New Line Theatre's 'Offline' Hosts 1970s Game Show Fundraiser, 8/4

New Line Theatre, "the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre," has created a new side identity called New Line Theatre Off Line, which will be a framework for the New Line actors to explore other music and Theatre Projects, including New Line’s own unique brand of adult cabaret, musical improv, and other kinds of performance opportunities, as well as master classes, workshops, and more. New Line actor Mike Dowdy (Forbidden Planet, Spelling Bee, The Wild Party, Evita, Two Gentlemen of Verona, bare, Cry-Baby, High Fidelity) will head up the Off Line brand under his new title of Associate Artistic Director.

To kick off the new project and raise seed money, the New Liners are hosting a fundraiser August 4 -- THAT 70s GAMES SHOW, a live 1970s-style game show with contestants from the audience and the New Liners as "celebrities." St. Louis Post-Dispatch theatre critic Judith Newmark and New Line artistic director Scott Miller will also join the "celebrity" panel, with Dowdy as game show host. The other panelists will include veteran New Line actors Zachary Allen Farmer, Nicholas and Amy Kelly, Taylor Pietz, Kimi Short, Brian Claussen, and New Line choreographer Robin Michelle Berger. The evening will also include food, a cash bar, a silent auction, raffles, and other New Line fun.

THAT 70s GAME SHOW is Saturday, August 4, 2012, starting at 7:30 pm, at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar Blvd. in the Loop, east of Skinker. Admission is $10 and reservations can be made by phone at 636-699-6689 or by email at offlinetix@gmail.com. The performance may include adult language and adult content.

New Line Theatre is a professional company dedicated to involving the people of the St. Louis region in the exploration and creation of daring, provocative, socially and politically relevant works of musical theatre. New Line Theatre was created in 1991 at the vanguard of a new wave of nonprofit musical theatre just starting to take hold across the country. The company has given birth to several world premiere musicals over the years and has brought back to life many shows that did not do well in their original New York productions. Altogether, New Line has produced 65 musicals and 5 concerts of theatre songs since 1991. New Line Theatre was recently given its own entry in the latest edition of the Cambridge Guide to American Theatre. New Line receives funding from the Regional Arts Commission, the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation, and the Missouri Arts Council. For more about New Line, go to www.newlinetheatre.com/contact.html.

New Line's current show HIGH FIDELITY runs through June 23, 2012, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, at 8:00 p.m., at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale through all Metrotix outlets, including the Fox Theatre and the Edison Theatre at Washington University, or by calling 314-534-1111. This show contains adult content and adult language.

New Line Theatre's 2012-2013 season will include three premieres, BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, Sept. 27-Oct. 20; NEXT TO NORMAL, Feb. 28-Mar. 23; and BUKOWSICAL, May 30-June 23. For other information, visit New Line Theatre's full-service website at www.newlinetheatre.com. All programs are subject to change.