'Perfect Harmony' to be Presented on Theatre Row

The Essentials will present PERFECT HARMONY, a hit of the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival, this summer on Theatre Row. PERFECT HARMONY has been conceived and will be directed by Andrew Grosso, and is written by Grosso and The Essentials. Performances will begin Sunday, July 6 at the Clurman Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues). The official opening night is set for Thursday, July 10 at 8:00 p.m.

PERFECT HARMONY is a comedy about the struggle for truth, love and high school a cappella championship glory. Perennial powerhouse, The Acafellas, and their female classmates, The Ladies in Red, bare their dreams, hopes, and struggle to blend, as they battle to win Acapalooza and discover the true meaning of harmony. The collaborating writers of The Essentials (www.theessentials.org) for Perfect Harmony include: David Barlow, Jeffrey Binder (currently in The Lion King, prior to that The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Drew Cortese (Public Theater's 2003 As You Like It), Meg DeFoe, Autumn Dornfeld (Beebo Brinker Chronicles), Cameron Folmar (The 39 Steps), Santino Fontana (currently in Sunday in the Park with George at Studio 54), Jordan Gelber, Scott Janes, Nicole Lowrance, Vayu O'Donnell, Thomas Piper, Maria Elena Ramirez, Drama Desk nominee Jeanine Serralles, Marina Squerciati, Noah Weisberg (currently in South Pacific at LCT), Margo White, Blake Whyte, and Marshall York.

The show was written by Andrew Grosso and developed in collaboration with the current and previous casts, during a series of loose improvisational interview-based workshops. In 2005, the group was given generous support from NYU Graduate Acting's Studio Tisch Free Summer Theater Program to finish developing the play, and in 2006, PERFECT HARMONY premiered at the New York International Fringe Festival and was extended as part of the Fringe Encore Series.

Andrew Grosso (conceiver, director and writer) is the Artistic Director of The Essentials. His directing credits include the New York premiere of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying (Chashama and Ohio Theater); Taming of the Shrew (Roundtable Ensemble), Wrong Way Up! with The Niagaras (Belt Theatre); Roberto Aguirre-Sacassa's The Ten Minute Play About Rosemary's Baby (Soho Rep); David Weiner's Purple Hearts (HB Playwrights); and the 2001 Fringe Festival's Waiting for Godot, the last play performed at the original East River Amphitheater.

The ten member cast will be (alphabetically): Dana Acheson (Melody McDaniels), Clayton Apgar (Jasper Mergh), Sean Dugan (Simon Depardieu/Goran Dhiardeaubovic), Ben Huber (Phillip Fellows V), Scott Janes (JB Smooter), Vayu O'Donnell (Lassiter A. Jayson III), Amy Rutberg (Meghan Beans), Kathy Searle (Michaela Dhiardeaubovic/Kiki Tune), Margie Stokley (Valerie Smooter), and Nisi Sturgis (Kerri Taylor/Toby McClintoch). Ms. Acheson's New York credits include: Detail at E.S.T., Philosophy of the World at NYMF, Courting Vampires at SPF, Gnome at The Zipper, and New Boy at the Beckett. Mr. Apgar recently graduated from NYU's Graduate Acting Program. Mr Dugan has been seen Off-Broadway in BFF, Nerds, Valhalla, Corpus Christi, Flesh & Blood, and Shakespeare's R&J. Mr. Huber comes to this production directly from having appeared in Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice at The Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia. Mr. Janes reprises his role from the Fringe Festival production. His other NY credits include: Brothers Karamazov at Lincoln Center Lab and Five Women Wearing the Same Dress at the Mint. Mr. O'Donnell also returns to Perfect Harmony. Other NY credits include: Priest in a Pool at Slant Theater/The Tank; The Hidden Sky at Ars Nova, and Famished at the Kraine Theater. Ms Rutberg originated the role of Zelda Fitzgerald in The Jazz Age at 59E59, as well as Clementine in Charles Busch's Our Leading Lady at the Manhattan Theatre Club. She also regularly performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade. Ms. Searle's recent Off Broadway credits include: My First Time, The Awesome 80s Prom, and Carrie and I Can Cry at the NY Fringe Festival. She can also be seen in the current film Baby Mama. Ms. Stokley returns to Perfect Harmony in the role of Valerie Smooter. She has also been seen Off Broadway in Dread Awakening at Primary Stages, and Little Suckers at the Ohio. Ms. Sturgis' Off Broadway credits include: Dysphoria at Ontological Hysteric, In the Air at Stageplays Theatre, and in Girl Scouts of America at the 2006 NY Fringe Festival.

The sets will be designed by Eliza Brown (Perfect Harmony 2006 Fringe, Wrong Way Up at The Belt, and As I Lay Dying a the Ohio), the costumes by Becky Lasky (NY credits include Julius Caesar at Aquila; Taming of the Shrew at the Roundtable Ensemble; Valparaiso and Will Eno's Flu Season, both for Rude Mechanicals and Perfect Harmony at the 2006 Fringe), the lighting by Brian M. Jones (who returns to Perfect Harmony after lighting the 2005 workshop production. Other NY credits include The Actor's Rap at Baruch, Like Love at NYMF, and Measure for Measure at NYU). Ray Bailey will serve as music director and the production stage manager will be Carlos Maisonet.

The Essentials is a New York based theater company that collaboratively creates innovative new theater. The Essentials incorporates outreach and education into its artistic process and develops its work during residencies with community-based organizations. This fall The Essentials will be artists in residence at The Urban Assembly School for Law & Justice an unscreened public high school in Brooklyn. The Essentials teaching artists will work with students and faculty to help the school create its first full-length school play. While in residence, The Essentials will develop and rehearse their next piece, a new adaptation of Hamlet.

The complete schedule for PERFECT HARMONY (July 6 through 24) will be: Mondays through Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. There will be one additional performance on Sunday, July 6 at 3:00 p.m. There will be no performance on Tuesday, July 8. Tickets are $18.00. The box office number for reservations is 212-279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com.

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