THE CONCRETE JUNGLE Reading Announced

Set in New York City, THE CONCRETE JUNGLE is a modern romantic musical comedy inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac. In this musical "catfish", aspiring poet Abby Burgess slings drinks at the Concrete Jungle Bar & Grill to pay off her student loans. Upon suffering a bout of writer's block, Abby gets a phone call from a panic-stricken Canadian writer guy named Guy that changes her life forever. She begins imagining the inner lives of her customers that sparks her writing to take on a new topic for her...love. But, after Abby describes herself as her friend Vanessa, will Guy professes his love to the wrong woman, or will Abby face her greatest fears and reveal her true self?

With direction by Scott Ebersold (The View UpStairs), the reading stars: Tiffany Mann (Be More Chill) as Abby, Jason Gotay (Bring It On) as Guy, Lauren Marcus (Be More Chill) as Claire, Nina Lafarga (Frozen) as Vanessa, Hunter Ryan Herdlicka (A Little Night Music) as James, Michael Williams (My Fair Lady) as Dunkan, Kennedy Kanagawa as Simon, and Max Meyers as Sailor. Ensemble includes: Yassi Moubahar, Melody Portnoy, Joe Ottavi-Perez, and Spencer Glass.

With words and music by Bobby Cronin (Mary and Max, 'Til Death Do Us Part, Camp Morning Wood) and additional material by Crystal Skillman (Mary and Max, Open, Geek, Pulp Vérité), THE CONCRETE JUNGLE was originally commissioned by London's ArtsEd (Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, President) and premiered in 2012. Due to audience demand, an International Cast Recording was released in 2013 featuring Olivier winner Rebecca Trehearn, Alex Gaumond, Kate Shindle, Danielle Hope, Nick Adams, Olivia Philip, and more, with CD release concerts featuring Cynthia Erivo, Rebecca Trehearn, Olivia Philip, and Nathan James in the UK, and Kate Shindle, Marissa Rosen, Nick Dalton, Anne Brummel, and Jason Gotay in NYC.

During the show's rise , Cronin suffered a death in the family and a break up. "I lost my funny bone", says Cronin. "I chose to focus my time and energy on Mary and Max, to which I had just gotten the rights. I channeled all of my pain and heartache into that piece. Now that Mary and Max had its world premiere (and upcoming European premiere), I've decided to return to The Concrete Jungle and reexamine it through the lens of today's ever-changing and ever-challenging world."

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/concrete-jungle-international/id615476486

For more info: www.BobbyCronin.com