LOVEBOMB to Receive Developmental Reading Directed by Melvin Tunstall III
The new play explores family trauma and online romance scams, with readings at 124 Bank Street Theater in NYC's West Village.
Thomas M. Copeland's new full-length play LOVEBOMB is to receive a developmental staged reading on Saturday, August 1, 2026, at 124 Bank Street Theater in New York City's West Village, with two public performances scheduled at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., each followed by an audience talkback. Directed by Melvin Tunstall III, a Broadway performer and writer known for originating the role of Ja'Keith in the Toronto production of ROCK OF AGES and for creating the family musical POLKADOTS: THE COOL KIDS MUSICAL, the reading centers on a family whose members are drawn into mutually destructive patterns as an online romance scam threatens to pull them apart, with the play examining aging, loneliness, and inherited trauma. The cast includes Jeffrey Grover, Alex Chilton, Cassaundra Reed, Julia Labusch, Jenny Leona, and Anna Colatrella, and the production is presented under Actors' Equity Association's Staged Reading Guidelines.
LOVEBOMB tells the story of a family haunted by trauma and the mutually destructive ways its members seek the love they cannot find at home. Centered around an online romance scam that threatens to tear a family apart, the play explores aging, loneliness, family trauma, and the unsettling truth that people often do not simply fall for illusions-they choose them.
Written and produced by Thomas M. Copeland, LOVEBOMB marks the latest chapter in the playwright's growing body of original work. Copeland has written three full-length plays and several one-act works in various stages of development and production. His one-act that chronicling the political fallout of the Challenger disaster, One in Twenty-Five, received its world premiere at Theater for the New City in 2025. Copeland is now planning a 29-hour staged reading of the full-length version this fall. This summer, his one-acts Great Bones and Shav versus Whitmore will receive a full productions in Union City, NJ and Long Beach, CA, respectively. Another one-act, Sidewalks will receive multiple performances in October 2026 in New York City. Through his work as a playwright and producer, Copeland continues to develop new plays centered on contemporary American life, family relationships, and the emotional complexities of human connection.
Directing the developmental reading of LOVEBOMB is Melvin Tunstall III, a playwright, actor, lyricist, composer, and Broadway performer whose career spans theater and new musical development. Tunstall made his Broadway debut in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical after originating the role of Ja'Keith in the Toronto production of Rock of Ages. As a writer, he is the creator of the acclaimed family musical Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical and is currently developing new works including Higgins in Harlem and Senior Class. He is also an alumnus of the prestigious Yale Institute for Musical Theatre.
The cast features Jeffrey Grover (Father), Alex Chilton (Son), Cassaundra Reed (Daughter), Julia Labusch (Scammer), Jenny Leona (Agent), and Anna Colatrella (Teacher's Assistant).
Grover has appeared in films including The Alto Knights and television series including Dexter: Resurrection, Daredevil: Born Again, Succession, and Elsbeth. Reed is a Brooklyn-based actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer whose recent work includes the world premiere of It's Never Too Late and Buttercup at Theater for the New City. Labusch is an Off-Broadway actor and playwright whose original play Lightkeeper is scheduled to premiere later this year. Leona, a Juilliard graduate, has appeared on television in FBI: Most Wanted and Unforgettable, with extensive stage credits including Irish Repertory Theatre, Hartford Stage, Pittsburgh Public Theater, and Shakespeare Theatre Company. Colatrella, a graduate of The Hartt School, makes her New York theater debut in the production.
Presented under Actors' Equity Association's Staged Reading Guidelines, the readings represent the next stage in the development of LOVEBOMB, inviting audiences to participate in post-show discussions with the creative team as the play continues its journey toward full production.
LOVEBOMB marks another step in Copeland's active development slate. His one-act ONE IN TWENTY-FIVE received its world premiere at Theater for the New City in 2025, and additional one-acts GREAT BONES and SHAV VERSUS WHITMORE are set for full productions in Union City, NJ, and Long Beach, CA, respectively, this summer, with SIDEWALKS scheduled for multiple performances in New York City in October 2026.
