THE PIPER to Receive Reading at Rave Festival

The Piper, a new musical unfaithfully adapted from "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning receives one of three staged reading slots at Rave Theater Festival. The staged reading will be presented on Monday, August 19th at 12pm at Teatro Latea at The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center (107 Suffolk Street, New York NY 10002).

A magical re-imagining of the Pied Piper tale, The Piper is a story about the power of belief: how it affects the choices we make, the people we love, and our ability to see ourselves in the "other." Ten-year-old Kurt believes he is meant to be the Hero of Hamelin and sets out to save the town from its infamous plague of rats. Along the way, he encounters a wacky cast of characters, including a magical piper who becomes whatever you believe him to be, a flamboyant French tailor, a manipulative mayor, a love-struck chambermaid, fairies, rats, and a monster with a grudge, and ultimately discovers that what he chooses to believe not only determines the way he sees himself, but how he sees the rest of the world as well. Join Kurt and his ragtag crew on a musical adventure filled with magic and mayhem.

Created by Roger Griffin (Book & Lyrics) and Roseann Hammill (Music), the reading will be directed by Benjamin Viertel with Music Direction by Taylor Matsumisu, Orchestrations/Arrangements by Doug Katsaros, and Casting by Eisenberg/Beans Casting. Cast will include Max Crumm (Disaster!, Grease), Cicily Daniels (Once on This Island, The Little Mermaid), Daisy Hobbs (Aladdin), Devin Ilaw (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon), Jolina Javier (The Phantom of the Opera), Luca Padovan (School of Rock, Newsies), Allie Trimm (13, Bye Bye Birdie), Brit West (The Color Purple), and Gwynne Wood.

Roseann Hammill (Music) began composing in early childhood, completing a collection of hymns at age eight. While still an undergraduate she scored The Green Thumb, a one-act opera for Interlochen Center for the Arts. Her musicals include A Holiday in Switzerland, The Lost Chain, and The Little Dipper, which toured two seasons with the Rosier Tent Show. Her vocal solo literature enjoys numerous recital performances across the country. A lifetime member of ASCAP, she is published by Interlochen Press and Allyn & Bacon Publishing.

Roger Griffin (Book & Lyrics) wrote the book for After Happily Ever After, a trilogy of one-act musicals including If the Shoe Fits, Girl in the Hood, and The Irish Prince, (Reasonable Facsimile Theatre and TBC Chicago), book and lyrics for Lights Out! (Barn Dinner Theatre) and Vagabond Kings (TBC). An experienced actor, director, and set designer, The Piper marks his return to the theatre after working in Chicago's film industry. His award-winning films include Maggie's Attic, Honoring the Generations, and The Arrest is Only the Beginning (PBS). He is a current member of Tony Award-winning producer Ken Davenport's Inner Circle and the Dramatist Guild.

Doug Katsaros (Orchestrations/Arrangements) is an Emmy winning composer who has been conducting, composing, orchestrating, arranging on and off-Broadway for shows like Footloose, The Life, Rocky Horror, Altar Boyz, Getting The Band Back Together, The Toxic Avenger and A...My Name is Alice. He has written and conducted TV and film scores for Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Loggia and Sandra Bullock. He has dozens of gold and platinum CDs for artists such as Kiss, Sinéad O'Connor, Gloria Estefan, Frank Sinatra, Todd Rundgren, Rod Stewart, Judy Collins, B. B. King, Marlo Thomas (Grammy), Donny Osmond, Richie Havens, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Cher, Michael Bolton, and Peter Paul & Mary. He orchestrated Dee Snider's Heavy Metal Broadway tribute, "Dee Does Broadway" and on TV, he garnered an Emmy nomination for his score to the animated series The Tick and wrote themes for The Jim Henson Hour, Mancuso FBI and the ABC Sunday Night Movie. He has conducted PBS's Great Performances and the Boston Pops. He has written special material for Ringling Brothers Circus, Macy's 4th of July Fireworks and their Thanksgiving Day Parade, winning the Emmy for Best Original Song. And yes, he is the guy who wrote By Mennen.

To learn more about The Piper A New Musical, visit www.ThePiperMusical.com