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Every month thousands of people read our enlightening newsletter to learn about the hottest trips around. If you're not ... why not?

All it takes is a $39.00 yearly fee to become a member of Diversions, Inc., a unique travel group known for its cutting-edge offerings, prime seating for theatre and concerts, entree to private places, deluxe hotel accommodations on extended trips, and the highest level of customer service. The following is a sampling from our current newsletter.

Newsletter 2009

Diversions continually offers prime seating for current Broadway productions. In many cases, our membership is informed about upcoming theatrical events, and trips are advertised, even before public announcement.  Below is the format for a typical New York Theatre Day-trip. (Please note: a majority of the day-trips depart from Baltimore, Maryland.)


NEW YORK THEATRE
DAY-TRIP FORMAT

ON THE WAY: Departing at 7:00 a.m. (6:30 a.m. on Wednesdays & 8:00 a.m. on Sundays), Diversions Guides serve a selection of fruit juices and yogurt, marvelous muffins, bagels with assorted cheeses, chocolate-dipped apricots, hot coffee, tea, and more on our way to a very special day in New York City. Current magazines are provided for your reading pleasure. En route we hear background information on theatre, art, cultural events and restaurants in Manhattan. And, of course, there’s a terrific Trivia Quiz or Bingo with great prizes.
IN NEW YORK: Our coach stops first at Saks Fifth Avenue, then at Trump Tower, Barney’s, Polo Sport, MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd., and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You are free to enjoy the sights and sounds of this vibrant city until it’s time for the 2:00 p.m. matinee (3:00 p.m. on Sundays).
THE RETURN: At approximately 5:00 p.m. our coach picks you up outside the theatre (or at a designated pickup point) and we head for home. En route to Baltimore we serve an open bar, wine, sodas, and the best of snacks, followed by a tasty supper prepared especially for us. We estimate an 8:30 p.m. arrival back in Baltimore.

DIVERSIONS HAS HOT TICKETS FOR:
BILLY ELLIOT
DIVIDING THE ESTATE
JERSEY BOYS
9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL
PAL JOEY
SHREK THE MUSICAL
SOUTH PACIFIC
WEST SIDE STORY
WICKED

NEW YORK EXPRESS ($109)= NYC FORMAT (as described above, but WITHOUT THEATRE)  

 CALL : 410-486-3604 ;  FAX: 410-486-4159;  
or E-MAIL : trips@diversionsinc.com
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South Pacific – An Island of Musical Perfection

An intoxicating new “South Pacific" with a cast of 40 returns to Broadway in as perfect a production as anyone is ever likely to see. From the first moments of its overture, when the 30-piece orchestra sweeps into Robert Russell Bennett's swooning original arrangements, all the way to the musical's touching conclusion "South Pacific" is every second a masterpiece.

The wondrous Kelli O’Hara plays the pivotal role of Ensign Nellie Forbush, the sheltered nurse from Little Rock who falls for a Frenchman in the South Seas with a complicated past she can’t handle. Emile de Becque is played here by the Brazilian operatic baritone Paulo Szot, and together, the two of them create a thrilling chemistry and a passionate center for the show. There has never been a nobler or sexier Emile than Szot’s. He delivers a melts-in-his-mouth rendition of  “Some Enchanted Evening” and his “This Nearly Was Mine” raises goose bumps. O’Hara beautifully conveys both her confusion and despair over her initial inability to accept Emile’s previous biracial marriage and the elation that he inspires in her. When she kicks up her heels and does cartwheels while performing A Wonderful Guy, O’Hara summons the spiritual buoyancy that makes this kind of American musical uniquely transporting.

Underlining the myriad of emotions that this tale involves, Rodgers and Hammerstein supplied songs of innocence ("A Cock-Eyed Optimist"), hope ("Twin Soliloquies"), anger ("You've Got to Be Carefully Taught"), frivolity ("Honey Bun"), loss ("This Nearly Was Mine"), giddy defiance ("I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair") and the manifestations of sexual repression ("Bloody Mary," "There is Nothing Like a Dame"). All of these charmed items shot up the record chart 60 years ago, and they sound just as fresh and emotionally true when sung here by O'Hara, Szot, and the rest of the exuberant cast.

In this new Tony-winning production - amazingly, the first on Broadway since the 1949 original   - Director Bartlett Sher has done a masterful job in balancing story and song. He draws deeply felt performances from his actors that allow the powerful story, lovely melodies and lucid wordplay to work their irresistible magic.  South Pacific is once again, a glorious, delicious hit with an emotional wallop  - there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

“I know we’re not supposed to expect perfection in this imperfect world, but I’m darned if I can find one serious flaw in this production.”
Ben Brantley, The New York Times

Just In: 11 Tony Nominations including Best Revival of a Musical

Come join us for an “enchanted afternoon”! 
Saturday, Jan. 3  (S/O)        Cost: $249.00
Saturday, May 16 (Orch.)   Cost: $285.00
Sunday, Jan. 4 (S/O)     Cost: $249.00
Wednesday, March 25 & June 10    Cost: $265.00

CALL : 410-486-3604 ;  FAX: 410-486-4159;  
or E-MAIL : trips@diversionsinc.com
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Get ready to rumble! West Side Story Returns!

Who could forget the achingly beautiful tale of two star-crossed lovers, Tony and Maria that find themselves caught between the rival street gangs of different cultural and  ethnic backgrounds, the "Jets" and the "Sharks." Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and relevant musical dramas of our time.

The first revival in 30 years, the 2009 production will be radically different from any other production of West Side Story . The musical theatre and cultural conventions of 1957 made it next to impossible for the characters to have authenticity. Every member of both gangs was always a potential killer even then. Now they actually will be. Only Tony and Maria try to live in a different world" said the director, Arthur Laurents.

This unforgettable show will have an onstage cast of 37 as well as 30 musicians in the orchestra pit. The Bernstein and Sondheim score was unprecedented for Broadway when it opened and includes an eclectic mix of such classics as “Something’s Coming,” “Tonight,” “America,” “I Feel Pretty” and “Somewhere.”

Something’s coming – something good – and it’s going to be great!

Saturdays, April 25 & June 6
Cost: $259.00

CALL : 410-486-3604 ;  FAX: 410-486-4159;  
or E-MAIL : trips@diversionsinc.com
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Pal Joey – Beguiled Again

Broadway is getting ready to be “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” again!

 Set in Chicago in the late 1930s, PAL JOEY is the story of Joey Evans, a brash, scheming song and dance man with dreams of owning his own nightclub. Joey abandons his wholesome girlfriend Linda English, to charm a rich, married older woman, Vera Simpson, in the hope that she’ll set him up in business.

 Christian Hoff, the Tony Award winner for playing the charismatic and tough Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, will be Pal Joey. He'll bewitch and bother Oscar nominee Stockard Channing (First Lady Abbey Bartlet in The West Wing) as cougar Vera Simpson. Martha Plimpton (a two time Tony nominee) will play Gladys Bumps, a chorus girl who dislikes Joey.

 The show has not been seen on Broadway since its 1976 revival. Its fabulous score includes "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," "I Could Write a Book," You Mustn't Kick It Around," and "Zip," among others.
This musical is all about the many guises of love so how perfect to be doing it on Valentine’s Day!
Saturday, February 14
Cost: $229.00

CALL : 410-486-3604 ;  FAX: 410-486-4159;  
or E-MAIL : trips@diversionsinc.com
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      Shrek the Musical
     Shrek looks backwards at all the fairy tale traditions we grew up on: a hero (a big, green, ill-tempered ogre), a beautiful princess (who is not all she appears to be), and a dastardly villain (with some obvious shortcomings) and takes great fun turning all their storytelling conventions upside-down and inside-out (and on their ear).
      This $30 million production is based on Shrek’s adventures in the classic William Steig book and Oscar Award winning film.  With more layers than ever and a completely original new score, Shrek The Musical proves that there's more to the story than meets the ears. Sutton Foster, who plays Princess Fiona, won a flurry of awards for her star role in Thoroughly Modern Millie and currently plays Inga in Young Frankenstein. Now back playing Sir Dennis in Spamalot, the role that earned him a Tony Award nomination; Christopher Sieber will be villainous Lord Farquaad; Brian d’Arcy James (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Sweet Smell of Success) plays the grumpy green ogre and Daniel Breaker (Passing Strange) portrays his sidekick donkey.

 Enchantingly irreverent and "monstrously clever", Shrek is ogre-sized adventure you'll want to see again and again!
Saturday, Jan. 3 (Center Fr. Mezz.) Cost: $259.00

CALL : 410-486-3604 ;  FAX: 410-486-4159;  
 or E-MAIL : trips@diversionsinc.com
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Billy Elliot –The Musical will lift your spirits, make you cry and send you home high with hope. This is a funny, heart-warming and feel good celebration of one young boy’s dream. It’s the coming-of-age story of Billy, who through his unexpected love of dance, embarks on a journey of self-discovery in the world of picket lines, cultural stereotypes, family crises and a headstrong ballet teacher.

During Britain’s bitter coal miners’ strike in 1984, eleven-year-old Billy is mourning his mother and caring for his eccentric granny while his dad and older brother join the picket lines. When Billy stumbles across a local ballet class that comes to share the village hall with his boxing club, something in the magic of the movements captures his imagination. Meanwhile, Billy’s father and older brother, both on strike, struggle to put food on the table and finally explode when they discover Billy has been squandering his boxing money on less than manly pursuits.

This musical is a celebration of dance: its lure, its excitement, its wonder, its surprises, and the discovery of the self that it demands. Why should anyone be trapped by class, environment or history, even when intense group loyalty is demanded? And why should anybody be constrained by the conventions of gender?

The original movie captured the hearts and minds of the world and has now been turned into the greatest British all-homegrown musical of the decade. Elton John’s wonderful score ranges from folk to hard rock, from razzle-dazzle show tunes to soaring anthems of human solidarity and defiance.

 “It’s the best gift from Britain since Harry Potter! It’s head and toe—shoes above every other show this season!”
Barbara Hoffman, New York Post

“Broadway’s long, dark, dry spell of big, smart, smash musicals is officially over. Billy Elliot is here!” Linda Winer, Newsday

“Billy Elliot is a hard-times musical. And as the culture of the Great Depression made clear, in times of economic darkness there can be blessed relief in dreams of tripping the light fantastic.” Ben Brantley, The New York Times

 Cost: $259.00
Saturdays, Jan. 10 (S/O), Mar. 21 (Orch.), May 2 (Fr. Mezz.), May 16 (Fr. Mezz.), Aug. 1 (Fr. Mezz.) & Aug. 8 (Orch.)
Wednesday, March 25 (Fr. Mezz.)

CALL : 410-486-3604 ;  FAX: 410-486-4159;  
 or E-MAIL : trips@diversionsinc.com
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This 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Musical takes you up the charts, across the country and behind the music of  Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. "It's just too good to be true"!
Wednesdays, January 21 (Fr. Mezz.) & January 28 (Orch.)   Cost: $249.00