Katie Rose Clarke, Derek Klena and More Set for BREAKING THROUGH Industry Reading Today in NYC

The new musical BREAKING THROUGH with book by Kirsten Guenther, and music and lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz, will have an industry presentation today, November 5 at Carroll Studios in New York.

The cast includes Katie Rose Clarke, Derek Klena, Teya Patt, Jared Zarilli, Morgan Weed, Jonathan Rayson, Jonathan Hammond, Laura Thomas, Michael Covert, Khris Davis, Jarid Faubel, Sasha Hutchings and Madison Micucci.

This first look of BREAKING THROUGH, presented by NSK Productions, Showworks, and Wolfe Theatricals, in association with The Pasadena Playhouse HOTHOUSE program, is directed by Sheldon Epps, artistic director of The Pasadena Playhouse. Epps has been shepherding the development of this work with Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Seema Sueko who heads HOTHOUSE, The Pasadena Playhouse's new play development program. Elizabeth Doran is the Executive director of The Pasadena Playhouse.

BREAKING THROUGH tells the story of a young, talented singer/songwriter on a musical roller coaster ride that is her life, trying to navigate the treacherous shark-filled waters of the music business. Her compelling journey to find her way back to her true self and those she left behind, takes her into a dark and ruthless world with its cutthroat hash-taggers in designer clothes, who are willing to sacrifice anyone and anything.

"I am very pleased that we have the opportunity to continue the development of this valuable project with another reading here in NYC," said Sheldon Epps. "We had a great success and saw tremendous growth in the material as a result of the efforts of the new creative team when we worked on the show as part of our HOTHOUSE new play development series. I look forward to our ongoing work together, and I have no doubt that this project will continue to grow and evolve as a result of this valuable process."

Plays developed through HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse include "Above the Fold" by Bernard Weinraub, and "Sister Act, The Musical," which was nominated for multiple Tony Awards. Previous HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse artists include writers Suzan-Lori Parks, Alan Menken, Matthew Lombardo, Charles Randolph-Wright and Carol Burnett; actors Beau Bridges, Sharon Lawrence, Robert Forster, Loretta Swit, Scott Lowell, Enrico Colantoni, Danny Pudi, Angela Bassett and Steven Dietz; and directors Art Manke, Sheldon Epps, Oz Scott, Jeremy Cohen, Kappy Kilburn, Alexis Chamow and David Lee.

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