Cast Announced For The Acting Company's Reading of BILLY STRAYHORN: SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR

The Acting Company has announced casting for their reading of Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For, produced, by special arrangement with Steven Tabakin/Swee Pea LLC, as part of The Acting Company's annual Louanna O. Carlin & John MacDonald Reading Series.

Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For features music and lyrics by the late jazz legend, Billy Strayhorn; Book by Robert Zellers (playwright, The Chief at Pittsburgh Public Theatre) with Kent Gash (Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, Regina Taylor's A Night in Tunisia, and Five Guys Named Moe), who also directs; and musical direction by Matthew Whitaker ("Emotions & Underground!"). The reading will take place Monday, March 6 at 7:00 pm at the Mainstage Theatre at 416 West 42nd Street.

This captivating story of openly gay jazz innovator Billy Strayhorn and his collaborations with Duke Ellington features his rousing hits, including "Take the 'A' Train" and "Lush Life," in charting Strayhorn's groundbreaking creativity, activism, and relationships.

The cast for Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For includes Charl Brown (Motown the Musical, Jersey Boys), Tony Nominated Sidney Dupont (Paradise Square, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) Cory Jeacoma (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), J.D. Mollison ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"), Keziah John-Paul (The Book of Mormon), Allan K. Washington (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical), and Tatiana Wechsler (Mr. Saturday Night).

Casting is by Tara Rubin Casting/Merri Sugarman, CSA, Ellie Handel serves as Stage Manager, Olivia Fletcher as Assistant Stage Manager.

Each season, The Acting Company hosts a series of staged readings. A mixture of new texts, classics of the canon, and forgotten favorites, these readings are a showcase of The Acting Company's alumni and a chance to explore other works by playwrights and directors featured in the company's National Tours. The Acting Company gratefully recognizes the generous supporters of The Louanna O. Carlin and John MacDonald Reading Series, including Richard J. Reilly, Jr. (Producer), Abigail Klem Spector & Warren Spector (Underwriter, Billy Strayhorn: Something to Live For) and John and Jill Gilbert (Underwriter, Three Sisters (after Chekhov)).

Louanna O. Carlin & John MacDonald Reading Series Schedule

Three Sisters (after Chekhov)
Written by Mustapha Matura
Directed by Seret Scott
Monday, May 22 at 7:00 PM
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
416 West 42 Street, New York, NY, 10036

In Colonial Trinidad 1941, three sisters endure a mundane but privileged life in the capital, Port of Spain. Adapted from one of Chekhov's greatest works, Mustapha Matura examines the question of cultural identity and the way people transform themselves - willingly or unconsciously - in order to survive.

Tickets are now available for the Louanna O. Carlin & John MacDonald Reading Series' New York performances. Tickets for each show may be purchased separately. Seating is subject to availability. Visit theactingcompany.org/2023ReadingSeries or call 212-258-3111 to purchase tickets.

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