Gideon Glick, Tonya Pinkins and More to Lead AMANDINE at Cherry Lane Theatre

Casting is complete for the world premiere of Amandine, the new musical from writer Winter Miller, 13P founding member who penned In Darfur (The Public Theater), among other acclaimed plays; Emmy Award-winning composer Lance Horne, who is known for his own work and collaborations with Alan Cumming, Amanda Palmer, Meow Meow, Sandra Bernhard and Justin VivIan Bond; and Drama Desk Award-winning director Josh Hecht (Christine Jorgensen Reveals). The production will run January 9-26, 2013 at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street) main stage. Critics are welcome as of January 13 for an official opening on January 16.

Amandine is a singular love story inspired by the discovery of the memoirs of Herculine Barbin, who today might identify as intersex and who was raised a girl and died a man. The title character is a person caught profoundly “in between.” Raised as a girl in the most traditional and cloistered of settings, Amandine is too smart, too ambitious, too awkward—and too unlike the other girls. Driven by the shame of her desires and a fear of her own body, she retreats into a life of the mind, teaching in a highly religious girls’ academy. There, Amandine falls in love with the daughter of the Headmistress, but soon her body betrays her, leading to a shocking decision with devastating consequences. Her final years are spent wandering Paris in a new role: that of a man. Amandine’s story is singular, yet her struggle is our own: to be accepted for who we are, as we are.

The world premiere will feature Gideon Glick as Amandine. Each of the other members of the ensemble—Nathan Lee Graham, Natalie Joy Johnson, Tonya Pinkins and Alexandra Silber – plays a half-dozen roles, across age, race, gender and class. Our Lady J will perform live in addition to serving as Music Director.

Gideon Glick comes to Amandine following his performances in the highly acclaimed productions Into The Woods at The Public Theater and Wild Animals You Should Know at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, as well as his “standout” (The New York Times) role in the Atlantic Theater Company production of Spring Awakening.

Nathan Lee Graham’s stage appearances include Phil D'armano in the original Broadway cast of the Tony- and Grammy-nominated The Wild Party and as Miss Understanding in the original Broadway cast of the Tony-nominated Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He received a Drama League Award nomination for the role of Rey Rey in the Off-Broadway production of Wig Out! and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Feature Performer in a Musical in The Wild Party LA Premiere in 2006.

Natalie Joy Johnson is perhaps best known for originating the role of Enid Hoopes in Legally Blonde. Her Off-Broadway credits include Sinéad in But I'm a Cheerleader and Nadia in bare: a pop opera.the role of Rey Rey in the Off-Broadway production of Wig Out! and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Feature Performer in a Musical in The Wild Party LA Premiere in 2006.

Oprah Winfrey has referred to Tony-winner Tonya Pinkins as “one of the ten women in America who will take your breath away.” Her stage credits include Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change, John Patrick Shanley’s Storefront Church, Kirsten Greenidge’s Milk Like Sugar, Katori Hall’s Hurt Village, and many others.

After an acclaimed run in London’s West End, Alexandra Silber made her New York theatre debut portraying The Young Wife in the Transport Group’s Revival of Michael John LaChiusa’s Hello Again, for which she was nominated for a Drama League Award. She made her Broadway debut in the spring of 2011 in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of Master Class, opposite Tyne Daly.

Our Lady J will perform live in addition to serving as Music Director. Aside from garnering tremendous acclaim for her own live shows and recordings, Our Lady J has previously music-directed and/or accompanied a wide range of artists including Cyndi Lauper, Antony Hegarty (of Antony and The Johnsons), Jake Shears & Ana Matronic (Scissor Sisters), Debbie Harry and Lady Gaga, and Broadway stars such as Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, Elaine Stritch, Gavin Creel, Christine Ebersole, Linda Eder, Rebecca Luker, Anthony Rapp, Billy Porter, Steven Pasquale and Karen Mason. New York Magazine has called her “stunning,” Time Out NY calls her “virtuosic,” and The Village Voice has described her as “powerful,” adding “she will have you singing her praises long after the show is over.” OUT Magazine recently included her in the Out 100, a list of people who have shaped LGBT culture.