MERTON OF THE MOVIES: THE MUSICAL Will Have Private Industry Readings Next Week

Merton of the Movies: The Musical, with music by Gary William Friedman (The Me Nobody Knows, Taking My Turn), lyrics by Stevie Holland (Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter) and Robert Lorick (The Tap Dance Kid), and book by Holland, Lorick and Mel Shapiro (Two Gentlemen of Verona) will have  private industry readings in New York on December 4th. Directed by Joseph Hayward (York's Associate Producing Director) with Music Direction by Griffin Strout, these presentations are part of The York Theatre Company's Developmental Reading Series, in association with Lyle Saunders.

Drawn from the comic novel by Harry Leon Wilson and subsequent Broadway hit by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, Merton of the Movies: The Musical tells the story of a small-town lad who fantasizes about making it big in Tinseltown during the Silent Film era and just what happens when his naive illusions collide with the cold-hearted unpredictability of movie making. A show-biz story that's as relevant today as ever!

The cast for the reading features Oliver Prose (New York, New York) as Merton, Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages, The Skivvies) as Beulah Baxter, Hana Culbreath (Annie, National Tour) as Sarah, Nina Hennessey (Dream Girls, Cats) as Helen Montague, John Hillner (Mamma Mia, La Cage aux Folles) as Henry Montague, Alan M-L Wager (Beauty and the Beast) as Amos Gashwiler and Henny Henshaw, Courtney Dease as Jeff Baird, Ariana Valdes as Tessie Kearns, Trevor Martin as Harold Parmalee, Blair Alexis Brown as Fione, and Drew Tanabe as Tommy Tilbert and Ziggy Rosenblatt. Megan Meschino is the Stage Manager.

For more information or any questions regarding attending the private presentations, industry professionals can email boxoffice@yorktheatre.org.