater

May 6                      Los Angeles, CA             Theater at the Ace Hotel

May 8                      San Francisco, CA          Palace of Fine Arts

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM FOR HITS! THE MUSICAL:

Cynthia Nekvasil, Director

Cynthia Nekvasil is the founder of Entertainment Revue based in the Tampa Bay area, serving as its artistic director for 26 years until retiring in 2015. Over the years, Entertainment Revue has grown in size and popularity. ER girls have been featured on shows such as “American Idol,” “America’s Got Talent” and “The Voice,” three have landed leading roles in Broadway productions and eight have signed major record deals.

Bob Gries, Executive Producer

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Robert Gries is CEO and founder of the Gries Investment Funds. Gries has more than twenty-five years of investment experience and has assisted many charitable organizations. Philanthropy and helping young people are passions of his. He created Hits! The Musical to help young aspiring artists nurture their talent and further their careers nation-wide.

Tony Bruno, Musical Arranger/Composer

Over the past twelve years Tony Bruno has worked with Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, K’naan, Karmin, Delta Goodrem and many others. His television credits include the GRAMMY Awards®, “America’s Got Talent,” “X-Factor,” the American Music Awards and the MTV Music Awards, among many others. Bruno has written and produced songs for top artists including Mandy Moore, Donna Summer, INXS, Colin Hay and Enrique Iglesias.

Grady Bowman, Choreographer

Grady Bowman has worked on Broadway, off-Broadway, television and many other genres. Most recently, he was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for his choreography of “Singing in the Rain” at the Olney Theatre Center (DC). Among his many other credits are “The Cher Show” (Broadway) and “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show” (off-Broadway). Bowman has also created four original dance pieces commissioned by NC School of the Arts.

Camille Trust, Musical Director

Camille Trust is a New York City-based singer/songwriter who has established herself as a strong female force in the music scene, garnering praise from “Billboard,” “Nylon,” “DuJour,” “Popdust” and more. Hersingles “Scandalous” and “Lavender” were each named one of TIME Magazine’s ‘5 Songs You Need to ListenTo This Week.’ Her YouTube channel has more than 500,000 views, and her Spotify channel has more than 2 million streams.

Courtney Lopez, Assistant Director

A cast member of the prestigious Entertainment Revue for 13 years, Lopez has performed in hundreds of shows across the Southeastern U.S. She has expanded her creative talents, becoming an Assistant Director of Entertainment Revue, in which capacity she has served for four years under the direction of Cynthia Nekvasil, the founder of the group.

Barry Lather, Set and Lighting Designer

Barry Lather has had an award winning career with 35 years of experience with both small and large-scale entertainment. He has worked on television, video, film and arena spectaculars.  He has conceived, directed, or choreographed world tours for such artists as Usher, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood, Miguel, John Fogerty, Ciara and the Pussycat Dolls. Most recently, Lather directed Carrie Underwood’s “The Cry Pretty Tour 360.”

Cynthia Nordstrom, Costume Designer

Cynthia Nordstrom’s range of design is a blend of fashion and costume and has been seen worldwide on stage, tour, ice, theme parks and Broadway. She designed “One the Musical” in Amsterdam and was an opening designer for Universal Studios’ Beijing resort. Among the many current tours she has worked on are the Marvel Universe Live Arena tour, “Blippi the Musical,” “Evil Dead the Musical,” “Silent Laughter,” “That Championship Season.”