Santino Fontana, Rachel Bay Jones & More Set for AMAS' NOTES TO MARIANNE Reading, 9/12

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff/Artistic Producer) will present two free staged readings of "notes to MariAnne", a new musical by David Rossmer and Dan Lipton, directed by Leigh Silverman. The readings will take place on Thursday, September 12th at 1:00pm and 4:30pm, at The Steve and Marie Sgouros Theatre (formerly The Players Loft), 115 MacDougal Street. Tickets are free and reservations are available via email at boxoffice@amasmusical.org or by calling212-563-2565.

"notes to MariAnne" tells the story of Johnny and MariAnne Bell, a young brother and sister torn apart and then reunited after a decade of family struggle, grief, and hardship. In those 10 years America has emerged from the great Depression, fought the Second World War, and won a hard-earned peace. The show unfolds a family mystery to explore the means by which two struggling individuals can seek the courage to redeem the past and reclaim their own futures. The musical's original Americana score ranges widely, drawing from vaudeville, country, folk and rock.

""notes to MariAnne" asks a question that every era frames differently", says Amas Artistic Producer Donna Trinkoff. "Whether it's the 'sins of our fathers', the 'mistakes of the past', or 'the make-up of our DNA', we yearn to know if and how we can break free of all those limits that would so bleakly define us. "notes to MariAnne" is a modern fairy tale that sings its story, exploring the consequences of leaving those you love to find hope in unknown places."

David Rossmer (co-writer) recently co-wrote script, music and lyrics for the Off-Broadway musical "The Other Josh Cohen" (Amas Musical Theatre), which was nominated for six Drama Desk Awards in 2013 (including script, music, lyrics and Best Musical) and also earned a Lortel nomination for Best Musical. This followed his stint in the Tony-winning play "Peter and the Starcatcher" on Broadway, where he originated the role of Ted.

Dan Lipton (co-writer) was most recently the music director for several workshops of "The Last Ship" by Sting and John Logan. He was also music director for the international tour of Sam Mendes' "Bridge Project", performing onstage alongside Ethan Hawke and Rebecca Hall. He has played on three Grammy-nominated albums, and led bands for John Lithgow, Audra McDonald and Martha Plimpton.

Lipton & Rossmer wrote music and lyrics for "Rated P for Parenthood", which ran Off-Broadway at The Westside Theatre and is currently optioned by Kelly Ripa and ABC Studios. Their original musical comedy "The Blonde Streak" is in development with producers Broadway Across America. They are also under commission with Araca Group for "Matchbook", based on the bestselling memoir, and with Theatreworks USA, adapting the children's book "The Absent Author". They've written special material for Darren Criss, Sutton Foster and Kelli O'Hara, and they co-created the hit off-Broadway comedy improv show "Don't Quit Your Night Job".

Leigh Silverman's Broadway credits include "Chinglish", "Well", and "Violet" (Encores 2). Recent Off-Broadway credits include "The Call" (Playwrights Horizons), "The Madrid" (MTC), "Golden Child" (Signature Theatre), and "No Place to Go" (Public Theater, Two River Theatre).

The veteran cast includes Heath Calvert ("Nobody Loves You", "The Last Goodbye"), Natalie Charle Ellis ("Forbidden Broadway, Nine to Five"), Santino Fontana ("Cinderella", "Brighton Beach Memoirs", "Billy Elliot"), Rachel Bay Jones("Pippin", "Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"), Elizabeth Judd("Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark", "Bare", "Spring Awakening"), Michael McGrath ("Nice Work if You Can Get It"--Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, "Memphis"), andKen Triwush ("The Other Josh Cohen", "Titanic").

The presentations are part of the ongoing Amas Musical Theatre Lab, a development series for writers, lyricists and composers to mount public readings of their new musicals. The Amas Musical Theatre Lab is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by the Actors' Equity Association Foundation, the BMI Foundation, the Barbara Bell Cummings Foundation, the Dramatists Guild, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, the Frederick S. Loewe Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, and through the generous support of many individuals.

Photo by Walter McBride