Broadway’s “Rock of Ages” to headline Norwegian Breakaway’s entertainment

29 June 2012 - Entertainment Rocks on New York’s Newest and Biggest Cruise Ship with Three Broadway Shows and More

Norwegian Cruise Line continued its legacy of innovating cruise ship entertainment as it announced that the five-time Tony Award nominated musical ROCK OF AGES will be featured on Norwegian Breakaway, along with two additional Broadway shows: the dance sensation BURN THE FLOOR and CIRQUE DREAMS & DINNER JUNGLE FANTASY. The line also introduced all of the varied and exciting entertainment acts and venues that will debut on the ship, including the famed comedy troupe The Second City and Howl at the Moon at Headliners Comedy Club and New York’s own Slam Allen in Fat Cats Jazz & Blues Club.

“As a lifelong New Yorker, it’s critically important to me that Norwegian Breakaway becomes New York’s ship – the only way to cruise from New York when she arrives next May. Our goal is to bring elements of New York on board so that guests will feel a real connection to the ship as New York’s true flagship,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s chief

executive officer.

“With ROCK OF AGES performing in the Breakaway Theatre, along with BURN THE FLOOR, CIRQUE DREAMS & DINNER JUNGLE FANTASY in the Spiegel Tent, and all the other entertainment offerings, we are truly bringing Broadway to the high seas and delivering high calibre entertainment.”

ROCK OF AGES is one of the longest running shows in Broadway history and offers Broadway’s best party. The New York Times has called the show, “Absurdly enjoyable! About as guilty as pleasures get!” The classic rock love story of the decade features such feel-good, sing-out-loud songs such as “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” “I Wanna Know What Love Is,” “Here I Go Again,” “Don’t Stop Believin,” and more. The Broadway show is now replicated on the big screen as the film of the musical by New Line Cinema was released on June 15, 2012.

In addition to being a bona fide Broadway hit musical, ROCK OF AGES was a runaway success in Toronto and Australia; has a production running in London’s West End; and has several successful licensed productions in Asia.

ROCK OF AGES is lead produced on Broadway by Michael Cohl and Jonathan Linden of S2BN Entertainment and Matthew Weaver.

Norwegian Breakaway will feature multiple, specially-designed entertainment venues throughout the ship so that guests can choose from a wide variety of entertainment each evening of their cruise with choices to appeal to a broad audience.

BURN THE FLOOR

Offering shows in both the 800-seat Breakaway Theatre and more intimate performances in The Manhattan Room, dance sensation BURN THE FLOOR will

dazzle guests with their re-invented ballroom dancing. Beginning with, and maintaining all the wonderful traditions and the social history of the Ballroom dance art form, BURN THE FLOOR is a groundbreaking show, serving as a melting pot of styles, energy and excitement for today’s generation of dancers. It is Ballroom “supercharged.”

During the course of the show, the dancers perform all the Ballroom and Latin styles, including The Waltz, Cha Cha, Samba, Salsa, Rumba, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Mambo, Tango, Swing, Jive, Lindy Hop, Viennese Waltz, and Paso Doble. The music is eclectic, from Swing and Waltz classics to J-Lo and Credence Clearwater. Two vocalists perform in many languages during the show, including English, Spanish and Portuguese.

The show premiered in London in 1999 and toured the US for the first time in 2000, including performances at Radio City Music Hall. After touring around the world, in a variety of countries, including Japan, Singapore and Australia, BURN THE FLOOR premiered on Broadway in 2009. Originally intended to be a limited run, the show opened to rave reviews in New York and extended its original run into January 2010, performing 193 shows. Already staged in more than 300 cities globally, BURN THE FLOOR is currently in the midst of its World Tour of the Broadway Production with dates in Holland, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, and will return to the US later this year before joining Norwegian Breakaway in 2013.

CIRQUE DREAMS & DINNER — JUNGLE FANTASY IN THE SPIEGEL TENT

Following the huge success of the revolutionary CIRQUE DREAMS & DINNER on Norwegian Epic, famed producer/director Neil Goldberg will present an adaptation of the Broadway show CIRQUE DREAMS JUNGLE FANTASY featuring the best of both critically acclaimed productions. The new show will be entitled CIRQUE DREAMS & DINNER – JUNGLE FANTASY and will perform in the ship’s intimate Spiegel Tent.

Proclaimed “the grandest circus spectacle east of Vegas” by New York Magazine, CIRQUE DREAMS JUNGLE FANTASY debuted at the Broadway Theatre in 2008 and is, to date, the first and only show of its kind to ever perform on Broadway. The show received an American Theatre Wing, Best Costume Design nomination and has played to over 3.5 million people in more than 200 cities throughout the United States, as well as thousands of U.S. military troops and their families throughout 10 countries.

CIRQUE DREAMS & DINNER – JUNGLE FANTASY will feature an international cast of Cirque Dreamers performing amazing feats while bringing to life a soaring Ballet of Butterflies, Flipping Monkeys, Hopping Frogs, Spine-bending Lizards and Fanciful Birds in an exotic, awe-inspiring adventure.

FAT CATS JAZZ & BLUES CLUB FEATURING SLAM ALLEN

Following his extremely popular performance as the house band in the Jazz & Blues Club on

house band in the Jazz & Blues Club on Norwegian Epic, New York’s own Slam Allen will take the stage in Fat Cats Jazz & Blues Club on Norwegian Breakaway. Fat Cats will feature nightly live blues and jazz performances by Allen and other world-class talent. The urban setting creates a hipster vibe complete with full bar and comfortable leather sofas and chairs. Fat Cats will also feature outdoor seating on The Waterfront, a Norwegian Breakaway exclusive, where guests can enjoy a drink and the live music while feeling the warm ocean breeze.

For more than 20 years, Slam Allen has been entertaining audiences around the world with his unique blend of soul and blues. For the past eight years, he has played an important role, as the lead singer and guitarist, in the legendary James Cotton Band. Music is in Allen’s blood — he got his start from his father and uncles who were known as the Allen Brothers Band. On Norwegian Breakaway, Allen will play a wide range of songs from B.B. King and Otis Redding to his own original music in the intimate Fat Cats Jazz & Blues Club.

THE SECOND CITY AND HOWL AT THE MOON IN HEADLINERS

Headliners Comedy Club debuts on Norwegian Breakaway with the hilarious improvisational

comedy of The Second City, as Norwegian continues its exclusive partnership with the famed troupe. For more than 50 years, The Second City has honed the skills of comedic legends such as Bill Murray, Chris Farley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Jason Sudeikis. The ensemble aboard Norwegian Breakaway will perform a special customised comedy revue of satirical skits, hilarious songs and inventive improvisation. The venue’s design centres on a show lounge format with a small raised stage, concrete floors and brick walls with a full bar.

The world’s greatest rock n’ roll duelling piano show, Howl at the Moon, which received rave reviews on Norwegian Epic, will also be featured in Headliners on board Norwegian Breakaway. This total entertainment experience features talented piano players who not only entertain the guests; they make the guests part of the show. The fun is centred around two baby grand pianos and a full out rock show with Howl’s entertainers playing the best music from 70’s rock to hip-hop for four hours per show. Howl at the Moon, with multiple locations across the United States, encourages people to channel their inner rock star, so guests should get ready to clap, sing, dance and howl.

The 4,000 passenger Norwegian Breakaway will arrive in New York City in early May 2013 for year round sailings. The ship, the largest ever to home port in New York City, will begin weekly summer seven-night cruises from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal to Bermuda on Sunday, May 12, 2013. From October 2013 through April 2014, the ship will offer voyages from the heart of Manhattan to the Bahamas & Florida and the Southern Caribbean.

To date, the company has revealed the ship’s groundbreaking design, including The Waterfront and 678 Ocean Place, a wide range of indoor and outdoor venues on three dynamic decks that will create a whole new complex at sea that enhances guests’ connection with the ocean. The top decks of Norwegian Breakaway will feature the first Aqua Park at sea with five full-size water slides, including twin Free Fall slides, the first ever at sea, and a three-story sports complex that includes the largest ropes course at sea, a nine-hole miniature golf course, basketball court, rock climbing wall and more.

The ship will also feature a rich mix of stateroom options including The Haven by Norwegian, comprised of 42 Suites at the top of the ship and 18 additional Suites located throughout the ship; the innovative Studios, designed and priced for solo travellers; the re-introduction of Oceanview staterooms, Balcony and Mini-Suites; along with Spa Balcony, Mini-Suites and Suites in close proximity to the spa.

For more information on Norwegian Breakaway visit www.breakaway.ncl.co.uk.

To book a cruise on Norwegian Breakaway, contact a travel professional, call Norwegian at 0845 201 8900 or visit www.ncl.co.uk.

ENDS

About Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line is an internationally operating cruise line headquartered in Miami, Florida with two offices in Wiesbaden and London overseeing operations in Europe.

Norwegian Cruise Line is the innovator in cruise travel with a 45-year history of breaking the boundaries of traditional cruising, most notably with the introduction of Freestyle Cruising which has revolutionized the industry by allowing guests more freedom and flexibility. In October 2011 the company launched its new brand platform “Cruise like a Norwegian” that celebrates the community of diverse holiday makers who are passionate about their experiences and highlights the key elements of Freestyle Cruising.

Today, Norwegian Cruise Line has 11 purpose-built Freestyle Cruising ships, providing the guests the opportunity to enjoy a relaxed cruise vacation on some of the newest and most contemporary ships at sea. The company has two 4.000-passenger vessels on order: Norwegian Breakaway for delivery in April 2013 and Norwegian Getaway for delivery in April 2014.

Norwegian’s largest and most innovative Freestyle Cruising ship to date, Norwegian Epic, debuted in June 2010. Three of the modern Freestyle Cruising ships are deployed in Europe in the 2011/12 season; with the largest European deployment in the company’s history, the cruise line will have four ships sailing in European waters in the 2012/13 season. Norwegian Cruise Line is the official cruise line of Blue Man Group, appearing for the first time at sea on Norwegian Epic, as well as the official cruise line of Legends in Concert, Howl at the Moon Dueling Pianos, Gibson Guitar, and Nickelodeon, the number-one entertainment brand for kids. Cirque Dreams^® & Dinner is also featured on board Norwegian Epic as the first show of its kind at sea under a big top.

In September 2011, the cruise line received the World Travel Award as “Europe’s Leading Cruise Line” for the fourth year running.

Issued by Flagship Consulting

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