2012 Great Gay Play and Musical Contest Finalists Announced

Pride Films and Plays announces that five finalists have been named in the 2012 Great Gay Play and Musical Contest, as PFP continues to explore "What's New and Who's Next" in LGBT film and theater. The finalists are:

• At The Flash, by Sean Chandler and David Leeper, Woodland Hills, CA
• Lost in History, by Adam Siegel, Maplewood, NJ
• Hello Norma Jeane, by Dylan Costello, London, UK
• Mr. Teddy, by George Smart, Quincy, MA
• Under A Rainbow Flag, a new musical, by Leo Schwartz, Chicago, IL

All five finalists will be performed as enhanced staged readings in the Gay Play Weekend April 13 to 15 at Center on Halsted, 3656 North Halsted. The readings use some stage movement, sound, and costuming to create the world of the plays. 

"PFP fosters excellent writing for the stage and screen that speaks not only to the LGBT community, but is essential viewing for our friends, family, and co-workers," says Executive Director David Zak. "And it is the range of these pieces that will make our Festival Weekend of staged readings extraordinary." 

"Hello Norma Jeane, a comedy about Marilyn Monroe, and Mr. Teddy, a very provocative look at a long-standing three-way role-playing relationship, are both so entertaining and thought-provoking. At The Flash is destined to be a classic solo tour-de-force performance piece illuminating 50 years of gay history, while Lost in History is a beautifully personal story about parents, aging, and much more. And our first musical to be named a finalist, Under A Rainbow Flag, is a charming real-life story of a WWII naval corpsman who still lives in Evanston, Illinois." 

Thanks to the support of Center on Halsted, Gay Play Weekend is April 13 to 15 with the following schedule:  

• Friday, April 13, 7:30 - Lost in History, starring Artistic Ensemble Member Patrick Rybarczyk, and featuring Fred Tumas and Jerry Miller, directed by Andrew Souders. 
• Saturday, April 14, 4:30 - Mr. Teddy, starring Artistic Ensemble Members Jude Hansen and Mark Smaglinski, and featuring Kyra Morris, Teddy Boone, Mark Boergers, and Alex Wolking, directed by Derek Bertelsen.  
• Saturday, April 14, 7:30 - Hello Norma Jeane, starring Artistic Ensemble members Kris Hyland, Michelle McKenzie-Voigt, Chad Ryan, and Kelli Walker, and featuring Rachel Payne and David Geinosky, directed by John Nasca.  
• Sunday, April 15, 1:30 - At The Flash, starring Artistic Ensemble member Lee Wichman, directed by David Zak. 
• Sunday, April 15, 4:30 - Under A Rainbow Flag, starring Artistic Ensemble Members Tom Chiola and Kris Hyland, and featuring Bobby Arnold, Jon Landvick, Meghan Murphy, Colin Sphar and Nick Stockwell. Robert Ollis is Musical Director, directed by David Zak. 

Tickets for each reading are $10, and will be available February 1, at www.brownpapertickets.com.