Julia Murney et al. Lead 2 Week Run of PETER & I Industry

A reading of a brand new musical entitled Peter & I was held on August 4th at Ripley Grier Studios. Peter & I stars Chris Dwan, Julia Murney (Wild Party, Wicked), Jack Noseworthy (Sweet Smell of Success, A Chorus Line), Emily Padgett (Rock of Ages, Grease), Constantine Rousouli (Hairspray, Wicked), and Lucas Steele (Three Penny Opera, The Kid). The ensemble includes Kimberly Burns, Ben Hart, Geoffrey Kidwell, Jeff Leatherwood, ShaRon Taylor, and Hernando Umana. Book and lyrics for Peter & I were written by Matte O'Brien who will also direct the show. Music was composed by Matt Vinson. O'Brien's most recent work includes the Whoopi Goldberg producEd White Noise at the Royal George in Chicago and the Le Petite Theatre in New Orleans. Amanda Morton (16 Days) is the Musical Director for the piece.

Peter & I had two previous readings, one in New York and one at Syracuse University New Work's program. The piece has been selected as part of the inaugural season of The Araca Project, a new program created by The Araca Group to support emerging theatre artists. The mission of the Project, according to The Araca Group, is "to give artists a pride of ownership in their careers by providing a forum which both manifests their artistic visions as well as galvanizes classroom theory with real-world action."

The project will culminate in a two-week run at the American Theater for Actors today through October 16th.

Based on true events, Peter & I is a musical brimming with questions of faith, loss, salvation, love and immortality. It explores the mysteries surrounding the life and death of Michael Llewelyn Davies; one of the boys who inspired J.M. Barrie to create the character of Peter Pan in his classic tale, Peter and Wendy. Michael's journey is woven together with snapshots from his life, including time with his mother and J.M. Barrie, as well as his lover at Oxford University, Rupert Buxton and the fictional characters of Peter and Wendy which he helped to inspire.

Peter & I is being produced by Alex Alcheh, Emily Batsford, Lee Ann Gullie, Rebecca Leifman, Justin Nichols, Patrick Murney and Rope Swing Entertainment.

To purchase tickets please visit http://peterandi.eventbrite.com/.

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski