All-Star Reading of "The Mistress Cycle" with Luker, Davis and Murney

Artists Without Limits (AWOL) Project, Inc. (David Southerland, Executive Director) is pleased to announce its first project: an all-star reading of "THE MISTRESS CYCLE," the award-winning new musical by Jenny Giering and BETH BLATT. Directed by JOE CALARCO ("Shakespeare's R&J"), the cast includes Tony-Award nominee Rebecca Luker ("Nine," "The Music Man"), MARY BOND DAVIS ("Hairspray"), Julia Murney ("The Wild Party," "A Class Act") and STEPHANIE BAST ("Nine," "The Scarlet Pimpernel"). The reading will be presented on NOVEMBER 15th at 7:00 PM and NOVEMBER 16th at 3:00 PM at THEATRE AT ST. CLEMENT'S, 423 West 46th St. The reading is free, but seating is extremely limited and reservations are required. Reservations are available by calling 212-591-0705 or by logging onto the company's official website at www.awolproject.org.

"THE MISTRESS CYCLE" mixes elements of both book musical and song cycle to tell the story of Tess, a Manhattan photographer who meets a married man and is deciding how to handle the relationship. As she weighs her options, we meet four historical mistresses who faced many of the same issues: Anais Nin, the famous sexual adventurer from the early 20th century; Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henri II of France in the 1500s, who was forced to live under the same roof with her lover and his wife; Lulu White, a turn-of-the-century bordello madame who entrusted her married paramour of 25 years with $100,000...and then never saw him again; and Ching, a 14- year-old girl living in 12th century China who is sold to a much older man as his concubine.

The show, which is the first collaboration between Ms. Giering and Ms. Blatt, was awarded the prestigious Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award in 2000 as well as the 2002-2003 Dramatists Guild Jonathan Larson Fellowship. Developmental readings of the piece have been produced by the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Barrington Stage Company and Theatreworks/Palo Alto's New Works Festival. The duo are currently at work on the new musical "Caraboo" with playwright Marsha Norman ("'night Mother").

Rebecca Luker was last seen on Broadway in the revival of "Nine" playing the role of Claudia. For her portrayal of Marian Paroo in the revival of "The Music Man" Rebecca received a Tony Award nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination, and a Drama Desk Award nomination. Her other credits include Maria in "The Sound of Music" (Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), Magnolia in "Show Boat" (Tony Award nomination), Lily in "The Secret Garden" (Drama Desk Award nomination), and Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera." Mary Bond Davis was the original Motormouth Maybelle in Broadway's "Hairspray," and also appeared in the Roundabout production of "The Women" with Rue McClanahan. Julia Murney starred in Manhattan Theatre Club's "The Wild Party" and has appeared in "A Class Act" as well as Actors Fund benefit concerts of "Funny Girl" and "Chess." Stephanie Bast understudied Ms. Luker in "Nine" and was also seen in Broadway's "Scarlet Pimpernel" and MSG's "A Christmas Carol."

Director JOE CALARCO is the adaptor/director of "Shakespeare's R&J" which ran for a year in New York and earned him a Lucille Lortel Award. He also directed the play's premieres in Chicago (5 Jeff Award nominations including Best Play and Best Director) and Washington, D.C. (Helen Hayes Award nominations for Best Play and Best Director). R&J completed a celebrated run in London's West End in late 2003, and Joe received honorable mention from the Evening Standard Awards committee for his direction.

Artists Without Limits (AWOL) Project is a not-for-profit organization committed to eliminating the many limitations facing theatre artists of all kinds as they create and develop their craft. Through a series of programs designed to spotlight and promote both new works and new theatre artists, AWOL Project is dedicated to providing support and creative opportunities for these artists as well as exposing them to new audiences and fostering a public appreciation of their work. The first program established by AWOL is their Musicals In Development (MID) Series, which was created specifically to support emerging and undiscovered music theatre writers in the development process by selecting works of particular promise and presenting them in professional readings and workshops. "THE MISTRESS CYCLE" was chosen from a pool of close to 150 new musicals.