Lombardi: Tickets now on sale

Lombardi: Tickets now on sale Tickets are now on sale to the general public for Eric Simonson's new play about the Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi, starring Dan Lauria as Lombardi. Producers Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser, with direction by Tony Award nominee Thomas Kail, Lombardi will open at the Circle in the Square on 21 Oct 2010, following previews from 23 Sep 2010 and is booking through to 20 Feb 2011. The play arrives on Broadway following a 22 - 28 Jul 2010 engagement at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Dan Lauria, star of the Emmy Award-winning TV series "The Wonder Years," will take on the title role of Hall of Fame football coach 'Vince Lombardi,' one of America's most inspirational and mercurial personalities. Like Lombardi, Mr. Lauria is a former football coach, and he began acting while attending college on a football scholarship. The complete six-character cast and additional production information will be announced shortly. Joining Ponturo and Kirmser as special producing partner is the National Football League, marking the organization's first foray on Broadway. The NFL has authorized use of its logos and NFL Films' footage and music. The league will also help promote and market the play. Tracy Perlman, the NFL's Vice President of Entertainment Marketing and Promotions, said, "Football and Broadway are both iconic American forms of entertainment, and the NFL is proud to bring these two unique and passionate audiences together under one roof. Lombardi's charisma and coaching style were legendary - and intensely theatrical. Football fans will learn more about the dramatic private life of the sports hero for whom the Super Bowl trophy is named, and Broadway audiences will be captivated by the story of a family chasing the American dream." Kail said, "Circle in the Square is a uniquely intimate arena that will allow every audience member to feel like they have an all-access sideline pass to Lombardi's life, both on the field and off. I'm excited and honored to bring the drama that plays out week after week on the field to the stage, and to a new audience on Broadway." Lombardi, a new American play from Academy Award-winning playwright Eric Simonson, is based on the best-selling biography 'When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi,' by Pulitzer Prize winning author David Maraniss. Simonson is an Academy-Award winning documentary film maker and an ensemble member of the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company as a playwright and director. Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and the author of five critically acclaimed bestselling books about history, sports, and politics. One of the most influential figures in sports and entertainment in the last 20 years, Tony Ponturo is the head of Ponturo Management Group LLC, the New York-based sports and entertainment management, investment and marketing company. Fran Kirmser, a fixture in the arts community who produces both non-profit and commercial projects, met Ponturo while collaborating on the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of 'Hair.' Ponturo and Kirmser said, "The NFL brings a powerful force to Broadway with their incredible fan support and a huge respect for the Lombardi legend."