Musical Theatre West Presents THE MOST HAPPY FELLA Reading, 9/25

The cast has been announced for the staged reading of Frank Loesser'S MUSICAL THE MOST HAPPY FELLA which begins the second season of MUSICAL Theatre West'S REINER READING SERIES on September 25th at 7:00 p.m.

Featured in the cast for this one night only production are John Huntington (Regional: The Secret Garden, Oliver, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Children of Eden, Phantom of the Opera) as Tony Esposito, JILL VAN VELZER (Regional: Hello, Dolly! Grand Night For Singing, Heavier Than...) as Rosabella, Kim Huber (Broadway: Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Sunset Boulevard, Marie Christine) as Cleo, Randall Dodge (Regional: How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Light In The Piazza, Annie, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Joe, Robert Pieranunzi (Regional: Cats, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Pajama Game, Never Gonna Dance, Guys and Dolls) as Herman and Tracy Lore (N.Y. and National Tour: PETER PAN Regional: The Producers, All Shook Up (Ovation Nom.), The Full Monty, Me & My Girl, The Will Rogers Follies, The Drowsy Chaperone) as Marie.

Frank Loesser'S MUSICAL THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, based on "They Knew What They Wanted" by Sidney Howard, was first produced at the Imperial Theatre on May 3, 1956 and ran for a total of 676 performances, with Robert Weede as "Tony", Jo Sullivan (later Joe Sullivan Loesser) as "Rosabella," popular band singer Art Lund as "Joe,"and country personality Shorty Long as Herman. Even in a season that included "My Fair Lady", "Candide" and "Bells Are Ringing", Frank Loesser'S THE MOST HAPPY FELLA was hailed as an extraordinary musical drama and a missing link between Broadway and opera. Composer/Writer Frank Loesser called the show a musical comedy - "with a lotta music".

Musical Theatre West's Reiner Reading Series is produced by Michael Betts and Daniel Thomas and focuses on staged readings of classic musicals and forgotten gems and maintains MTW's commitment to celebrate and preserve musical theater as an art form by exposing audiences to works of that might not otherwise be produced on a larger scale.

Through the minimalism of the staged reading format, we invite the audience to use their imagination to explore and enjoy the diverse range of musical theatre, both in style and era, including lesser-known shows by noted composers as well as noted shows by lesser-known composers.

The staged reading will be held on Sunday, September 25th at 7:00 p.m. at the University Theater on the CSU Long Beach campus at the 7th Street entrance. This special event is generously underwritten by long-time Long Beach residents and Musical Theatre West donors Ken and Dottie Reiner with additional funding from Ackerman Family/Evalyn M. Bauer Foundation. Pre purchased general admission tickets are $25.00 ($30 at the door) and are available now through the MTW box office at 562-856-1999, x4 or at www.musical.org.

The REINER READING SERIES will continue with FIORELLO on March, 11, 2012, BELLS ARE RINGING on May 20, 2012 and the series will close with a yet to be announced musical on July 22, 2012.