Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Max Von Essen, Christy Carlson Romano & More Set for Aaron Grant Theatrical's LEGEND OF BOBBY STONE Reading, 7/1

Producer Aaron Grant has announced initial casting for the first of three plays that he plans to present this summer, as part of a new developmental reading series beginning July 1. Participating in the reading of Ben Andron's new comedy "The Legend of Bobby Stone and the Good Feeling Hat," are Harris Doran, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Julia Mattison, Christy Carlson Romano, Sam Seder, Keala Settle, and Max von Essen. Peter Scolari directs. The reading takes place in midtown on Monday July 1, at 2pm.

In "The Legend of Bobby Stone" a young television gossip reporter gets more than he bargained for when he interviews the notoriously crazy Bobby Stone, forcing him to interview the man and not the legend.

This is Grant's second collaboration with Andron, the L.A.-based playwright who wrote "White Lies," which Grant produced at New World Stages in 2010. This will be the play's first public reading.

This reading (and all readings in the series) are open to the public. RSVP by e-mailing SummerReadings@theatrical.ag Due to limited capacity, there will be no admittance without written confirmation.

The other shows in the series are Erik Shapiro 's comedy "You're Really Not Helping," directed by Jeremy Scott Blaustein, which will be seen on Monday July 29, and Alex Rubin's dark romance "First Love," directed by Andy Sandberg, which will be seen on Monday August 19.

In "You're Really Not Helping" a comedy based on true events, a powerhouse real estate executive refuses to take life sitting down, which is tough since an encounter with a tree on a ski vacation has left the type-A control freak paralyzed from the waist down.

Co-produced with Big Vision Empty Wallet, Rubin's "First Love" follows a pair of high school sweethearts as they build a life together, only to have the seed of their romance become their undoing.

The series, cast entirely by Daryl Eisenberg Casting, is meant to foster new works by matching directors and casts with new plays at different stages of the development process.

"The approach to each show is different," says Grant, who opened Aaron Grant Theatrical, Inc. in January. "I want this to be an annual series, a new play incubator, where artists can hear their work out loud and discover what works and what doesn't work. You can only develop a show in a vacuum for so long. Theatre needs an audience."

Photo by: Retna Ltd.

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