Musto, Salamone, Weiss Set for PERFECT HARMONY, 10/8

Michael Musto, Louis S. Salamone, and Joshua P. Weiss present the exultant return of "PERFECT HARMONY," a hit of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival and a 2008 sold-out summer run on Theatre Row. "PERFECT HARMONY" is conceived and directed by Andrew Grosso, and written by Grosso and The Essentials. Performances begin Friday, October 8 at 45 Bleecker, 45 Bleecker Street (just east of Lafayette). The official opening performance is set for Sunday, October 17 at 5:00 p.m. Tickets for the open-ended Off Broadway run are available through Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com, and are currently on sale through December 31, 2010.

"PERFECT HARMONY" (www.perfectharmonyrocks.com) is a comedy about the greatest singing group in high school history, seventeen-time national champions, The Acafellas. It's also about their classmates and female counterpart, perennial runners up, The Ladies in Red. Through song and story, we see these students grapple with the weighty issues of truth, love, what constitutes appropriate choreography for Nationals - and ultimately we learn not just about these students but also about the true nature of harmony.

Continuing its trajectory as the little show that could, "PERFECT HARMONY" will come to 45 Bleecker after an out-of-town run at the Stoneham Theatre, in Stoneham, MA (September 9 through October 3). Originally created as a workshop at NYU Graduate Acting's Studio Tisch program, "PERFECT HARMONY" had its premiere at the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival, and had an extended run as part of the 2006 Fringe Encore Series. In 2008, the show moved to Theatre Row, where it sold-out its extended run at the Clurman Theatre. "PERFECT HARMONY" now returns for this open-ended Off Broadway run.

Andrew Grosso is the Artistic Director of The Essentials and has conceived and directed "PERFECT HARMONY." The show was written by Grosso and developed in collaboration with the previous casts, many of whom created their characters, during a series of loose improvisational interview-based workshops. In 2005, this group, now called The Essentials, was given generous support from NYU Graduate Acting's Studio Tisch Program to finish developing the play. The collaborating writers of The Essentials (www.theessentials.org) for Perfect Harmony include: David Barlow, Jeffrey Binder, Drew Cortese, Meg DeFoe, Alec Duffy, Autumn Dornfeld, Cameron Folmar, Santino Fontana, Jordan Gelber, Scott Janes, Nicole Lowrance, Vayu O'Donnell, Thomas Piper, Maria Elena Ramirez, Jeanine Serralles, Marina Squerciati, Noah Weisberg, Margo White, Blake Whyte, and Marshall York. The Essentials is a New York based theater company that collaboratively creates innovative new theater. Most recently the company was a co-producer (along with Aaron Louis and New Georges) of Marielle Heller's The Diary of a Teenage Girl at 3LD.

Andrew Grosso's directing credits include the previous productions of Perfect Harmony, as well as the New York premiere of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying (Chashama and Ohio Theater); Taming of the Shrew (Roundtable Ensemble), Wrong Way Up! with The Niagaras (Belt Theatre); Roberto Aguirre-Sacassa's The Ten Minute Play About Rosemary's Baby (Soho Rep); David Weiner's Purple Hearts (HB Playwrights); and the 2001 Fringe Festival's Waiting for Godot, the last play performed at the original East River Amphitheater.

The ten member cast will be (alphabetically): Dana Acheson (Melody McDaniels), Faryl Amadeus (Valerie Smooter), Clayton Apgar (Jasper Mergh), Marie-France Arcilla (Kerri Taylor/Tobi McClintoch), David Barlow (Simon Depardieu/Goran Dhiardeaubovic), Kate Morgan Chadwick (Michaela Dhiardeaubovic/Kiki Tune), Jarid Faubel (JB Smooter), Kobi Libii (Phillip Fellows V), Kelly McCreary (Meghan Beans), and Robbie Collier Sublett (Lassiter A. Jayson III). Ms. Acheson's New York credits include: Perfect Harmony (Clurman), Detail (E.S.T.), Philosophy of the World (NYMF), Courting Vampires (SPF), Gnome (The Zipper), and New Boy (Beckett). Ms. Amadeus portrayed Clea in Floyd & Clea Under the Western Sky (The Goodman), Stone Cold Dead Serious (Small Pond Entertainment), and Criminals in Love (The Sightlines Theater). Mr. Apgar's New York credits include: Perfect Harmony (Clurman), The 49 Project (Cherry Lane Studio Theatre), and Such Things Only Happen in Books (Clurman). Ms. Arcilla has been seen in Lizzie Borden (The Living Theatre), Emerson High (Half Moon Theater), and College the Musical (NYMF). Mr. Barlow's New York credits include: Perfect Harmony (NY Int'l Fringe Festival), LA Party (Under the Radar), Horizon (NYTW), Romola & Nijinski (Primary Stages), and for Theater for a New Audience: Oroonoko, Andorra, and Saved. Ms. Chadwick has appeared in New York in The Butcherhouse Chronicles (SPF), Stupid Kids (The Red Room), and The American Dream (Arthur Saleen Theatre). She has also toured nationally in Mamma Mia! and Grease. Mr. Faubel has had featured roles in the films The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Graduation (with Adam Arkin and Huey Lewis), and Routes of Wildflowers (Winner: Victory Dance Film Festival). New York stage credits include: I Come for Love (NYMF) and Yerma (Quantum Theatre). Mr. Libi has been seen in New York in Ohio State Murders (TFANA), The Cenci (Hotel Savant), and The Great Ape Love Song (Target Margin). Ms. McCreary performed in the Broadway company of Passing Strange. Off Broadway she has been seen in Precious Little (Ohio), Exposed! (Midtown Int'l Theatre Festival) and in The Obstruction Plays and Couchworks (The Tank at Chashama). Mr. Sublett's New York credits include: Gone Missing (The Civilians at the Barrow Street Theatre), Mabou Mines' Song for New York (BAM), Mabou Mines Finn (Skirball Center), and You Better Sit Down (Galapagos Art Space). He has had featured roles in the films: Hachi: A Dog's Tale (dir. Lasse Hallström), Lifelines, Mystery Team, and premiering at the Toronto Film Festival this month White Irish Drinkers, directed by John Gray.

The sets will be designed by Nick Francone (Resident Scenic and Lighting Designer for Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company; Roundtable Ensemble; Prospect Theater Company; and Associate Designer on the B'way productions Wicked, The Pirate Queen; The Homecoming; and 9 to 5); the costumes by Becky Lasky (NY credits include Julius Caesar at Aquila; Taming of the Shrew at the Roundtable Ensemble; Valparaiso and Will Eno's Flu Season, both for Rude Mechanicals and Perfect Harmony at the 2006 Fringe and 2008 Clurman run); and the lighting by Brian M. Jones (returns to Perfect Harmony after lighting the 2008 Theatre Row production. Other NY credits include The Actor's Rap at Baruch, Like Love at NYMF, and Measure for Measure at NYU). The original vocal arrangements will be by Ray Bailey. The show will also include an original song by Alec Duffy (2010 OBIE Award winner for Three Pianos). The casting is by Geoff Josselson.

The producers of "PERFECT HARMONY" are Michael Musto (who writes the popular, long-running entertainment column "La Dolce Musto" in the Village Voice, as well as the zany and outspoken blog "La Daily Musto" on villagevoice.com. He's also the author of four books and appears on many channels discussing the vagaries of pop culture); Louis S. Salamone (is the owner of the Theatres at 45 Bleecker. He has also coordinated the revitalization of The Players Theatre, an Off-Broadway theater and rehearsal complex, and started After School Productions, a theatrical producing and general management firm, which has produced shows including Six Goumbas and a Wannabe, Picon Pie, Bartenders, and The Big Voice: God or Merman); and Joshua P. Weiss (the Managing Director of The Roundtable Ensemble. Some of the shows he has produced for Roundtable include: Goodbye Cruel World, Babel Tower, Silent Heroes, Save the World, Silence, The Seagull, The Heiress, and The Mammy Project. In New York he has also produced ...Double Vision, The Gabriels, Absolute Flight, and Wrong Way Up!)

The performance schedule for "PERFECT HARMONY" will be: Tuesdays through Sundays; Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m.; Wednesdays through Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 1:00 and 8:00 p.m.; and Sundays at 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. Preview ticket prices (October 8 through the October 17 at 1:00 p.m. performance) will be $39.50 for all tickets. Beginning with the October 17 Opening Performance at 5:00 p.m. ticket prices will be as follows: Tuesday through Thursday, Sunday performances (at 1:00 and 5:00 p.m.) and the 1:00 p.m. matinee on Saturday will be $49.50 and the Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. performances will be $59.50. Premium seats will also be available. Tickets for this open-ended run are available through Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com, and are currently on sale through December 31, 2010.