David Glenn Armstrong
director
ULTRATRAVEL AWARDS
Plaza Hotel
October 2015
I don’t know that there was ever an industrial that was more fun to write, produce and stage than this awards ceremony for a major British travel magazine starring the King of Siam (Jose Llana), Pinocchio (Robb Sapp), and a Frenchman in Paris (Max von Essen). They sang every Broadway song about travel ever written with customized lyrics specific to the award winners and completely slayed the starstruck audience. With Lori M. Doyle as our PSM, Joshua Clayton as our arranger, and Brett Rowe as our MD, the star power was as exciting backstage as it was onstage.
AINSWORTH ASSOCIATES
Miami Beach, FL / New York, NY
September-December, 2014
I am thrilled to be joining the Ainsworth Associates team for four months of intensive and ridiculous fun to produce a plethora of amazing industrials, press events, block parties, and V.V.V.I.P. events for a triple-blue-ribbon international clientele from the top of the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere (432 Park Avenue) to the warm sands of Miami Beach. I am lucky enough to be working with and for Rodman Primack and Design Miami, Silvia Karman Cubiñá and the Bass Museum, Craig Robins and The Miami Design District, Dacra, Peter Marino, Pam Liebman and The Corcoran Group, Annie Leibovitz, Marina Abramovic and the Fondation Beyeler, Harry Macklowe and Macklowe Properties, etc. etc. etc.... I'll also be independently producing the pop-up opening of Chrome Hearts' new Miami store with some super fun musical stars. It's going to be a very exciting four months!
DESIGN MIAMI/ BASEL
Ainsworth Associates
Basel, Switzerland
June 12-19, 2014
I am so excited to be returning to work with SUSAN AINSWORTH and Design Miami/ at the world's biggest art fair. I was there for the first Design Miami/ fair in 2006 and it's mind-blowing to see how much they've grown in that time - and it couldn't happen to a more wonderful group of people so passionate about their work. Art Basel is an amazing week of art (you really do need to buy that $58 million Jeff Koons' balloon sculpture NOW before someone else snatches it up), celebrity (Brad! Pharrell! Kanye! Naomi! Tina!), and non-stop entertainment, concerts, performance art, talks, wining, and dining (but absolutely no vegan chocolate) in a little tiny Medieval town that is literally bursting at the seams.
THE HEALING MONOLOGUES
A new play curated by Marie Howe and James Lecesne
Zen Center for Contemplative Care Benefit
May 13, 2014
The jaw-dropping stories of care givers who have trained under the Zen Center for Contemplative Care has exploded upon the stage, and this could seriously be the next Laramie Project, or Love, Loss, And What I Wore. True stories, told in the words of those who experienced the deaths of hundreds of indivivuals isn't at all the morbid evening you might expect - it's filled with life and joy and discovery. Of course, it also doesn't hurt when your cast is made up of AMY IRVING (Oscar nominee for Yentl, and my favorite Constanze in Amadeus ever), RICHARD THOMAS (Emmy-Award winner and amazing Shakespearean), JAMES LECESNE (the wonderful founder of the Trevor Project, and a Broadway vet), MARIE HOWE (the Poet Laureate of New York State [really!]), RICK MOODY (the stunning author of The Ice Storm, amongst other best sellers), and VICTORIA REGEL (the multi-award-winning poet, novelist, and essayist). It was an amazing beginning for what I'm sure will be a truly wonderful journey....
MANDELA
A new musical by Steven M. Fisher
Industry Reading
March 31, 2014
Steven has written an amazing piece about Nelson Mandela as a man, a father, and a husband against the backdrop of one of the most explosive social upheavals in history. Tony Award-nominee NORM LEWIS (Phantom of the Opera, Porgy and Bess) stars as Mandela. Tony Award-nominee FORREST McCLENDON (Scottsboro Boys) plays Mandela's estranged son, and ROSENA M. HILL JACKSON (After Midnight Spamalot) plays Winnie Mandela. Also starring DARLESIA CEARCY (Book of Mormon, The Color Purple), JOHN HENRY COX (Desire Under the Elms, Macbeth), ALAN H. GREEN (Sister Act, Play On!), AISHA DE HAAS (Caroline or Change, Rent), ISAIAH JOHNSON (Far From Heaven, Peter and the Starcatcher), NEHAL JOSHI (Les Misérables, Threepenny Opera), JACOB MING-TRENT (Hands on a Hardbody, Shrek), PAUL O'BRIEN (On A Clear Day, The Importance of Being Earnest), MICHAEL SHARON (Folger's Richard the Third, Long Wharf's The Fantasticks), and NICK WYMAN (Catch Me If You Can, A Tale of Two Cities). MICAH YOUNG (Spring Awakening) is the Musical Director, MICHAEL RADER and MICHAEL SCHWARTZ the Associate Directors, GEOFF JOSSELSON (The Velocity of Autumn) the casting director, and SCOTT DELACRUZ the PSM.
MALPRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
A new musical by Sheldon Harnick
York Theatre Mufti Series
Feburary 14-16, 2014
One of the nicest and most ridiculously talented individuals in the history of theatre has written the book, music, and lyrics for this hysterical retelling of Moliere's A Doctor in Spite of Himself. It's the tale of a lowly woodcutter who is suddenly (and mistakenly) elevated to the position of Chief Doctor to a wealthy aristocrat. Sheldon's score is lush and funny and tuneful and clever, his lyrics are quintessential Harnick, and the book is pure joy and daffiness. Tony Award-nominee BRAD OSCAR (The Producers, Big Fish) stars as the "Doctor" surrounded by a wicked assortment of Broadway's most shameless comedians: DAVID AYERS (Wicked, FIddler on the Roof), CHRISTINA BIANCO (Forbidden Broadway, over 8 million hits on YouTube), Tony Award-winner CADY HUFFMAN (The Nance, The Producers), two-time Tony Award-nominee ROBIN DE JESÚS (In the Heights, La Cage aux Folles), Tony Award-nominee MEGAN LAWRENCE (The Pajama Game, Hair), ROBB SAPP (Wicked, Shrek), CONRAD JOHN SCHUCK (Nice Work If You Can Get It, Annie), and NICK WYMAN (Catch Me If You Can, A Tale of Two Cities). AMANDA MORTON is our Music Director, MICHAEL RADER the Associate Director, KATIE MARLEY the AMD, and DANIEL HALEY the Tango Wrangler (really). KIMOTHY CRUSE is our PSM, MEG FRIEDMAN the ASM, KJ HARDY the Lighting Designer, and KEVIN MALOOF the Production Manager.
LOWE'S
Corporate Industrial
Las Vegas, NV
February 22-27, 2014
I'm rejoining the amazing GO! Experience Design team for my third annual Lowe's manager convention at the Venetian Hotel. Round the clock excitement - literally! There's really nothing quite so fun as having BON JOVI and 6-time NASCAR champ JIMMIE JOHNSON hanging out in your ballroom.... And as if this gig couldn't be fun enough, I have the supreme pleasure of getting to work alongside my hero, KURT STAMM, director extraordinaire.
RAILS
Music and Lyrics by Tom Kenaston
Book and Lyrics by Tom Paitson Kelly
York Theatre
December 13, 2013
Memory falters. Days disappear. Dreams get shelved. But none of that matters if you have the right storyteller. On the morning of an elderly woman's move into a senior facility, her grandson conducts her on one last fantastical journey through the stories of her own life. Rails is at once a sweeping tale of four generations of an American family, and an intimate portrait of two people trying to remember who they are. Our glorious cast includes KLEA BLACKHURST (Goodspeed's Hello, Dolly!, Drury Lane's Gypsy), LOUISA FLANINGAM (Guys and Dolls, The Most Happy Fella), JESSICA GROVÉ (A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George), KILTY REIDY (Billy Elliot, The Drowsy Chaperone), ROBB SAPP (Wicked, Shrek), and PAUL ANTHONY STEWART (The Landing, The People in the Picture). MICAH YOUNG is our Music Director, and MICHAEL RADER is the Associate Director.
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH
Ainsworth Associates
November 30 - December 7, 2013
I am thrilled to be returning to Miami with the amazing SUSAN AINSWORTH to produce and work on an amazing variety of industrial events for Design/Miami, the Surf Club, and the Miami Design District during the craziest week of the year when it seems that the entire world of movers-and-shakers in art, society, and fashion, descend on Miami by the tens of thousands to shop, party, play, and then shop some more. A joy to do work with and for RICHARD MEIER, MARTHA STEWART, PHARRELL WILLIAMS, et al.
THE STORY OF BEA AND BEN
A new musical by Micah Young
New York Theatre Barn in the D-Lounge
November 11, 2013
Inspired by the wonderful story and characters in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, Micah's delightful new musical, THE STORY OF BEA AND BEN, is set in post World War I New York on New Year's Eve, 1919. Beatrice and Benedict rekindle their feuding relationship and are surrounded by an eclectic crowd of friends and onlookers who want nothing more than to put these two together in the same room and watch the sparks fly. This is the first concert outing of songs from this charming new work. LAURIE WELLS (Mamma Mia!) and TIMOTHY BOOTH (Mamma Mia!) will be the warring would-be lovers and KERRY CONTE (Mary Poppins tour) and ZAL OWEN (Fiddler on the Roof tour) will play the oh-so-young lovers.
SONG OF PARADISE
by Marcus Gardley (Book & Lyrics) and Andrew Chukerman (Music & Lyrics)
Pasadena Playhouse
September 24-25, 2013
This will be an exciting out-of-the-gate workshop of a thrilling new musical, a retelling of the classic myths of Orpheus, Euridyce, and Persephone, set in a 1920's Harlem Renaissance of Marcus and Andy's wild and vivid imagination. It's a huge story, beautifully told, with sass and spunk and blues and jazz. CHRIS BENSINGER (Tony-Award winning producer of La Cage aux Folles, amongst many other Broadway hits) and I will be co-directing this soulful journey. Our exciting cast includes ERIC B. ANTHONY, PHILLIP BRANDON, CAROL DENNIS, JAY DONNELL, SHIRELL FERGUSON-COLEMAN, RAQUEL NICOLE JETÉ, JOANNA JONES, DAWNN LEWIS, KRISTOLYN LLOYD, RAUFEL MUHAMMAD, LACY DARRYL PHILLIPS, DANIELLE MONÈ TRUITT, and HARRISON WHITE.
WHAT EVERY WOMAN KNOWS
By James M. Barrie
Noël & Company
June 3, 2013
CAROLE SHELLEY, the amazing Tony Award winner (The Elephant Man) and three-time Tony Award nominee (Billy Elliot, Stepping Out, Absurd Person Singular) leads our stellar cast in this salon reading of J.M. Barrie's exquisite comedy of manners. The story is of a self-made Scottish family that strikes a deal to wed their rather plain sister to a young up-and-coming politician who is more concerned with his career than with romance. Add to the mix a stuffy French Comtesse, a hiccupping British society ingenue, and some delicious political treachery, and you have an evening of brilliant Scottish humor and charm. Also starring are HEIDI ARMBRUSTER (Time Stands Still), KEVIN COLLINS (Irish Rep's Dancing at Lughnasa), AEDIN MOLONEY (Fallen Angel Theatre's Airswimming), ALEX RICE (Noël & Company's Star Quality), ROBERT SELLA (Cabaret, Side Man) and JOHN WINDSOR-CUNNINGHAM (Irish Rep's The Devil's Disciple). This one-night only special event is the third presentation in Noël & Company's Eva LeGallienne Festival celebrating the legendary actress/writer and her contemporaries. KEITH MERRILL is the Artistic Director, ANNE KAUFMAN produces, CHRISTOPHER STEGMAYER is the Managing Director, and ERIN GILBRETH is our Stage Manager.
HAPPY HUNTING
Book by Lindsay & Crouse, Lyrics by Matt Dubey, Music by Harold Karr
York Theatre Company
March 15-17, 2013
This 1956 musical starring Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas ran at the Majestic Theatre for a year, garnering Tony nominations for both leads. This is an absolutely delightful musical - a true 50's bag of fun. The score is pure musical komedy. The plot concerns a Molly Brown-esque Philadelphian business woman who is compelled to compete with the Main Line Society women. At Grace Kelly's wedding, she meets the Duke of Granada and concocts a scheme by which he will marry her daughter and finally bring true nobility to her name. Needless to say, complications ensue... The ridiculously fun KLEA BLACKHURST will rule downstage center in Ethel's role surrounded by the amazing talents of JANINE DIVITA (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes), JOY FRANZ (Into The Woods, A Little Night Music), JESSICA GROVÉ (A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George), SEÁN MARTIN HINGSTON (Promises, Promises, Contact), MICHAEL McCORMICK (Chaplin, Elf), HEATHER PARCELLS (Wonderland, A Chorus Line), ANDREW SAMONSKY (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, South Pacific), MICHAEL SHARON (NYC Opera's Most Happy Fella), and LYNNE WINTERSTELLER (Closer Than Ever, Grand Night for Singing). DAVID ANDREWS ROGERS rules the 88s, WENDY SEYB is Associate Director, JENNY LEON is Assistant Director, and STEVEN CARDONA and BETH ERTZ round out our creative team. BERNITA ROBINSON and MEG FRIEDMAN rule the booth and deck.
GAME SHOW
by Jeffrey Finn & Bob Walton
Mason Street Warehouse, Saugatuck, MI
July 26 - August 11, 2013
This off-Broadway hit, a scathingly evil look at the backstage machinations of the country's most successful TV game show, is ripe with intrigue, humor, and down-right dirty doings going on. The fun conceit of the piece is that the live theatre audience gets to interact and be a part of the taping of a network game show - and when the commercials come on, dignity leaves the building... LAURIE WELLS (Mamma Mia!, Swing!), TIMOTHY BOOTH (Mamma Mia!, She Loves Me), KEVIN B. McGLYNN (Kiss Me Kate), LANCE FLETKE, BILLY KONSOER, KAYLA PEABODY, and STEVE TABER will be raising quite the ruckus.
THE PIAGGI SUITE
A new play by Diane Grant with music by Andrew Chukerman
The Blank Theatre, Los Angeles
March 4, 2013
The Piaggi Suite is a romantic comedy in which a monstrously self-absorbed and powerful opera diva visits a legendary New England musicians' retreat which has seen better days. Dangling the prospects of celebrity and success, she manipulates the collection of resident musicians as they struggle with the conflicts between career and love, the dangers of ambition, the perils of success, the pain of loss, and the glory of music. With elements of farce, incidental music, various coats, and a mysterious stranger. Won the 2006 Best Works Festival at Long Beach Playhouse, CA, and took honorable mention at the McLaren Comedy Competition, Midlands, TX. Amazing cast - MARY CARRIG, CHRIS DEVLIN, JULIE GARNYE, JOHN PAUL KARLIAK, PETER KATONA, MAURA M. KNOWLES, DAVID LAGO, MEGAN MORAN, LISA ZANE.
LOWE'S
Corporate Industrial
Las Vegas, NV
February 23-26, 2013
I'm joining the amazing GO! production team for this annual Lowe's manager convention at the Venetian. And as if this gig couldn't be fun enough, I have the supreme pleasure of getting to work alongside my hero, Kurt Stamm, director extraordinaire.
A DOCTOR IN SPITE OF HIMSELF
A new musical by Sheldon Harnick based on the Moliere play
Classic Stage Company
Feburary 1, 2013
One of the nicest and most ridiculously talented individuals in the history of theatre has written the book, music, and lyrics for this hysterical retelling of Moliere's fanciful tale of a lowly woodcutter who is suddenly (and mistakenly) elevated to the position of Chief Doctor to a wealthy aristocrat. Hilarity ensues! Sheldon's score is lush and funny and tuneful and clever, his lyrics are quintessential Harnick, and the book is pure joy and daffiness. Our stellar cast includes: BEN DAVIS (Tony Honor for Excellence winner for La Boheme), BETH FOWLER (two-time Tony-nominee for Sweeney Todd and The Boy From Oz), Tony nominee DAVID GARRISON (A Day in Hollywood...), CADY HUFFMAN (Tony Award-winner for The Producers and Tony-nominee for The Will Rogers Follies), CHARLES KIMBROUGH (Tony-nominee for Company), JOSE LLANA (Drama Desk Award-winner for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), PATRICK RICHWOOD (Pretty Woman), ROBB SAPP (Shrek, Wicked), and ELENA SHADDOW (La Cage aux Folles). The ridiculously talented AMANDA MORTON is MD. And my two right hands will be the wonderful SHANA SOLOMON and LEAH BONVISSUTO.
ADVANCED CHEMISTRY
An award-winning comedy by Rich Orloff
National Arts Club
January 14, 2013
Real-life couples OLYMPIA DUKAKIS & LOUIS ZORICH, and LOUISE LASSER & MICHAEL CITRINITI, join Broadway favorite JESSICA STONE in these two tales of love and lust in the golden years. As if I have to introduce my cast, but here goes: OLYMPIA DUKAKIS (film: Oscar and Golden Globe-winner for Moonstruck, television: Emmy Award nominee for Tales of the City; NYC theatre: Rose, The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, Social Security); LOUSE LASSER (Emmy-nominee for the legendary Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; films: Bananas, Happiness, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex...; Broadway: Thieves, Henry, Sweet Henry, and I Can Get It for You Wholesale); LOUIS ZORICH (nearly two dozen Broadway productions including Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 45 Seconds from Broadway, Follies, She Loves Me, and starring roles off-Broadway in classics at the Delacorte, the Public, and Classic Stage Company); MICHAEL CITRINITI (film: Goodfellas, Demonic Toys, Hideous!, Galactic Gigolo; theatre: co-producer of Food for Thought Productions); JESSICA STONE (Broadway: Butley, The Odd Couple with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, Design for Living, How To Succeed..., Grease). GRAHAM POWELL reads the stage directions. JENNY LEON is my assistant director. ROBIN LANE-KRAUSS produces this stellar evening.
CIVIL WAR VOICES
A new musical by James R. Harris
York Theatre Reading Series
October 13 and 15, 2012
CIVIL WAR VOICES is the true story of five lives told in their own words against the background of a country divided. A slave who became Mrs. Lincoln's confidante. A Southern couple separated by war. A Yankee professor turned military hero. A plantation owner with a conflicted conscience. Five lives made extraordinary by the times they lived in. The real words, the real music. An amazing score arranged by Mark Hayes utilizes period music to extraordinary vocal effect. Our epic cast include JAMES BARBOUR (Jane Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities), NILI BASSMAN (Curtains, Chicago), DANIELLE LEE GREAVES (Hairspray, Rent), PAUL ANTHONY STEWART (Cyrano - The Musical, Fiddler on the Roof), LAWRENCE STREET (Urinetown), JULIETTE TRAFTON (Phantom of the Opera), STEPHEN TRAFTON (Les Miserables), CATHERINE FRIES VAUGHN (Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?), CHRIS VAUGHN (Forever Plaid), BRUCE WARREN (Cats). The amazing AARON GANDY (Just Jim Dale, The Lion King) rules the pit, and the indefatigable LEAH BONVISSUTO is the Assocate Director.
BEST FRIENDS
A new play by Jack Gindi
Industry workshop - Shetler Studio Theatre
November 16, 2012
Sex. Marriage. Betrayal. Food. Wine… Best friends Max and Elm are solid, concrete, tight – bonded since seventh grade. But as they race into their thirties, the wheels of their camaraderie start to unhinge as they navigate the dangerous curves of a New York model (print, not runway) and a mysterious French siren (spoiled, and confused). This uproarious and cruel examination of friendship in New York City pulls no punches and spares no victims. JOSH ADAM DAVIS, SARAH NEDWEK, GRAHAM POWELL, and LEAH WAGNER star. The Associate Director is SHANA SOLOMAN.
AFFAIR OF HONOUR
A new musical by William F. Reed
New York Music Theatre Festival reading
July 15 and 17, 2012
AFFAIR OF HONOUR is an epic historical musical that centers around the relationship between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, who are both caught up in the maelstrom of the American revolution. Their story, which culminates in the infamous duel, is a rich saga of friendship, contempt, and envy. Their personal stories, and their personal grief, is absolutely mindboggling. PAUL ANTHONY STEWART (Cyrano - The Musical, Fiddler on the Roof) and SEAN McDERMOTT (Miss Saigon, Falsettos) star as Burr and Hamilton, alongside LINDA BALGORD (The Pirate Queen, Passion, Cats), CATHERINE BLADES (Bye Bye Birdie), SUMMER BROYHILL (Hairspray), JOSH ADAM DAVIS (Odyssey), JAMES JUDY (Into the Woods, The Scarlet Pimpernel), ROB LOREY (Beauty and the Beast, Aspects of Love), ZAL OWEN (Fiddler on the Roof tour), ROBERT SELLA (Cabaret, Side Man, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and ELENA SHADDOW (La Cage aux Folles, Nine, The Woman in White). LEAH BONVISSUTO is the Associate DIrector. MILTON GRANGER (Mary Poppins, Lovemusik, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) rules the pit.
HUNGARIAN NIGHTS
A new musical by Cheryl Kemeny and Mariner Pezza
New York Music Theatre Festival reading
July 24 and 26, 2012
Cheryl and Mariner have merged the worlds of 19th century Hungarian aristocracy, the last fleeting days of traveling gypsy troupes, reincarnated love, and the mystery of the undead into an improbably romantic musical that soars to the highest Carpathian mountaintop. SEAN McDERMOTT (Miss Saigon, Falsettos, Starlight Express, Grease) and Tony Award-nominee and Theatre World Award-winner JOSEFINA SCAGLIONE (Maria in West Side Story) star as the ill-fated lovers whose search for each other's souls spans five centuries. BEN DAVIS (A Little Night Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, La Boheme), JENNIFER SANCHEZ (Ghost, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, West Side Story), DAN SHARKEY (The Music Man, The Fantasticks), and DAVID ANTHONY VOGEL (Chicago), star alongside CIDALIA ALVES, ADAM BASHIAN, JOE LONGTHORNE, ELIZABETH MARKOW, ROBERT LANCE MOONEY, CHRISTIANA RODI, BENJAMIN EDWARD SIMPSON, and JULIE THOMAS under the baton of musical dynamo AARON GANDY (The Lion King, Urinetown, The Shaggs). LEAH BONVISSUTO is Associate Director.
GO GREEN!
A new musical by Mary Feinsinger and Joan Ross Sorkin
New York Children's Theater Festival
April 20-21, 2012
GO GREEN! (Prince Charming's Quest for Love and Ecology in New York City) is the first production of the inaugural New York Children's Theater Festival produced by Michael Shawn Lewis, Chelsea Shannon, and Renee Barnett at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA. GO GREEN! answers that burning question you've often asked yourself - why does Prince Charming always show up in time to kiss the Princess and break the spell? This rollicking retelling of classic fairy tales mixes our modern-day Prince Charming (PC for short) up with the descendents of Snow White, Rapunzel, Aurora et al. Starring JAMES JUDY (SCARLET PIMPERNEL, INTO THE WOODS) and BECKY BARTA (LES MISERABLES) alongside NICK CEARLEY, TARA NOVIE, and DANIELLE ERIN RHODES with MIKE ALIFANZ as SM. The oh-so-amazing MARK HARTMAN reigns from the baby grand.
LARK EDEN
A new play by Natalie Symons
Industry Reading - Amas
April 5, 2012
This absolutely charming and heart-breaking play has been a hit at several regional theatres. And when you are lucky enough to have Tony Award nominees BETH FOWLER (THE BOY FROM OZ, BABY) and MARIA TUCCI (THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, THE ROSE TATTOO) alongside television legend BARBARA FELDON (GET SMART) play these three beautiful women simply sitting quietly at the end of their lives reading aloud the letters that they've sent to each over the past seventy years, there’s not a dry eye in the house. It's the simplest of theatrical conventions, with an emotional wallop that resonates in your heart for days.
ROADSIDE
A musical by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
Musicals in Mufti - York Theatre
March 30 - April 1, 2012
This will be the first revival of Jones & Schmidt's 2001 musical based on the play of the same name by Lynn Riggs (who also wrote "Green Grow the Lilacs"). ROADSIDE is the story of an American pioneer family that travels the west in a covered wagon, with no desire to settle down or grow roots. It's the flip side of OKLAHOMA!, told in 21 amazing bluegrass/country western tunes by two of the most beloved men in the American musical theatre. Our wild west denizens are RYAN ALEXANDER (MAMMA MIA), ERICK DEVINE (CATS), JANINE DiVITA (GREASE), JAMIE LaVERDIERE (THE PRODUCERS), DANIEL C. LEVINE (LES MISERABLES), ED WATTS (FINIAN'S RAINBOW), and my personal hero, NICK WYMAN (CATCH ME IF YOU CAN). CHRISTOPHER McGOVERN rules the 88s.
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET - THE SECRET LIFE OF LORETTA YOUNG
A new play by Joan Ross Sorkin
Staged reading - York Theatre
March 22, 2012 - 3:00pm and 7:30pm
LYNNE WINTERSTELLER stars as Oscar-winner Loretta Young in this searing fantasy that tells the most unbelievable of all unbelievable Hollywood stories: Loretta, a devout moral Catholic do-gooder, had an affair with Clark Gable which resulted in a pregnancy she successfully hid. Once the baby girl was born, Loretta had her secretly placed in an orphanage. Over a year later, in a big publicity coup, Loretta "adopted" a needy child (her very own daughter!). Loretta's daughter didn't learn the truth until she was in her thirties. Only in the movies... Also in our amazing cast is JENN GAMBATESE (ALL SHOOK UP, TARZAN), LUCY MARTIN (HOLLYWOOD ARMS, HEDDA GABLER), CARLY ROSE SONENCLAR (WONDERLAND), and JOSH ADAM DAVIS (LES MISERABLES). Can you tell if the picture to the left is Lynne or Loretta?
LOWE'S
Corporate Industrial
Las Vegas, NV
February 23 - March 1, 2012
I'm joining the amazing GO! production team for this annual Lowe's employee convention at the Mandalay Bay. And as if this gig couldn't be fun enough, I have the supreme pleasure of getting to work alongside my hero, Kurt Stamm, director extraordinaire.
A DOCTOR IN SPITE OF HIMSELF
A new musical by Sheldon Harnick
Staged reading - York Theatre
February 20, 2012
One of the nicest and most ridiculously talented individuals in the history of theatre has written the book, music, and lyrics for this hysterical retelling of Moliere's fanciful tale of a lowly woodcutter who is suddenly (and mistakenly) elevated to the position of Chief Doctor to a wealthy aristocrat. Hilarity ensues! Sheldon's score is lush and funny and tuneful and clever, his lyrics are quintessential Harnick, and the book is pure joy and daffiness. Our stellar cast includes (do not operate heavy machinery while reading this list): DANNY GARDNER JOY HERMALYN, CADY HUFFMAN, JOSE LLANA, JEFF McCARTHY, BRAD OSCAR, PATRICK RICHWOOD, ALAN SAFIER, and ELENA SHADDOW. Really! AMANDA MORTON is MD, and SHANA SOLOMON and LEAH BONVISSUTO assist me. Bring on the Moliereans!
BEST FRIENDS
A new play by Jack Gindi
Industry staged reading - Shetler Studio Theatre
January 12, 2012
Sex. Marriage. Betrayal. Food. Wine… Best friends Max and Elm are solid, concrete, tight – bonded since their twenties. But as they race into their thirties, the wheels of their camaraderie start to unhinge as they navigate the dangerous curves of a New York model and a mysterious French seductress. This uproarious and cruel examination of friendship in New York City pulls no punches and spares no victims. FLOANNE ANKAH, JOSH ADAM DAVIS, CARTER JACKSON, and SARAH NEDWEK play the best friends, with MIKE ALIFANZ as stage manager.
DESIGN MIAMI/
Art Basel Industrial
Miami, Florida
November 29 - December 3, 2011
It's a very happy seventh annual return to my Miami friends at the most exciting art fair in the world. I'll be whipping up a week of assorted entertainment mayhem and awards ceremonies alongside Ainsworth Associates, Veuve Cliquot, Chrome Hearts, and an amazing band that is strictly hush-hush-hush (until you read about it in "W" Magazine)...
CLUTTER - THE TRUE STORY OF THE COLLYER BROTHERS WHO NEVER THREW ANYTHING OUT
A play by Mark Saltzman
Industry reading - Shetler Studio Theatre
December 11, 2011
This darkly fascinating true story, starring Patrick Richwood and Michael Kostroff as the rich and reclusive Collyer brothers, tells the compelling tale that held the world spellbound. What turned these old-money aristocrats into compulsively hoarding shut-ins whose Fifth Avenue mansion was filled with 150 tons of junk? And who killed Homer? Where did Langley disappear to? With this New York premiere, the Collyer brothers officially serve notice to the Grey Gardens ladies that there's an even truer, sadder, and more bizarre story to be told. Starring PATRICK RICHWOOD and MICHAEL KOSTROFF alongside SAL MISTRETTA, LEILA MARTIN, BRAD BELLAMY, and CARTER ROY,
THE BIG BANK
Written by the Seligmann Brothers
New York Musical Theatre Festival
September 27 - October 4, 2011
Finally - a great, big, old-fashioned song-and-dance musical about mortgage foreclosures! Really! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll tap your feet, and then you'll run home and make sure that your next mortgage payment is made on time! Phenomenal tunes by the Seligmann Brothers signal a major new theatrical talent in their debut musical. And we are blessed with a stunning cast that has the most amazing voices and the longest legs in all of NYMF-dom - KLEA BLACKHURST, STACEY TODD HOLT, PIPER GOODEVE, DANIEL MARCUS, CARLY ROSE SONENCLAR, BRYAN HUNT, JAMES PATTERSON, ALEX PUETTE, and CON O'SHEA-CREAL. JOHN BELL waves the baton and DANIEL HALEY keeps all the feet in the air. Click here for more information.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Written by Carey Ramos and Lamont Dozier
New York Musical Theatre Festival
September 29, 2011 @ 5:30pm and September 30, 2011 @ 11:00am
A deliriously, ridiculously star-studded cast including MATT CAVENAUGH, BRAD OSCAR, JENNY POWERS, LYNNE WINTERSTELLER, NICK WYMAN, DANIEL C. LEVINE and ZAL OWEN headline the reading of this delightfully frisky romp with music by the author of over fifty-four (54!) number one hits for the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, et al. It's a head-over-heels romance that follows an uptight lawyer and a free-spirited siren on a worldwide courtship that involves copious amounts of champagne and the occasional major art heist. Click here for more information.
HUCKLEBERRY HAYWOOD - A SPUNK ROCK MUSICAL
Written by Stephen Tyler Davis and Taylor Bridges
New York Musical Theatre Festival
October 14, 2011 @ 1:00pm and 4:30pm
This is an absolutely adorable new musical written by an amazing group of current and former waiters at Ellen's Stardust Diner who decided to take their own lives into their hands and formed their own producing organization, While We Wait Productions. HUCKLEBERRY HAYWOOD is their inaugural effort - the story of an Alabama boy, fresh off the farm, arriving into New York City with a dream (and a somewhat mild case of personality disorder as his entire Alamabamian family resides in his head). Written by STEPHEN TYLER DAVIS and starring a whole mess of fabulous souls including BECKY BARTA, EMILY McNAMARA, DAN SHARKEY, MICHELLE MAISEY MAIS, HEATHER SHIELDS, ABBY BURKE, ANTHONY APICELLA, and NICK DOTHEE. Click here for more information.