Barrett, Cariou, Urie and More Set For York Readings, Kicks Off 10/13

The award-winning York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director) announces casting for three new musicals (Setup and Punch, Once Upon a Pastime and Give a Man a Mask), the next offerings in its acclaimed Developmental Reading Series. Reservations for all three readings are fully booked and only available via wait list.

Setup and Punch
Book by Mark Saltzman
Music by Berton Averee
Lyrics by Rob Meurer
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 • 7 PM

The cast of Setup and Punch features P.J. Griffith (Mamma Mia! nat'l tour), Sarah Stiles (Avenue Q, Spelling Bee) and Michael Urie ("Ugly Betty," The Temperamentals). The reading is directed by Daniel Henning, with music direction by Berton Averre.

She writes the lyrics. He writes the music. A clever musical theater writing team's promising relationship is blown to bits when they must collaborate with the sex-god-singer-composer of a cutting edge rock band. Love gets sung in the wrong key, proving the old adage: there are more than three sides to every triangle. Setup and Punch was presented at Noah Wyle's Blank Theater Company in 2009, where it was nominated by L.A. Weekly as "Musical of the Year."

Once Upon a Pastime
Book by Lee Robert Schreiber
Music and Lyrics by Terry Cashman
Thursday, October 14, 2010 • 3 & 7 PM

The cast of Once Upon a Pastime features Melissa Bohon (Fiddler on the Roof), Tony winner Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd), Clark Carmichael (Jumpers), David Green (Annie), Marva Hicks (Caroline, or Change), Ikuma Isaac (Sake with the Haiku Geisha), Jerry Lazar (Meester Amerika), Adam Monley (Mamma Mia!), Paul Murphy (Finnegan's Wake) and newcomer Benjamin Perry. The reading is directed by James Glossman, with music direction by Joseph Baker.

In Once Upon a Pastime, Mac, a widowed ex-ballplayer, now a bar owner in a shabby Southern town, is having a bad day. Before the show is over, Mac will be confronted with ghosts from his past, an unhappy daughter, a dying best friend, an African-American singer namEd Whitey, and three travelers who may or may not be baseball gods.

Give a Man a Mask
Book, Music and Lyrics by Richard Isen
Inspired by quotations from the writings of Oscar Wilde
Monday, October 18, 2010 • 7 PM

The cast of Give a Man a Mask features Brent Barrett (Chicago), Michael Mahany (Spring Awakening) and famed impersonator RAndy Roberts. The reading is directed by Robert Kalfin, with music direction by Milton Granger.

Give a Man a Mask begins on a foggy night in San Francisco. Gregory (a 50-year old gay, semi-retired, psychology consultant with a life-long passion for the romantic and glamorous leading ladies of Hollywood's golden age) has a near-death experience and is intruded upon by a mysterious figure, The Lady. Guided by this unlikely master, Gregory is pushed out of his safe, solitary reality and soon finds himself in a turbulent, dangerous relationship with a young escort named "Chance" which unexpectedly leads him to a deeper understanding of what it means to love.

The York Theatre Company is the only theater in New York City - and one of very few in the world - dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving neglected, notable shows from the past. Over the past two seasons, York productions have been nominated for 28 Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Audelco and Drama League Awards (and its productions of Yank! A WWII Love Story and Enter Laughing, The Musical have both been announced for Broadway transfers). For over four decades, York's intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and neglected classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Under the guidance of Artistic Director James Morgan since 1997, the York has focused exclusively on new musicals in its Mainstage Series-most of them world, American, or New York premieres-by some of the field's most esteemed creators, and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Over 30 cast recordings from York Theatre Company productions are now available on CD, and commercial transfers of such York productions as The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Souvenir, Jolson & Company, and acclaimed revivals of Sweeney Todd and Pacific Overtures have all showcased the importance of the York and its programs.

Each year, York's Developmental Reading Series presents between 30 to 40 readings and workshops of new musicals by emerging and established authors. Reading Series Coordinator Jeff Landsman says, "These readings give writers a unique opportunity to get audience feedback while a show is still in progress." York's Mainstage production, Yank!, as well as past Mainstage productions Souvenir and The Musical of Musicals, The Musical! were first developed in the Developmental Reading Series, where the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit Avenue Q also made its first appearances. The Developmental Reading Series is made possible in part by The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

GENERAL INFO:

Setup and Punch
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 • 7 PM

Once Upon a Pastime
Thursday, October 14, 2010 • 3 & 7 PM

Give a Man a Mask
Monday, October 18, 2010 • 7 PM

York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's
Enter on 54th Street Just East of Lexington
E or M train to Lexington Avenue or 6 train to 51st Street

www.yorktheatre.org

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.