Shew Replaces Wopat in Sheila Valentine Reading, with Eder

Timothy Shew, last seen on Broadway in Wonderful Town, will join Linda Eder (Jekyll & Hyde) in a workshop-style reading of a musical-in-production The Seduction of Sheila Valentine.  Due to other circumstances, Tom Wopat will be not be able to particiapte in this program as previously stated. Shewill read opposite Eder in The Seduction of Sheila Valentine on Saturday, August 19 at the Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center in Marlton, NJ.

Eder, Shew and noted actors from the Philadelphia region will read through the first act and invite audience feedback as part of the workshop.

Shew, whose other Broadway credits include The Scarlet Pimpernel, Sunset Boulevard, Guys and Dolls and Les Miserables, will read the role of David Sanders opposite Eder's Irene Fontaine in The Seduction of Sheila Valentine. Lenape's Producing Artistic Director Vincent Marini and Tony-nominated lyricist Jack Murphy teamed up to create the piece. Eder committed to the project and recently completed four demo recordings with other notable Broadway stars. "The early buzz surrounding this show has its backers convinced that Sheila Valentine will be a future Broadway show led by a bona fide theater star," state press notes.

"This irreverent comedy is completely original, yet it seems to channel some of the great musical comedies of the 20th century," Marini said. "It's The Producers meets Mame, meets Guys and Dolls."

"The Seduction of Sheila Valentine, set in the late 1950s, tells the sad tale of two 40-something, once-famous actresses who find themselves too old to play the young romantic leads anymore, and too vain to play anyone else. While working together at an Iowa dinner theater, they get their hands on a script penned by the hottest writer/director in New York. Separately, each one decides this script is her ticket back to Broadway. When two desperate actresses vie for one role of a lifetime, the result is hilarious trouble."

Reading alongside Eder and Shew will be Mary Martello and Ben Dibble, two top musical actors from the Philadelphia theater scene. Jennifer DiDonato, Chris Faith, Scott Greer, Maggie Lakis and Tony Lawton are among the other noted actors from the region who will also take part in the reading.

A band will back the actors as they speak and sing their way through the first act. "Ticket-holders can expect limited movement as the actors focus strongly on the script; they may improvise movements as they act out portions of the play." The reading finishes with a talk-back session involving the audience.

Tickets are $15; $10 for Lenape RPAC subscribers. For more information, call the box office at (856) 983-3366 or visit www.sjtheater.com.

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