Creative Teams and Casting Announced for THE 24 HOUR MUSICALS

Creative teams and casting have been set for the four brand new musical which make up the Monday, February 8, 2010 "The 24 Hour Musicals" held at The Gramercy Theatre (127 East 23rd Street, between Park and Lexington Aves) - doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm performance, it has been announced by producers The 24 Hour Company and the Exchange.

Four brand new musicals will be written, cast, rehearsed and performed in a single day, featuring an star-studded line up of Broadway performers, composers, writers, directors, choreographers and musical directors. Creative director Ted Sperling (musical director of Light in the Piazza, South Pacific and Guys &Dolls), will lead some of the theatre's brightest talent from Broadway, film and television as they collaborate under one roof, in one day, to create original musical theatre.

The four new musical, their creative teams and casts are (All participating artists are subject to change.):

"You Can See the East River From Here, Too" -- book by Jonathan Bernstein. Music and lyrics by Jeanine Tesori. Directed by Ted Sperling. Starring Dee Roscioli, John Ellison Conlee, Katie Thompson

"Anti Valentines" -- Book by Julia Jordan. Music and lyrics by Jeff Blumenkrantz. Directed by Moisés Kaufman. Starring Celia Keenan-Bolger, Marnie Schulenburg, Michael Winther, Zachary Prince

"The First of His Heart" - Book by Jonathan Marc Sherman. Music and lyrics by Adam Gwon. Directed by Trip Cullman. Starring Julian Fleisher, Nancy Opel, Darius DeHaas

"What's Wrong with Twinkie?" - Book by Josh Koenigsberg. Music and lyrics by Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler. Directed by Kathleen Turner. Starring Alicia Witt, Cady Huffman, Mo Rocca, Raven-Symoné

The creative process for THE 24 HOUR MUSICALS begins Sunday, February
7th at 9 p.m. when all participating artists will convene at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park with a prop or costume piece to inspire the writers. After thecompany is briefed, the actors and directors will leave the writers to create the book, music andlyrics for their 15-minute musicals ...in just eight hours. At 7 a.m. Monday morning, the directors will return to read the completed musicals and finalize casting. An hour later, the actors will return to begin a twelve-hour rehearsal process. At 8:00 p.m., ink barely dry, the four new musicals will be performed for a live audience. Although the actors only have one day to memorize lines, lyrics and music, create characters and learn blocking, the musicals are performed without scripts in hand.

Following the performance, a VIP reception will take place at The National Arts Club. Proceeds from The 24 Hour Musicals benefit the Exchange, a NYC not-for-profit that develops new theatre work through productions and its development center for innovative theatre companies and artists in the Catskills, the Orchard Project. Tickets for the event are $100 - $400; additionally a $24 ticket has been announced with use of ticket code 24off24.

About THE 24 Hour Company
The 24 Hour Company is a group of artists and producers that has mounted over 300 short plays since 1995 --all written, cast, rehearsed and performed in a single day. Paper Magazine wrote "the quality of the plays is remarkable," and the Village Voice adds, "Here was the energy missing from the Ludlow scene... theatricality as life, as subversion, evenn survival." The rotating cast and crew of The 24 Hour Plays have performed for sold-out houses at the American Airlines Theater, The Old Vic, Atlantic Theater, Minetta Lane Theater, 45 Bleecker Theater, the NY International Fringe Festival and other downtown venues in New York, as well as in Chicago, Los Angeles and London. Participants have included diverse talents from all levels- from Tony, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winners to emerging talent and high school students. For more information,visit www.24hourplays.com/.

About the EXCHANGE

The Exchange both produces new and classic work and supports development in order to create the classics of the future. Unlike other theatre companies, the
Exchange supports the work of a number of other artists and companies through its renowned Orchard Project retreat in upstate New York (www.orchardproject.com) and with initiatives such as the Kesselring Fellowship, a writing award it presents in partnership with the National Arts Club. In this season alone, projects and companies from the Orchard Project are being produced across the country and the world, from Broadway's 33 Variations to Off Broadway's Architecting and The Shipment to productions in Washington DC, Texas, London, Edinburgh and more.

THE 24 HOUR MUSICALS takes place Monday, February 8 at The Gramercy
Theatre (127 East 23rd Street, between park and Lexington Aves). General seating is $100. Tickets with open bar and an invitation to the afterparty ar $150. Tickets with table seating, open bar and food are $250. VIP tickets with passes to the pre and post show receptions, open bar and food are $400. Doors at 7p.m., performance at 7:30p.m. Via Subway, take the 6 or the N/R/W trains to 23rd Street. Tickets are available at visit www.24hourplays.com or (646) 502-7453

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