Judy Kent, currently represented on Broadway as a producer of Driving Miss Daisy, presents an invitation-only reading of Welcome to My Life, a new pop/rock musical with a book by Alicia Dempster and Bobby Cronin, music and lyrics by Bobby Cronin. The reading will take place on April 11, 2011 at 2pm.
The cast of the reading will include Dee Roscioli (Elphaba in Wicked), Gerard Canonico (American Idiot, Spring Awakening), Andrew Call (American Idiot, Glory Days), Katrina Rose Dideriksen (Hairspray, Things To Ruin), Sheri Sanders (Rock the Audition), Zachary Infante (School of Rock), Emily Rogers, and Andrew Barbato. Brian Gallagher and Lauren Elder (Hair) provide offstage voices.
Erica Ruff Productions is the associate produce and general manager. Maria Pendolino stage manages as well as reads stage directions. Musical direction is by William Demaniow. Direction is by Johanna Pinzler. Chris Lane will play guitar.
Welcome to My Life is a raw, honest, relevant and important portrayal of real issues facing today's teenagers, set to a powerful contemporary pop/rock score. Erica Ruff Productions and Judy Kent sent the project on a week-long developmental retreat in the Catskills where the producers and writers were able to bring their vision to life. Welcome to My Life is rapidly gaining momentum as a socially important and an incredibly powerful piece of theatre. An out-of-town production is next, aiming for a NYC commercial production.
Bobby Cronin is the composer/lyricist of: Welcome To My Life, book by Alicia Dempster & Bobby Cronin; ‘Til Death Do Us Part, book by Allen Mogol; Cyrana, book by Crystal Skillman; he contributed four songs to the MITF-award winning score of Ten Reasons I Won't Go Home With You, book by Kelly Nichols; and Daybreak. Cronin co-wrote A Christmas Carol with Angelyn Fullarton Benson which has played at numerous regional theatres, and he won Best Original Music at the LA WebFest for his work on the hilarious theatre-based Web series Thank You, Next. Bobby's work was recently showcased by SimG Productions at The New Players Theatre in London featuring top West End performers and musicians. A graduate of Yale University, Cronin is a member of The Dramatists Guild and ASCAP. His debut CD Reach The Sky: Bobby Cronin Live at The Beechman is available on iTunes, Amazon.com and at www.bobbycronin.com. Represented by James Beresford, Shepherd Management UK.
Alicia Dempster is a lifelong theatre enthusiast with over 30 years of experience onstage, backstage and in the director's chair. Dempster is the co-librettist of Welcome to My Life with Bobby Cronin and librettist for Harvest Home. She received her B.A. in Theatre/Musical Theatre from Ohio Northern University and is Co-Founder/Executive Director of the Connecticut-based non-profit theatre company, TheStage Repertory Company. Recently, Alicia has produced several concerts as part of the Musical Mondays! series at the historic Palace Theatre in Danbury, CT. She has also helmed numerous productions in Connecticut and recently co-directed and co-produced Chad Beckim's play, A Matter of Choice, at the New York International Fringe Festival. Other recent directing credits include Parade, My First Time, Doubt, Little Shop of Horrors, Little Women, Peter Pan, The Diviners, When Pigs Fly, A Few Good Men and How I Learned To Drive. A member The Dramatists Guild, Alcia continues her collaboration with Cronin on several projects currently in development. www.aliciadempster.yolasite.com
