Shindle, McGillin, Abramovitz & Zagnit to Star in 'Garbo and Me' Reading at York

The cast has been announced for the upcoming reading of Garbo and Me at the York Theatre on September 17, 2009. The new musical, with book and lyrics by Joanne Sydney Lessner (Fermat's Last Tango) and music and lyrics by Joshua Rosenblum (Bush Is Bad), is directed by Andy Sandberg (Tony Award winning Producer of Hair).

The cast for the reading includes Kate Shindle (Legally Blonde; Jekyll & Hyde) as legendary film icon Greta Garbo and two-time Tony Award nominee Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera; Anything Goes) as matinee idol John Gilbert, with Jill Abramovitz (9 to 5; Martin Short - Fame Becomes Me) as gossip columnist Louella Parsons and Stuart Zagnit (Seussical; The Wild Party) as movie mogul Louis B. Mayer. The company also include Niffer Clarke (Adding Machine), Frank Galgano (Naked Boys Singing), Jeff Hiller (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; Bernice Bobs Her Mullet) Herndon Lackey (LoveMusik; Parade); Vanessa Lemonides (Jerusalem Syndrome), Drama Desk nominee Orville Mendoza (Adrift in Macao; Road Show); April Ortiz (In the Heights), Felicia Ricci (Jerusalem Syndrome), and Jeff Skowron (The Grinch; The Lion King).

In her dramatic journey from Swedish schoolgirl to Hollywood legend to New York recluse, Greta Garbo kept the world in her thrall. But behind her glamorous screen persona was an insecure country girl yearning for the snows of her homeland and the one true love she left behind. With a jazzy, sultry score by the composer of Bush is Bad and the writing team behind Fermat's Last Tango, Garbo and Me traces the elusive film icon as she conquers the studio system, negotiates the tabloid minefield, and juggles a string of lovers, both male and female, while struggling to protect her cherished privacy.

The ‘29-hour reading' will culminate with a presentation at the York Theatre on Thursday, September 17th, at 3pm. The reading is part of the York Theatre Company's Developmental Reading Series (James Morgan, Artistic Director; Jeff Landsman, Series Coordinator). For more information, visit www.yorktheatre.org.

Joshua Rosenblum (Music and Lyrics) is a composer, conductor, pianist, and musical director with wide-ranging experience in classical, contemporary and theater music. He has led the orchestras for thirteen Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, with a specialty in flying vehicles (Miss Saigon, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, How the Grinch Stole Christmas). As a composer, Rosenblum has written extensively for both the theater and the concert hall. He is the composer-lyricist of Bush Is Bad, which Variety called "a sensation," as well as Fermat's Last Tango and Einstein's Dreams. As a music journalist, he has contributed articles to Newsday and Stagebill, as well as over 400 CD and concert reviews for Opera News. A summa cum laude graduate of Yale College and the Yale School of Music, he now teaches Composing for Musical Theater at his alma mater. Rosenblum is also the Founder and Music Director of the Pit Stop Players, an eclectic and genre-defying chamber orchestra.

Joanne Sydner Lessner (Book and Lyrics) collaborated with husband Joshua Rosenblum on Fermat's Last Tango and Einstein's Dreams. She is the author of the plays Critical Mass, presented in workshop at the Abingdon Theatre Company, and Crossing Lines, selected as an alternate for the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. Joanne has performed on Broadway (Cyrano: The Musical), with New York City Opera (The Old Majestic), and with numerous regional theatres and opera companies. She has been featured as a soloist with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center's American Songbook, New York Festival of Song, and the Albany and Harrisburg Symphonies. For twelve years, she has been a principal soprano with New York City's award-winning Blue Hill Troupe, now in its 85th year. Her performance as Julia Jellicoe in The Grand Duke earned her a Best Female Performer honor at the 12th Annual G&S festival in Buxton, UK. She holds a B.A. in music, summa cum laude, from Yale University.

Andy Sandberg (Director) is currently represented on Broadway as a producer of the hit revival of HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle Awards). He is also the lead producer of the forthcoming new musical The Last Smoker in America, with book and lyrics by Tony nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and music by Drama Desk nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao). The Last Smoker in America will be presented in the New York Musical Theater Festival this fall. Upcoming: Vigil, a dark comedy by Morris Panych, starring Malcolm Gets and Helen Stenborg; A Perfect Future, a new play by David Hay (The Maddening Truth); ‘Wing' at Birdland. As a director, Andy is developing multiple new plays and musicals. Selected New York credits include Bernice Bobs Her Mullet (NYMF), Into the Woods (BHT), and "Eli's Comin' to Broadway," a BC/EFA benefit hosted by Nathan Lane (Alice Tully Hall/Lincoln Center). Upcoming: R.R.R.E.D., by Adam Jackman, Patrick Livingston, and Katie Thompson (NYMF '09); Operation Epsilon, by Alan Brody; Summer Schlock, by Kevin Carter. Favorite regional and university credits include Parade, Side Show, The Laramie Project, The Goat or Who Is Sylvia?, Matt & Ben, Fully Committed, Songs for a New World, and The Star-Spangled Girl. In 2007, Andy worked with Hal Prince on the Broadway production of LoveMusik (SDC Fellowship). B.A. Yale University. Alumnus of Yale Whiffenpoofs, Alley Cats, and Dramat. Proud member of AEA and the SDC. www.AndySandberg.com

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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