Andy Sandberg to Direct LAST SMOKER IN AMERICA at Westside Theatre; Opens 8/2

The new musical comedy The Last Smoker in America will get its New York premiere this summer, it was announced today. The Last Smoker in America, with book and lyrics by Tony Award® Nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and music by Drama Desk Nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao), will be directed by Tony Award-winning producer and director Andy Sandberg (Hair; Gore Vidal's The Best Man) and choreographed by Tony Award® nominee AC Ciulla (Footloose). Performances begin Wednesday, July 11, 2012 upstairs at The Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street), with an official Opening Night set for Thursday, August 2, 2012. Casting will be announced shortly.

The Last Smoker in America is a raucous and irreverent four-character musical comedy about a dysfunctional family struggling to survive in a world where smoking has recently been outlawed. Pam is having an impossible time trying to quit. Her husband Ernie dreams of being a rock star and relentlessly practices his electric guitar in the basement. Their teenage son Jimmy listens to so much rap music he's convinced he's black. Their nosy, anti-smoking zealot neighbor Phyllis lurks around trying to catch transgressors mid-puff. Will Pam kick the habit or fight for the right to light up as The Last Smoker in America?

The musical received a developmental workshop production at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in the fall of 2009 where it extended and played to sold-out audiences. In the fall of 2010, The Last Smoker in America received its world premiere at CATCO (Columbus, Ohio), where additional performances were added due to popular demand.

The creative team includes Fred Lassen (music supervision), Charles Corcoran (sets), Michael McDonald (costumes), Jeff Croiter & Grant Yeager (lights), Bart Fasbender (sound), and Jay Binder (casting). Roger Alan Gindi is the General Manager and Pamela Edington is the Production Stage Manager.

The producers for the New York run of The Last Smoker in America include Andy Sandberg, Whitney Hoagland Edwards, Michael Palitz, and Stephanie Rosenberg.

The Last Smoker in America will play the following performance schedule: Mondays at 8:00 p.m., Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m., Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., Thursdays & Fridays at 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.

Tickets priced at $85.00 go on sale on May 24, 2012 and will be available through Telecharge.com, or by calling 212-239-6200. For more information about the show, please visit www.lastsmoker.com.

Photo credit: David Alkire.