ALL THE WAY's Christopher Gurr to Direct Staged Reading of BALLADEERS PLAY TO THE MOON at Joe's Pub, 8/4

Christopher Gurr from ALL THE WAY will direct a staged reading of a new play with music, BALLADEERS PLAY TO THE MOON, at Joe's Pub for one night only, August 4, 2014 at 9:30 p.m.

BALLADEERS PLAY TO THE MOON is a madcap romance that infuses familiar tropes with a one-of-a-kind whimsy. The year is 2012, but aboard The Manifest Destiny, an early-20th-century Pullman train, passengers and crew leave behind modern dress and technology to travel across the country as though it were 1927. When the train inevitably breaks down, it sets off a series if bizarre dreams and events which lead to an otherworldly climax.

Follow three friends with a questionable plan to meet with George Lucas, two libertine honeymooners in search of macaroons, and a diner car Captain who may or may not be stuck in space and time... all aboard this journey filled with port, music, and a desire for the impossible.

Directed by Christopher Gurr (All The Way, Memphis, Monty Python's Spamalot), Balladeers features Nili Bassman (Chicago, Curtains, Never Gonna Dance), Geoff Packard (Matilda, Rock of Ages, Phantom of the Opera), David Lanson (Enter at Forest Lawn, The Bad and the Better), Louis Lavoie, Clemmie Evans, Amy Scanlon, and Matthew Vitticore. The cast will be accompanied by a band made up of Mat Fieldes, Max Smith, and Joe Abbatantuono.

The production team includes Kelcie Beene (Creative Producer), Erik Hayden (Associate Producer), Isaac Danna (Assistant Producer), Becky J Doster (Stage Manager), and Ross Brunetti (Video/Photography Archivist).

The performance will take place at Joe's Pub at The Public (425 Lafayette Street, NYC). Tickets: $12; joespub.com; 212-967-7555; and in person at The Public Theater or Joe's Pub. For more about the reading, go to: http://joespub.publictheater.org/en/tickets/calendar/playdetailscollection/joes-pub/2014/b/balladeers-play-to-the-moon/.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Christopher Gurr was most recently seen as Strom Thurmond in the Tony Award winning All The Way, starring Bryan Cranston. First national tours: Monty Python's Spamalot (original company) and Memphis (original company). Regional acting credits include: Copenhagen, 1776, The Who's Tommy, The Lion in Winter, and Twelve Angry Men. Regional directing credits include: Camelot, Die Fledermaus, Into The Woods, Nine, Heartbreak House, Billy Bishop Goes To War, Guys & Dolls: In Concert with Jeff Tyzik and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Wesley Middleton's Tomato Plant Girl (director/composer), James Still's Meet Me Incognito (director/composer), Y York's the Portrait the Wind the Chair, and the world premier of José Cruz Gonzáles' Earth Songs.

Matthew Vitticore spent eight years as a middle and high school English teacher in the Finger Lakes before attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Since then he has accrued a handful of play and film credits as an actor, including the Red Valley and Absolute Threshold. Matthew has spent the last year raising his first daughter and writing. Balladeers is his first play.

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