Alexandra Billings Heads Reading at AMAS - Presto-Change-O

[LampkinMusic]

Posted: 3/26/06 at 12:55pm

Contact: Jan Hacha

212-563-2565



For immediate release, please:



Amas Musical Theatre

Donna Trinkoff - Producing Artistic Director

presents

Amas Six O’Clock Musical Theatre Lab

presents



PRESTO CHANGE-O!

Tuesday, April 4 @ 6:00

Wednesday, April 5 @ 6:00

Thursday, April 6 @ 3:00



The Players Theatre Loft

115 MacDougal Street



Amas Musical Theatre announces Presto-Change-O! a new staged reading in its Amas Six O’Clock Musical Theatre Lab developmental series. Book by Barbara Gordon (I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can), Mel Mandel, and Norman Sachs (My Old Friends), words and music by Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs, directed by Dan Siretta.



Presto Change-O! is a four-character musical that takes audiences on a lyrical ride to a magical place at the heart of an unconventional love affair. It’s set in the world of magic­ where champagne glasses float in mid-air, long-stemmed roses jump out of a vase and waltz across the stage. But if the magic tricks are flawless, the backstage romance is no bed of roses. When a man discovers he’s fallen in love with a woman who wasn’t born a woman—anything can happen...and in Presto ChangeO! it does.



The reading is directed by veteran director/choreographer Dan Siretta (Some Like It Hot national tour with Tony Curtis, Mack and Mabel for Lincoln Center).



The cast is led by break-out nightclub, stage, screen and recording artist Alexandra Billings who is also widely known as one of the top transgender female talents in show business.



Presto Change-O! will be presented for three performances only: Tuesday, April 4 at 6:00, Wednesday, April 5 at 6:00, and, Thursday, April 6 at 3:00 at The Players Theatre Loft, 115 MacDougal Street, New York. Tickets are free and can be reserved by calling 212-563-2565.



The Amas Six O’Clock Musical Theatre Lab is a free development series where writers, lyricists and composers mount staged readings of their new musicals.



About Amas Musical Theatre

Amas Musical Theatre has been a pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since it was founded in 1968 by legendary actress and visionary Rosetta LeNoire. Amas (“you love” in Latin) is devoted to the creation, development and professional production of new American musicals, the celebration of minority perspectives, and to the training and encouragement of inner city young people.



37 years, Amas has engraved its unique trademark in the world of musical theatre, producing groundbreaking work embracing different cultural perspectives while reaching out to underserved audiences.



Actors’ Equity Association acknowledges Rosetta and Amas’ contribution to the American theatre by bestowing an award in her honor. Producers and theatre companies who exemplify LeNoire’s commitment to multicultural production and casting in the theatre are annually given the treasured Rosetta LeNoire Award. In 1999 for her work at Amas, she was awarded the coveted National Medal of Arts by President Clinton.



In recent years, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Donna Trinkoff, Amas has emerged as one of America’s leading incubators of new American musicals. Since 1998, Amas has produced a nearly unbroken string of Amas Mainstage shows that have moved to expanded touring, regional and commercial productions after their Amas appearances. These include: Rollin’ on the T.O.B.A, Reunion: A Civil War Musical, 4 Guys Named Jose … and Una Mujer Named Maria, Langston Hughes’s Little Ham, Zanna, Don’t!, Latin Heat, From My Hometown, and Lone Star Love or the Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas.



For more information about Amas Musical Theatre visit www.amasmusical.org.


AMAS Theatre