Jim Dale Hosts Discussion on New Musical Fanny Hill, Feb. 27

On Monday, February 27th from 6 PM to 8 PM, Tony Award-winner Jim Dale will host the St. George Society's Arts Initiative featuring the cast and creative team of Fanny Hill, the new musical currently running at the York Theatre Company. The evening will be held at The National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South).

The evening will inform audiences on how Fanny Hill, which stars Nancy Anderson and Emily Skinner, got from the first reading to opening night. The musical also features Adam Monley, Tony Yazbeck, David Cromwell, Christianne Tisdale, Michael J. Farina, Patti Allison and Gina Ferrall.

The show, "is the story of a beautiful but poor country girl who travels to London to make her fortune and ends up making a great deal more… the army, the navy and most of Parliament! In the face of big city trials and tribulations, our indefatigable heroine ends up giving new meaning to the expression 'making it' when she becomes the foremost practitioner of the world's oldest profession. Fanny Hill is a musical adaptation of Fanny Hill: Or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, a novel by John Cleland. Considered the first erotic novel, the witty tale was written in 1749 and has gone on to become a byword for the battle of censorship of erotica," state press notes.

British-born Manhattan resident Jim Dale, MBE, identified the need for a meeting place in New York for fellow professional performers and theatre enthusiasts from the United Kingdom permanently or temporarily resident in the city. In 2004, St. George's Society of New York started the Arts Initiative as a channel for members of the British societies and performers to meet as well as to discover exciting new endeavors. The group builds on the culture and history shared by America and Britain, reflected in mutual interests, shared values and a common language.

Dale, who will soon return to Broadway in The Threepenny Opera, received a Tony Award for his performance in the title role of Barnum. He has also appeared on Broadway in Candide, Me and My Girl, Joe Egg and Scapino.

Reservations are required for the evening. The $20 cover charge at the door includes hors d'oeuvres and cash bar. Email val.bickel@stgeorgessociety.org or call 212-682-6110 for reservations. For more information on Fanny Hill, visit www.fannyhillmusical.com.