Complete Cast Announced for Sherie Rene Scott's EVERYDAY RAPTURE at Second Stage Theatre

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will present EVERYDAY RAPTURE, written by Dick Scanlan (Tony nominee for Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Sherie Rene Scott (Tony nominee for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), with musical supervision by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, High Fidelity), directed by Michael Mayer (Tony Award winner for Spring Awakening). Previews begin on Tuesday, April 7; opening night is Sunday, May 3, 2009. For subscription or ticket information, please call the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website, www.2ST.com.

EVERYDAY RAPTURE is the story of a young woman's psycho-sexual-spiritual journey on the rocky path that separates her mostly Mennonite past from her mostly Manhattan future. Her life takes her from the cornfields of Kansas to the clover fields of New York (with a disturbing detour through YouTube). EVERYDAY RAPTURE also features songs made famous by David Byrne, U2, Roberta Flack, The Dap Kings and Judy Garland.

In addition to Ms. Scott, EVERYDAY RAPTURE will feature Eamon Foley, Lindsey Mendez and Betsy Wolfe.

EVERYDAY RAPTURE will feature scenic design by Christine Jones, costume design by Tom Broecker, lighting design by Kevin Adams, and sound design by Brian Ronan. Musical Staging will be by Michele Lynch, orchestrations by Tom Kitt, and musical direction by Carmel Dean.

SHERIE RENE SCOTT (Performer, Co-Author) has appeared in The Little Mermaid, Landscape of the Body (Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Drama League honor), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations.; Drama League honor), Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida (Derwent Award, Drama League honor), Tommy (Original Broadway Cast), Rent, The Last Five Years (Drama Desk nomination, Drama League honor), Debbie Does Dallas, Randy Newman's Faust, Kander & Ebb's Over and Over (Helen Hayes nomination). With husband Kurt Deutsch, she co-founded Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records (sh-k-boom.com), which has produced more than 50 albums, receiving five Grammy nominations and a 2006 Drama Desk Award for dedication to the preservation of musical theatre through cast recordings.

Eamon Foley has appeared on Broadway in 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Assassins and Gypsy.

Lindsay Mendez was an original cast member of the recent Broadway revival of Grease, playing the role of Jan. Regional/tour credits include: Footloose (Sacramento Music Circus, Kansas City Starlight), Princesses (NAMT, Goodspeed Opera House, 5th Avenue Theater), Grease, (European Tour, Fulton Opera House), Call Me Madam (Reprise!), Go the Distance, The Lyrics of David Zippel (Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kaufman Center).

Betsy Wolfe has appeared on Broadway in 110 in the Shade (Studio 54), The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee (also San Francisco, Boston companies), and Wonderful Life. Regional: Ragtime (Evelyn Nesbitt) at Paper Mill Playhouse, Ace (Louise) at the Old Globe Theatre, Tommy (Mrs. Walker) Dallas Theatre Center, MUNY. Ms. Wolfe has been a guest artist for Symphony, Pops and Philharmonic Orchestras across the US, including featured soloist for the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, London Coliseum. She made her NY concert debut at Carnegie Hall as a headliner with the Cincinnati

Pops. TV: Camelot at Lincoln Center (PBS). She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Dick Scanlan (Co-Author) was nominated for Tony and Drama Desk awards for his book and lyrics for the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. He is the author of the novel Does Freddy Dance. In addition, he has published articles in Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Village Voice, Playboy, Playbill, Time Out New York and other magazines. He wrote the lyrics to Jeanine Tesori's music for "The Girl in 14G" on Kristin Chenoweth's Sony CD, Let Yourself Go. A former actor, Dick originated the role of Miss Great Plains in the hit Off-Broadway musical Pageant.

Michael Mayer (Director) received a 2007 Tony Award as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his direction of the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Spring Awakening. Other Broadway productions include 'night, Mother; After the Fall; Thoroughly Modern Millie (Drama Desk Award and Tony nomination); An Almost Holy Picture; Uncle Vanya; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Tony nomination); The Lion in Winter; Side Man (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards); A View From the Bridge (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards and Tony nomination); Triumph of Love. Off-Broadway credits include Dawn Upshaw in Round About at Lincoln Center, The Credeaux Canvas, Stupid Kids, Antigone in New York, Baby Anger, View of the Dome, Missing Persons, America Dreaming, Hundreds of Hats and Spring Awakening at the Atlantic Theater Company. National tour: Angels in America (Jefferson and Carbonell Awards). West End: Spring Awakening, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Side Man. Film: A Home at the End of the World, Flicka.

Tom Kitt (Musical Supervisor) returns to Second Stage Theatre where his acclaimed musical, Next to Normal, premiered last year, earning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Score (also Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Drama League nominations). The musical recently enjoyed an acclaimed run at Washington D.C.'s Arena Stage and will begin previews on Broadway March 27. He is the composer and co-orchestrator of High Fidelity (Broadway) and the composer of the original music for From Up Here (MTC). His songs with the Tom Kitt Band (www.tomkittband.com) have been featured in film and TV. As a musical director, conductor and arranger, Tom has worked on several Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including Laugh Whore, Urban Cowboy, Debbie Does Dallas, and most recently, 13.

Michele Lynch (Musical Staging) choreographed The Coast of Utopia and was the associate choreographer for Hairspray. Other choreography credits include Camp (IFC Films), Bette Midler concert work, USO Show 2000-2003, Verizon industrial, Comedy Central, Christmas in Lights (L.A. Comedia Theatre). Assistant choreographer: The Full Monty (Broadway, London, national tours), Urinetown (Broadway).

ABOUT SECOND STAGE THEATRE

Currently celebrating its 30th Anniversary Season, Second Stage Theatre recently concluded an extended critically-acclaimed production of Gina Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw, directed by Peter Dubois. The season kicked off on October 2 with the 20th Anniversary staging of Howard Korder's 1988 breakthrough play BOYS' LIFE, directed by Michael Greif and starring Jason Biggs, Rhys Coiro, and Peter Scanavino.

Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman, SECOND STAGE THEATRE produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best contemporary theatre, including Tiny Alice and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Painting Churches and Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On the Stem by Ricky Jay; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Some Men by Terrence McNally; eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L. West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic Magic by Lanford Wilson; and Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Mary Zimmerman. The company's more than 125 citations include the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 23 Obie Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, five Theatre World Awards, 11 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage launched "Second Stage Theatre Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

SECOND STAGE THEATRE AT THE Helen Hayes

Second Stage Theatre recently announced that it has acquired the right to purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street. With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theater company on Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of contemporary American theatrical productions. Second Stage will also become one of only four non-profit theater companies that own and operate theaters on Broadway. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.

EVERYDAY RAPTURE will be performed through Sunday, May 31, 2009 at Second Stage Theatre (307 West 43rd Street, just west of 8th Avenue) on the following schedule: Tuesday at 7:00pm, Wednesday - Saturday at 8:00pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 3:00pm.

NOTE: All weekday evening performances the week of May 5 will begin at 7:00pm. Weekend curtain times remain the same.

NOTE: There will be no 2pm performance on Wednesday, April 8. The performance times for Sunday, April 12 are 2pm and 7pm.

Tickets are $75 and may be purchased by phoning 212-246-4422 or 800-766-6048 or online at www.2ST.com. Patrons age 30 and under may purchase a limited number of specially-priced $30 tickets in advance. A limited number of student rush tickets are $15 and are available 30 minutes prior to curtain.

Group tickets are available by phoning 212-889-4300 or (800) 331-0472. Box-office hours are Monday, 10:00am - 6:00pm, Tuesday 10:00am - 7:00pm, Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00am to 8:00pm, and Sunday, 10:00am to 3:00pm.

For more information, please visit
www.2ST.com