Hey, this is cool. Venus Airlines, the featured airline in my new musical Plane Crazy which is part of this year's New York Musical Theater Festival, has just introduced a new "retro campaign" that harkens back to the airline's heydey in the 1960s.

According to this article from AdAge, Gus "Guppie" Crenshaw, grandson of Venus Airlines founder Sam Crenshaw, had this to say about the new campaign:

"Venus Airlines was one of the stars of the mid-sixties Jet Age revolution, and our reputation for the sexiest "stews" in the sky was a big part of our success. As my grandfather used to say, "If you have to fake it, just shake it..." and our stews were shaking their bottoms for the bottom line.

And although Venus Airlines has gone through a rough patch over the last thirty years, being basically reduced to a single crop-dusting contract in southern Dakota, we feel that the time is right for the Venus Airlines message to emerge once again into the "sexy skies"...

I think the the buzz on Venus is on the move. Even Broadway shows like Plane Crazy are featuring Venus as an example of blossoming womanhood in the 1960s."

Say Gus: "Our new "Va-Va-Venus" campaign is a clever play on our "VA" (Venus Airlines) acronym, and the secondary meaning of "Va", which in Spanish is "Go". So, from the perspective of one of the sexiest countries in the world, it's "Go-Go-Venus", which is also a nice play on the "Go-Go Girl" sensibility of my grandfather's airline."

When asked about a potential backlash from millions of offended women across the country, Gus laughed and responded, "Dude, c'mon, everyone likes to look at sexy stews..."

In recognition of the support and friendship for Venus Airlines from Plane Crazy, Venus Airlines is supporting Plane Crazy by giving 100 Venus Airlines Mile High Club miles to everyone who attends a performance of Plane Crazy.

As a competitive response, other airlines are expected to soon follow suit.

Plane Crazy will be appearing this fall at The Beckett, 410 West 42nd Street
(south side of West 42nd Street, between 9th & Dyer Avenues).

Performance times are:

Thursday, September 15 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, September 17 at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm
Thursday, September 22 at 1:00 pm
Friday, September 23 at 4:30 pm
Sunday, September 25 at 1:00 pm

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OK: It's OFFICIAL. Here are the dates for Plane Crazy's fabulous New York debut at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

We'll be appearing at The Beckett, which is located in Midtown as part of the Theatre Row complex on 42nd Street. It's a great theater, and it will be a great venue for Plane Crazy. The new Beckett Theater is located on the lower level of the Theatre Row complex. Housing 99 seats, this intimate space features fixed, plush seating as well as heat and air conditoning. Although it has the same name, this is not the same old Beckett Theater. This brand new, state-of-the-art theater has a wide stage and great sightlines in every part of the house.

Here are the details:

The Beckett
410 West 42nd Street
South side of West 42nd Street, between 9th & Dyer Avenues.

Directions: Closest subway: A, C, E to 42nd Street. Walk west on 42nd Street to the theatre.

Performance times are:

Thursday, September 15 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, September 17 at 4:30 pm and 8:00 pm
Wednesday, September 21 at 1:00 pm
Friday, September 23 at 4:30 pm
Sunday, September 25 at 1:00 pm

Tickets will go fast. Many of last year's shows sold out within days of the Festival's opening. In fact, Festival-wide, 85% of all tickets were sold! Since we expect Plane Crazy to sell out quickly, you might want to consider becoming a member of NYMF to guarantee a seat at Plane Crazy and all of your favorite shows.

When you become a member you will be the first to have access to NYMF '05 passes and tickets.

Passes will go on sale to members only on August 1st before being made available to the public on August 15th.

Individual tickets will go on sale September 1st.

Only members can take advantage of this opportunity so click here to join!

To read more about tickets to NYMF 2005, you can click here.

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I was taking a little walk down Memory Lane last night, and I ran across this great shot of a Plane Crazy poster in Times Square, circa 1965. How cool is that? I especially enjoyed the floods on the guy in the foreground of the picture...

In other Plane Crazy news, things are moving rapidly toward the NYMF 2005 staging. We're close on a Director, and lots of other pieces are falling into place.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has a new Web site, which is a lot more elaborate than last year. Check it out!

Here's the latest press release on Plane Crazy:

The swinging 1960s Jet Age returns to New York: "Plane Crazy" to debut at World's Premier Musical Theatre Festival

Out of more than 400 submissions, Suzy Conn's "Plane Crazy" is among 18 jury-selected musicals chosen for the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival

May 24, 2005

NEW YORK

"Plane Crazy", a musical comedy about the emergence of feminism set against the glamour and sex appeal of the swinging '60s Jet Age (http://planecrazythemusical.com), has been accepted into the Next Link Project at the New York Musical Theatre Festival (http://nymf.org).

"Plane Crazy" is set during an explosive time in history: The intersection of the dawn of the Jet Age; the introduction of the Pill; the genesis of the modern Women's Movement; and the Golden Age of Advertising.

"Plane Crazy" explores these clashing values in an engaging story that follows two young stews who are learning about love and life in the high-flying airline business circa 1965: A time "When Stews Were Sexy and the World Was SexistTM".

"Plane Crazy" has been reviewed as:

"...it was fantastic: funny, catchy, engrossing, with a really authentic sixties-kitsch feel: like Hair at 30,000 feet, with seasonings of Jesus Christ Superstar and Germaine Greer."

-- Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing.net

Suzy Conn, author (Book/Music/Lyrics), says, "My favorite shows have always had some innately non-commercial element, and I think that all theater needs that element of uniqueness for it to be commercial. With "Plane Crazy", I'm talking about feminism, which sounds like a real drag, but I've done it in a really fun, sexy way that will be entertaining for everyone. This is part of what makes the show different, and really worth seeing."

Suzy also outlined her personal goal for theater: "I want to make going to the theater groovy again, and write shows that seem retro, but are relevant to today. I'm happy with where I ended up with "Plane Crazy" because I feel that I've been able to accomplish that goal."

Suzy divides her time between New York and Chicago, where she is enrolled in the Theatre Building Chicago Musical Theatre Writer's Workshop.

Suzy is also the editor of Blogway Baby (http://blogwaybaby.com), one of the leading blogs on the Broadway scene.

"Plane Crazy" will be produced in late September, in New York, as part of the Festival.

The Producer for "Plane Crazy" at NYMF 2005 is Michael Rubinoff (mrubinoff@mrubinoff.com), and the Associate Producer is Kendra Bator (kbator@planecrazythemusical.com).

==

According to the NYMF press release:

The New York Musical Theatre Festival has announced the 18 jury-selected musicals that will be part of the Next Link Project of the fest, to be held Sept. 12-Oct. 2 in midtown Manhattan.

After reviewing almost 400 scripts -- nearly double last year's submissions -- the NYMF selection committee has chosen a fresh, diverse collection of 18 new musicals to be presented September 12 - October 2, 2005 in Manhattan's Theatre District, alongside more than 100 invited shows, concerts, and other special events still to be announced.

Our jury included Rob Ashford (Tony winning Choreographer for THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE), Thomas Cott (former Artistic Director of Musical Theater Works), Joanna Gleason (Tony winner for INTO THE WOODS, Tony nominated for DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS), Kevin McCollum (Producer of AVENUE Q and RENT), Susan H. Schulman (Director of LITTLE WOMEN, THE SECRET GARDEN and THE SOUND OF MUSIC), and Jack Viertel (Jujamcyn Theaters Creative Director, Encores! Artistic Director).

Last year more than 20% of the shows were optioned for commercial productions - including ALTAR BOYZ (2005 Outer Critics Circle Award) and Stephen Schwartz's CAPTAIN LOUIE (currently at the York Theater), as well as the forthcoming commercial productions of TITLE OF SHOW, SHOUT!, and THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL -- an incredible record for a first year! Keep your eye on this year's crop to see the best and brightest new musicals.

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

Well, well, well...what a fantastic evening!

Tonight at Hurley's was the NYMF 2005 Creative Team Mixer AND I'VE NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN...

We talked to a MILLION people, and it was very exciting to see how many people want to work on Plane Crazy.

Right now, Plane Crazy is looking for a Director -- here's a quick description:

We are looking for someone who "gets" the mid-'60s time period that we are working in. This will be someone who loves classic musicals like The Pajama Game; who has all the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randall movies on DVD *and* VHS; who doesn't understand why people weren't standing in line to see Down With Love; and whose favorite contemporary musicals would include Hairspray and The Producers. The Director will work closely with the Producer to assemble the rest of the creative team.

We are interviewing this week, so if you're interested please let me know asap...send an e-mail to suzy at planecrazythemusical dot com

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment