F. Michael Haynie, Julia Mattison & Michael Campayno to Lead CYRANO DE BURGER SHACK Reading Tomorrow

Stageworks Media will present an industry reading of Cyrano de Burger Shack, A New High School Musical written by award-winning playwright Jeremy Desmon and directed by Jeremy Dobrish, which will take place on Friday, February 7th at 1:00 pm at 54Below (254 West 54th Street, NYC). Featured in the cast of Cyrano de Burger Shack are F. Michael Haynie (Wicked) as Cyrano, Julia Mattison (Godspell) as Roxanne, and Michael Campayno (Sound of Music Live) as Christian, as well as Ashley Kate Adams (La Cage aux Folles), Trista Dollison (Avenue Q), Rebecca LaChance (Beautiful), Ellyn Marie Marsh (Kinky Boots), Shina Ann Morris (Cinderella), Jeremy Morse (Papermill's Oliver!), and Alex Wyse (Lysistrata Jones). The music director /arranger is Meg Zervoulis.

Cyrano de Burger Shack, A New High School Musical is the first project developed by Stageworks Media as part of The Stageworks Collection -- musicals that are conceived, developed, and delivered with the high school performing artist in mind. Upcoming Cyrano de Burger Shack pilot productions will be presented at the Avenues School, New York, NY (May 2014); Pius XI High School, Milwaukee, WI (July 9th - 11th, 2014); and French Woods Festival, Hancock, NY (August 21st - 23rd, 2014).

Cyrano de Burger Shack has as score which features hit songs made famous by artists such as Adele, Carly Rae Jepsen, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Smash Mouth, Pink and Kelly Clarkson, among others.

Says book writer Jeremy Desmon, "Before graduating from Williamsville North High School in upstate New York, I'd seen my teenaged contemporaries perform as Daddy Warbucks, Henry Higgins, Nathan Detroit, The King (of Siam) and, of course, Tevye. No one would ever dispute the brilliance of these classic musicals -nor the passionate portrayals by my friends - but all this dressing-up as-adults get you thinking . . . As a Musical Theatre Writer, I wonder if this the only way to nurture the next generation of theatre professionals and the audiences of tomorrow. We need exciting, current and musically accessible shows with age-appropriate roles that speak to high school performers and their communities. Enter The Stageworks Collection, with a deceptively simple idea: Enlist a team of tried-and-true New York theatre artists to create high-quality new musicals expressly for the high school market. To go one step further, we are using well-beloved popular music (fully licensed) that weaves into the storylines. And, through the magic of theatre . . . Cyrano de Burger Shack was born. The storyline is old-school, but its modern, musical re-imagination is decidedly new."

"As a high school Theatre Director, it is often difficult to choose a musical that is perfectly suited for students. Not only do you need to choose material that fits your student roster, but also content that is suited for high school-age kids. We need new work with popular music, created by theatre professionals, and scored and adapted for teenage voices, bands and orchestras. The Stageworks Collection provides us with a great opportunity to combine popular music and high school-set stories. It also put parents and school administrators at ease," says David Weinstein, Director, French Woods Festival, Hancock, NY.

Jeremy Desmon is an award-winning musical theatre bookwriter whose stories have played to audiences around the world. The Girl in the Frame, seen in over a dozen productions, earned him the prestigious Edward Kleban Prize as America's most promising Musical Theatre Bookwriter. Pump Up the Volume, his adaptation of the 1990 film, has been developed at Goodspeed Musicals and The Human Race Theatre. He is also known for the wildly imaginative musical comedy I See London, I See France: The Underwear Musical and the topical Virtually Me, recently on tour with TheatreworksUSA. Most recently, Jeremy rewrote the book to Good News, the DeSylva, Brown & Henderson classic musical that opened Goodspeed Musicals' 50th Anniversary Season in 2013. He is also an accomplished playwright (7½ Wondrous Act(s) of True Love), web comedy producer (Man of the People) and lyricist (Surviving the Avalanche, a contemporary musical revue, produced at Barrington Stage Company). In addition, Jeremy has written "family theatrical" touring arena shows for some of the world's most recognizable characters, including Disney Live's Mickey's Music Festival!, Universal's Curious George Live! and Sesame Workshop's Elmo Rocks! He's written multiple editions of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and recently completed new adaptations of Disney's Tangled and Pixar's Brave for Disney On Ice's worldwide tour. Jeremy is an alum of Stanford University (BA) and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (MFA). He teaches a musical theatre workshop at Princeton University and, for five years, has helped lead the American Theatre Wing's SpringboardNYC Program. He is a former Jonathan Larson Fellow with the Dramatists Guild of America for his work as a lyricist.

Jeremy Dobrish is a stage director, playwright, artistic leader, and teacher whose main focus has been developing and directing new plays and musicals. As a New York City based director, Jeremy has directed at Second Stage, MCC, Amas, WPA, Joe's Pub, The Westside Arts, The Promenade, The Variety Arts, The Century, Actor's Playhouse, Soho Playhouse, Zipper, etc. His productions have received several Lortel and Drama Desk nominations. Jeremy has directed at all of the major New York festivals, including NYMF, SPF and the Fringe, where his productions have received multiple festival awards including, most recently, the NYMF award for exceptional direction. Regionally, Jeremy has directed at The Old Globe, Barrington Stage, North Shore, The O'Neill, New York Stage and Film, Goodspeed and The Village Theatre.

Founded in September 2013 by Michael Barra, Stageworks Media is a multi-platform production company focused on adapting content for stages around the globe, and developing theatrical-inspired stories for film, TV, digital, and publishing. Stageworks Media develops new work for the stage, connecting large, branded intellectual property owners -- film studios, music publishers, book publishers, etc. -- with the thriving theatrical licensing marketplace. Allowing content owners to activate their otherwise dormant library assets, Stageworks Media works with these companies to select properties to develop as stage musicals, with a special focus on the regional, community, university and high school theatre licensing markets through its Stageworks Collection. They will also in turn package those resulting new musicals for a life in TV and film.

Stageworks Media also produces and manages the immersive theatre hit Speakeasy Dollhouse, and its new chapter Speakeasy Dollhouse: The Brother Booth, which begins performances at the historic Players Club next month. Stageworks Media also recently launched the Live From Gramercy Park concert series with Tony nominee Euan Morton at The Players.