Mary Birdsong to Join Cast of DISASTER!; Michele Ragusa Plays Final Performance on 12/6

Mary Birdsong (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, "Reno 911") will join the cast of Disaster!, the hilarious, acclaimed 1970s disaster movie musical now playing Off-Broadway at the St. Luke's Theatre (308 W. 46th Street) on Monday, December 9th. Ms. Birdsong will take over the role of lounge singer "Jackie," played by Michele Ragusa, whose final performance will be on Friday, December 6th.

Presented by Mary J. Davis, Disaster! is written by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick, directed by Mr. Plotnick, and has choreography by Denis Jones. A send-up of the 1970s disaster movie genre, Disaster! features some of the best songs of the 1970s, including "Hot Stuff," "Don't Bring Me Down," "I Am Woman," "Alone Again Naturally," "Signed Sealed Delivered," "Knock On Wood," "Daybreak" "Sky High," and more.

It's 1979 and New York City's hottest partiers are blowing out their feathered hair and putting on their best polyester threads and platform shoes to head to the grand opening of the Barracuda, Manhattan's first floating casino and discotheque. Little do they know that their night of boogie fever will turn into a . . . Disaster!

Mary Birdsong (Jackie). Broadway: Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me (Theatre World Award), Hairspray. Off-Broadway: Love, Loss and What I Wore; Adult Entertainment; Judy Speaks. Film: The Descendants, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Killers, Adventureland, Made of Honor, Reno 911: Miami, Beer League. TV: "Reno 911," The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," and many delightful pilots. Mary also sings with the bands 99 Cent Whore and Cottonhead. www.marybirdsong.com.

The cast of Disaster! also includes Sherz Aletaha, Haven Burton (Shrek, Legally Blonde), Paul Castree (9 to 5, Young Frankenstein), Kristy Cavenaugh, Charity Dawson, Saum Eskandani, Matt Farcher, Drew Geraci (The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Chorus Line), Ashanti J'Aria (Saturday Night Fever), Maggie McDowell, Jack Plotnick, Tom Riis Farrell (Chicago, Coram Boy, Legally Blonde), Seth Rudetsky (The Ritz), Robb Sapp (Shrek, Wicked), Jennifer Simard (Sister Act, Shrek, Spelling Bee), two-time Tony Award® nominee Mary Testa, (Xanadu, 42nd Street, On the Town), and Jonah Verdon.

DISASTER! has set and lighting design by Josh Iacovelli, costume design by Brian Hemesath, and sound design by Brett Rothstein. Larry Pressgrove is the Music Director, and Steve Marzullo is the Music Supervisor. Drew Geraci is the associate director and choreographer. Jeff Davolt is the Production Stage Manager, and Tom Kosis is the ASM.

A previous version of Disaster! played weekly performances at The Triad Theater in NYC from January - March 2012. This production -- which opened on Monday November 4th, 2013 --marks Disaster!'s Off-Broadway premiere.

Seth Rudetsky (Co-Creator original concept, Co-writer) is the afternoon Broadway host on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. He has played piano for more than a dozen Broadway shows including LES MIZ, PHANTOM and RAGTIME and was the Artist Producer/Music Director for the first five annual Actors Fund Concerts including DREAMGIRLS (with Audra McDonald) and HAIR (with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson), for which he also received a Grammy nomination as co-producer of the cast recording. In 2007 he played Sheldon on Broadway in THE RITZ with Rosie Perez (directed by Joe Montello) and in 2010 he starred in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG opposite Sutton Foster. On TV, he's appeared as a real estate agent on "Law & Order: C.I.," Rudy, a Las Vegas choreographer, on "All MY Children," as well as on MTV's "Legally Blonde" reality show and Bravo's "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" as himself. A three-time Emmy Award nominated television writer ("The Rosie O'Donnell Show"), Seth has also written the books "The Q Guide to Broadway," "Broadway Nights," (in its 3rd printing) and the recent "My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan" (Random House). His new reality show can be viewed on his online TV network: www.SethTV.com.

Jack Plotnick (Co-Writer, Director). Most recently, Jack wrote and directed the feature film SPACE STATION 76 starring Patrick Wilson, Liv Tyler and Matt Bomer. He produced, directed and acted on the 2006 Lifetime Television comedy series "Lovespring International." Jack executive produced and starred in the award winning feature film (and cult hit!) Girls Will Be Girls. As an actor, he has appeared in countless TV shows, commercials and features, including sizable roles in Meet the Fockers, Gods and Monsters, and Down With Love. He has had recurring and series regular roles on shows such as "The Mentalist," "Reno 911," "Drawn Together," "Ellen," and "Action." Jack's highly acclaimed acting workshops have become hugely popular in Los Angeles and New York City. www.JackPlotnick.com.