Arnie Burton, Alli Mauzey, Brad Oscar and More Set for Amas Musical Theatre's LOVE AND OTHER FABLES Readings Today

Amas Musical Theatre and The Amas Musical Theatre Lab will present staged readings of Love and Other Fables, a screwball romantic musical comedy, with a book by John McMahon and music and lyrics by Jay Jeffries.

Directed by Jay Binder with music direction by Henry Aronson, the readings will be held today, September 26th, at 11am and 2:30pm at The Chelsea Studios, Room 604 (151 West 26th Street). The readings are free and the seating is limited. For reservations, email boxoffice@amasmusical.org or call 212-563-2565.

Love and Other Fables is a new, completely original "Screwball Romantic Musical Comedy"- a love letter to the Golden Age of Broadway. In this madcap imagining of his life, we watch the then unknown Aesop create his eternal fables, woo the headstrong girl of his dreams, defend King Croesus and his wealth by untangling the mind-boggling conundrums of The King of Egypt and ultimately become the unlikeliest hero of the greatest fable of all. There are mistaken identities, love and hate at first sight, declarations of war, death and taxes, international imbroglios, tap-dancing Greek soldiers, one very impatient Egyptian and, of course, a wedding.

The cast will include a star-studded cast of Broadway performers including Arnie Burton (The Inspector General, 39 Steps), Rachel Colof (Urinetown, Fiddler of the Roof), Ellen Harvey (Present Laughter, The Phantom of the Opera), Alli Mauzey (Hairspray, Cry Baby), Brad Oscar (The Producers, Something Rotten), Austin Pendleton (The Last Sweet Days of Isaac, The Diary of Anne Frank), Ed Watts (Scandalous, Transport), and others.

"We are excited to be continuing the development process for this new musical," says Amas Artistic Producer Donna Trinkoff. "When Jay brought this to our attention, we agreed that this was a perfect project for us - one we have been waiting 3,000 years for!"

These presentations are part of the ongoing Amas Musical Theatre Lab, a free development series for writers, lyricists and composers to mount public readings of their new musicals. The 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, BMI Foundation, the Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, the Friars Club, the Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Foundation, the Hyde & Watson Foundation, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, and through the generous support of many individuals.

John McMahon (Book) Credits include the "Not Since Carrie" Broadway production of Prince of Central Park, and the revival of the Gershwin musical Oh! Kay! Off-Broadway, he was heard playing for entire run of the hit musical, Ruthless! and the revue Whoop Dee Doo! A graduate of Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. where he musical directed three USO tours, entertaining troops in Germany and Iceland. He was musical director for the AMAS production of Blackberries, directed by Andre De Shields. He was the musical conductor and co-creator of the musical revue Bottoms Up! He composed original music for the Valley of the Dolls spoof Below the Valley of the Dolls and collaborated with Broadway lyricist Ira Gasman ("The Life") on several cabaret songs. A Bistro Award Winner, he is a frequent cabaret performer, working with many performers such as Joan Rivers, Heather MacRae, Lea DeLaria, Lilliane Montevecchi and the legendary Mr. Ruby Rims. McMahon can be heard on the soundtrack of the critically acclaimed Japanese made-for-television movie "A Table for Two". He composed the music and co-wrote the book for the musical Satan's School for Girls, which was produced at the Dudley Riggs Theater in Minneapolis and was nominated for a Jeffrey award for its Chicago run at the Circle Theater. His original revue, written with lyricist Jay Jeffries, That's My New York enjoyed a successful four month run at Judy's Chelsea, and won a Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC) award for the song "Where's Shirley?". His jazz arrangement of Sondheim's "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" can be heard on Lea DeLaria's CD "Play it Cool" on Warner Brother's Jazz Label. As Laura Bell Bundy's longtime accompanist and Musical Director, he conducted both her cabaret acts at Joe's Pub and at Feinstein's in NYC. McMahon and Jeffries have completed their musical Friends Like These which won the award for Most Promising Musical in the musical reading series at The Players Theater in NYC. Along with performing his one-man show, McMahon and his lyricist Jay Jeffries are currently developing their newest musical about Aesop, the fabulist, Love And Other Fables, which received a public reading at Chicago's Windy City Playhouse in April 2015 and in October 2016 as part of the Penn State NU. Musicals series.

Jay Jeffries (Music & Lyrics) wrote lyrics and sketches for the Upstairs at the Downstairs revue's Instant Replay, Free Fall, and Weigh-In (Way Out), and the Manhattan Arrangement. He created A Trick Up Your Sleeve and Follow the Bouncing Ball for the Madeira Club in Provincetown, Mass. and contributed lyrics to The Washington Theatre Club's Spread of the Eagle series. In addition to writing specialty material for Laura Bell Bundy, Marta Sanders, Barbara Cook, and countless cabaret performers, he wrote lyrics for the off-Broadway revues, Fun City at the Jan Hus and For Love or Money at the Circle Rep. He also served as lyricist for a children's musical, The Ransom of Redchief. His topical revue Innuendo...Out the Other, which played both Broadway Baby and Backstage, won two Bistro Awards. On Broadway, with composer Jim Raitt, he wrote specialty material for Stardust. With composer John McMahon, he wrote the title song for Bottoms Up at Judy's Chelsea, the theme song for the Teddy Cares benefit which was nominated for a MAC award, and That's My New York!, the MAC award winning revue. He is a graduate of New York University.

Jay Binder (Director) has cast over 70 Broadway productions, including the Tony Award-winning productions of The Lion King, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, Dames at Sea, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Gypsy, The King and I, Lost in Yonkers and Jerome Robbins' Broadway. In addition, Mr. Binder was one of the founders and continues to be a driving force behind the highly-acclaimed Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert series at City Center in New York City. His work casting this series led to the Tony Award-winning revival of Chicago. For television, he cast the Emmy Award-winning series I'll Fly Away and was the East Coast Casting Director of Warner Brothers Television for five years. For film, he cast Six by Sondheim (HBO), Hairspray, Dreamgirls, Chicago, and Nine. He is the recipient of 12 Artios Awards, the highest honor in casting. He has been an artistic consultant for Disney World and National Artists Management Company. He was creative consultant on the PBS special, My Favorite Broadway, The Love Songs, hosted by Julie Andrews. On Broadway, he was the associate director of Lolita and Happy New Year. He has worked as a director at numerous regional theaters across the country. Those credits include Present Laughter at The Acting Company, Rex, Jumbo, and Best Foot Forward at The York Theatre and Say Yes! at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. In 2016, Binder Casting was acquired by RWS Entertainment Group. Through RWS, Mr. Binder will be developing new work for the theatre.

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer) now in its 49h year of continuous operation is New York City's award-winning pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since 1968. Amas ("you love" in Latin) is devoted to the creation, development and professional production of new American musicals through the celebration of diversity and minority perspectives, the emergence of new artistic talent, and the training and encouragement of underserved young people in The New York area. In recent years, Amas has emerged as a leading not-for-profit laboratory for new musicals, the most recent being Broadway and the Bard, starring Len Cariou and Red Eye of Love, which was awarded the Joseph A. Callaway Award for Outstanding Choreography. Its production of The Other Josh Cohen received six 2013 Drama Desk nominations including Outstanding Musical, a 2013 Lucille Lortel nomination for Outstanding Musical, and a 2013 Off-Broadway Alliance nomination for Best New Musical. Other shows that Amas has developed include A Taste of Chocolate, Triassic Parq, The Countess of Storyville, Distant Thunder, Marry Harry, Me and Miss Monroe, Aesop & Company, Signs of Life, Wanda's World, Shout! The Mod Musical, Lone Star Love, From My Hometown, Zanna, Don't!, 4 Guys Named Jose and Stormy Weather: Reimagining Lena Horne. Amas education programs include the Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy, Lens on Live Theatre and in-school theatre arts residencies designed in partnership with elementary, middle, and high schools.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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