Anice, Burke, Jones Lead Cast Of TRAV'LIN At York Theater Co 5/20

The award-winning York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director) announces casting for Trav'lin, the next offering in its acclaimed Developmental Reading Series. As always, these readings are open to the general public and admission is free, but reservations are required. For more information on the York, visit www.yorktheatre.org.

Trav'lin
Music and Lyrics by J.C. Johnson & Friends
Music by Gary Holmes and Allan Shapiro
Thursday, May 20, 2010 • 7 PM

The cast of Trav'lin features Pilin Anice (Dial N' for Negress), Jonathan Burke (Langston in Harlem), RAndy Donaldson (Wonderful Town), Darryl RueBen Hall (Porgy and Bess, Lincoln Center), Jannie Jones (The Full Monty), Vanessa A. Jones (Caroline, or Change) and John Kurzynowski (Galileo). The reading is directed by Ben West (Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter) with music direction by Lafayette Harris, Jr. (The Color Purple).

Trav'lin returns to the York in a new version after being featured in the Developmental Reading Series in February of 2009. This warm-hearted musical following the romantic travails of three couples in 1930's Harlem. The story centers on George, an older gentleman and a self-proclaimed expert on love, who meets his match when he befriends a down-on-her-luck stranger only to find she is not the person she seems to be. The tuneful and jazzy score rediscovers Harlem Renaissance songwriter J.C. Johnson, whose musical collaborators included Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Ella Fitzgerald.

The York Theatre Company's most recent production, Yank!, was recently nominated for two Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding New Musical. Last season, York was nominated for five Drama Desk Awards, four Lucille Lortel Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Drama League Awards for its productions of Enter Laughing, The Musical and My Vaudeville Man! York Theatre Company is one of the only companies in the city committed to developing and producing new Musical Theatre Works and rediscovering musical gems from the past. Winner of a special Drama Desk Award for developing and producing new musical theatre, York's intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike for almost four decades. Under the guidance of Artistic Director James Morgan since 1997, the York has focused exclusively on new musicals in its Mainstage Series-most of them world, American or New York premieres-by some of the field's most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers.

Each year, York's Developmental Reading Series presents between 30 to 40 readings and workshops of new musicals by emerging and established authors, all free of charge and open to the public. Reading Series Coordinator Jeff Landsman says, "These readings give writers a unique opportunity to get audience feedback while a show is still in progress and gives audiences an active role in the creative process." York's current mainstage production, Yank!, as well as past mainstage productions Souvenir and The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) were first developed in the Developmental Reading Series, where the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit Avenue Q also made its first appearances. The Developmental Reading Series is made possible in part by The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

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