Cheryl Stern News

In Being Audrey, Claire Stark is the New York woman who has it all: a fabulous life, the husband of her dreams, and a view of Tiffany's from her Fifth Avenue apartment. When calamity strikes and her fairytale world threatens to collapse, Claire seeks refuge in her imagination, where she embarks on a hilarious, romantic adventure inspired by the films of her heroine, Audrey Hepburn. As Hepburn's characters in the classic films Roman Holiday, Funny Face, Love in the Afternoon, Sabrina, and Breakfast at Tiffany's, Claire's fantastical escape appears complete until she must confront the reality of what she stands to lose. Being Audrey celebrates the variety of life and the themes embodied by one of America's most beloved and enduring movie stars.

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, will present the world premiere of Being Audrey, music and lyrics by Ellen Weiss; book by James Hindman; additional book and lyrics by Cheryl Stern; developed with Jack Cummings III and Adam R. Perlman; musical direction, arrangements, and orchestrations by Lanny Meyers; musical staging and choreography by Scott Rink; and directed by Jack Cummings III, beginning Friday, March 27, at 8:00pm at 220 East 4 Street, between Avenues A and B. The opening is set for Sunday, April 5, at 3pm.

As her company celebrates its 25th anniversary, Hill chats with BWW for our Women's History Month series.

In Being Audrey, Claire Stark is the New York woman who has it all: a fabulous life, the husband of her dreams, and a view of Tiffany's from her Fifth Avenue apartment. When calamity strikes and her fairytale world threatens to collapse, Claire seeks refuge in her imagination, where she embarks on a hilarious, romantic adventure inspired by the films of her heroine, Audrey Hepburn. As Hepburn's characters in the classic films Roman Holiday, Funny Face, Love in the Afternoon, Sabrina, and Breakfast at Tiffany's, Claire's fantastical escape appears complete until she must confront the reality of what she stands to lose. Being Audrey celebrates the variety of life and the themes embodied by one of America's most beloved and enduring movie stars.

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, will present the world premiere of Being Audrey, music and lyrics by Ellen Weiss; book by James Hindman; additional book and lyrics by Cheryl Stern; developed with Jack Cummings III and Adam R. Perlman; musical direction, arrangements, and orchestrations by Lanny Meyers; musical staging and choreography by Scott Rink; and directed by Jack Cummings III, beginning Friday, March 27, at 8:00pm at 220 East 4 Street, between Avenues A and B. The opening is set for Sunday, April 5, at 3pm.

Transport Group Online Auction in Time for Valentine's Day We want to offer you more great theatre...and access to great Valentine's Day gifts! Support an online auction to benefit our world-premiere musical, Being Audrey, about a woman obsessed with Audrey Hepburn. In these dark times, what would Holly Golightly do? SHOP! Go to the auction: visit http://www.charityfolks.com/cfauctions/auction_verticalngo.asp?slrid=1699 Bidding open now til 3pm on February 4th only @ www.charityfolks.com/transportgroup All items ship in time for Valentine's Day!

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) seeks submissions for the 11th Annual TRU VOICES New Plays Reading Series (deadline December 29, 2008). The TRU VOICES New Plays Reading Series is a unique series geared towards producers who have an interest in developing new plays. Shows selected will receive staged readings to be presented in the spring of 2009. Each reading will be followed by a 'Dollars and Sense' panel discussion with prominent New York producers, general managers and artistic directors focusing on potential venues, marketing and budgeting of the work. The series was created to help develop new plays and to help producers develop the skills needed to produce new works.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) seeks submissions for the 11th Annual TRU VOICES New Plays Reading Series (deadline December 29, 2008). The TRU VOICES New Plays Reading Series is a unique series geared towards producers who have an interest in developing new plays. Shows selected will receive staged readings to be presented in the spring of 2009. Each reading will be followed by a 'Dollars and Sense' panel discussion with prominent New York producers, general managers and artistic directors focusing on potential venues, marketing and budgeting of the work. The series was created to help develop new plays and to help producers develop the skills needed to produce new works.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is pleased to announce that an exciting lineup of prominent Broadway producers and general managers has joined the Dollars and Sense panels to follow readings of the winning selections of the 2008 TRU Voices New Musicals Series. The series is unique because it develops new producers as well as new musicals, and in keeping true to its mission, the TRU talkbacks focus on producer concerns regarding the development of these works beyond the series. The panels will follow readings of the works on Mondays, December 8 and 15, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Players Theatre, located at 115 MacDougal Street, NYC.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is pleased to announce that an exciting lineup of prominent Broadway producers and general managers has joined the Dollars and Sense panels to follow readings of the winning selections of the 2008 TRU Voices New Musicals Series. The series is unique because it develops new producers as well as new musicals, and in keeping true to its mission, the TRU talkbacks focus on producer concerns regarding the development of these works beyond the series. The panels will follow readings of the works on Mondays, December 8 and 15, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Players Theatre, located at 115 MacDougal Street, NYC.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is pleased to announce the winning selections of the 2008 TRU Voices New Musicals Series. In a series that is unique because it develops new producers as well as new musicals, two works were chosen from submissions by emerging or established producers, as well as writers. The works will be read on Mondays, December 8 and 15, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Players Theatre, located at 115 MacDougal Street, NYC.

Several great performers have joined the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals on October 20 & 21 at New World Stages and more have been added to the benefit concert A Toast for 20! on October 19th at COMIX.

Several great performers have joined the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals on October 20 & 21 at New World Stages and more have been added to the benefit concert A Toast for 20! on October 19th at COMIX.

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, has announced its 2008-09 season: Bury the Dead, written by Irwin Shaw and directed by Joe Calarco, and Being Audrey, music and lyrics by Ellen Weiss, book by James Hindman, additional book and lyrics by Cheryl Stern, developed with Jack Cummings III and Adam R. Perlman, and directed by Jack Cummings III.

Heavy ticket demand has prompted Urban Stages to extend its hilarious drawing room musical, 27 Rue de Fleurus, for two weeks through Sunday, April 13th. Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein are delighting audiences with wit and one-up(wo)manship in repartee and song as they confront each other about love, marriage, jealousy, genius and other delicious topics... Add into the salon Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mabel Dodge, Sylvia Beach and the smashing Jean Harlow, and you have a highly memorable and amusing night of theatre. Unlike most of the stage works about Gertrude and Alice, 27 RUE DE FLEURUS is told from Alice's point of view as 'her muse.' When Gertrude becomes embarrassed by Alice's revealing tell-all, she attempts to hijack the play as only the author of such lines as 'sugar is not a vegetable' can. But Alice has secrets to share with the audience that silence the famously verbose Gertrude. Quelle surprise! Critical reviews have praised Frances Hill's 'smart direction,' the 'strong performances' of the cast (New York Times), as well as 'luscious' costumes by Carrie Robbins (Variety). Curtain Up says, ' Add this small charmer to this season's cornucopia of off-beat new musicals,' and Theatermania declared, 'Director Frances Hill's production has a zest that matches the unbridled creativity of the creators, unfolding on a handsome scenic design from Roman Tatarowicz, who's created a surreal white salon with skewed walls that's backed by a series of overlapping frames into which Alex Koch's collage-like video is projected. It's the perfect canvas for this haphazard look into Toklas and Stein's world.' The critically acclaimed cast includes Cheryl Stern as Alice, Barbara Rosenblat as Gertrude, and Sarah Chalfy, Susan Haefner and Emily Zacharias in various celebrity parts. John Bell is Musical Director. ARTSHOW. During the run of the show, photographs and other artworks from the Gertrude and Alice collection of San Francisco collector Hans Gallas are on display in the theater lobby. Gallas coordinated events around the world last year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the meeting of Gertrude and Alice on Alice's first day in Paris. Works exhibited include original Carl Van Vechten photographs, wood-block prints, caricatures, and mixed media pieces created by artists from around the world. Gertrude and Alice have been the subjects of visual artists from the beginning of the 20th century and continue to inspire artists in all media. Urban Stages produces new plays with themes that reflect our diverse society. Their most recent productions were the critically acclaimed Oxford Roof Climbers Rebellion by Stephen Massicotte, Marion Bridge by Daniel MacIvor, the Pulitzer Prize finalist Bulrusher by Eisa Davis and Apostasy by Gino DiIorio. Since 1983, director Frances Hill has overseen more than 600 staged readings and workshops, plus over 75 productions of new work for the stage. Recent directing credits include Jim Lehrer's Chili Queen (Urban Stages and The Kennedy Center), John C. Picardi's Seven Rabbits on a Pole and The Sweepers (Urban Stages and Capital Rep), Comfort Women by Chungmi Kim and last season's Apostasy by Gino DiIorio. As Artistic Director of Urban Stages, she has moved two plays to commercial off-Broadway runs: Minor Demons and Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown, which won an Outer Critics Circle Award. SCHEDULE for 27 RUE DE FLEURUS: Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8PM, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3PM. Tickets are $40.00; all Wednesday performances are specially priced at $25. Tickets may be purchased by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444, or online at www.urbanstages.org. There will be talkbacks every Wednesday and Saturday night, check www.urbanstages.org for schedule of speakers. 27 RUE DE FLEURUS A New Musical; Book and lyrics by Ted Sod, music and lyrics by Lisa Koch; Directed by Frances Hill At Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th avenues) Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8PM, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3PM. TICKETS: $40; College and High School Students, $15; Half-Price Wednesdays: All seats $25.00 EXTENDED! NOW THROUGH APRIL 13th Call 212-868-4444, or order online at www.urbanstages.org

Urban Stages is pleased to announce the final production of their 2007/2008 season: 27 Rue de Fleurus, a new musical derived from the imagination of Alice B. Toklas. Alice tries to set the record straight about being Gertrude Stein's 'wife' for nearly 40 years. 27 Rue de Fleurus will be directed by Urban Stages Artistic Director Frances Hill. Performances will be at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th). Previews will begin on Saturday, March 1st with the opening date scheduled for Thursday, March 6th and will run through Sunday, April 6th.

Submissions are being sought for the 10th Annual Theater Resources Unlimited TRU VOICES New Plays Reading Series now thru January 11th, 2008

The Littlest Light on the Christmas Tree, the animated film which won the 'Best Animated Feature' Accolades Award, has been adapted as a stage musical for young audiences and will premiere in New York City at Vital Theatre Company for a special limited engagement this holiday season now through January 6.

The Littlest Light on the Christmas Tree, the animated film which won the 'Best Animated Feature' Accolades Award, has been adapted as a stage musical for young audiences and will premiere in New York City at Vital Theatre Company (2162 Broadway, 4th Floor) for a special limited engagement starting December 8 through January 6.

Collaborative Play Productions proudly presents 'Performers For Peace' a benefit concert in support of: Physicians for Peace and Collaborative Play Productions, Celebrating Acts of Creation in a Time of War on Monday, October 15 at 9PM at The Triad (158 West 72nd Street, 2nd Floor).