York Theatre Company to Present Industry Reading of RIO UPHILL Featuring Pamela Agaloos, Mariana Bravo and More

The York Theatre Company as part of its Developmental Reading Series, in association with MWG Productions, will present an industry reading of the new musical Rio Uphill, with book by Juliana Pedroso and Matthew Gurren (What Do Critics Know?), music by Nanny Assis and Matthew Gurren and lyrics by Matthew Gurren. ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY, Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 7:00PM at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's* (619 Lexington Avenue, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022).

Admission to the reading of Rio Uphill is by invitation only.

Directed by Ronny Dutra and with music direction by Ana Flavia Zuim, the twelve-member cast will feature Pamela Agaloos (Scottish Sessions), Mariana Bravo (Avenue Q), Hillary Fisher (Cyrano), Héctor Flores (On Your Feet), Marie-Claire Giraud (Gypsy), Cody Gerszewski (Jane Eyre), James Ludwig (Spamalot), Nina V. Negron (In the Heights), Paula Perseke (Inonsense), Rodolfo Soto (In the Heights), David Spadora (America Is Hard to See) and Jovan E'Sean (Anything Can Happen in the Theater).

Rio Uphill is an original musical that takes the audience to Rio de Janeiro, fusing contemporary musical theater with Brazilian rhythms. A chance encounter on New Year's Eve brings together Guilherme, a young man from the wealthy neighborhood of Leblon, and Miguel, born and raised in the favela of Morro do Lado. Guilherme bails Miguel out of jail in exchange for the chance to see "the real Rio." Seeing love and tradition in the face of unending poverty and injustice, Guilherme finds himself determined to thwart the corrupt establishment and bring about change, but at a very heavy cost. This show has been endorsed by the General Consulate of Brazil in New York and was presented at the 2019 ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop with Stephen Schwartz.