Laura Benanti and Rob McClure to Lead Workshop of IRVING BERLIN'S HOLIDAY INN at Goodspeed

Goodspeed Musicals announced on its Facebook page today that Broadway's Laura Benanti and Rob McClure will be leading the company's upcming workshop of Irving Berlin'S HOLIDAY INN in NYC.

The event will be the first invitation-only reading of the brand new musical, based on the Universal Pictures classic. With a book from writers Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge, the adaptation will feature music and lyrics by Irving Berlin.

Read the original news here.

This heart-warming holiday treasure which features such timeless hits as "Happy Holiday" and "Easter Parade" will be directed by Gordon Greenberg, who has directed numerous Goodspeed productions including Happy Days, and Pirates of Penzance at the Goodspeed Opera House; The Fabulous Lipitones, and The Baker's Wife at The Norma Terris Theatre; and in New York, the Drama-Desk Award winning production of Working. Chad Hodge created several television series including NBC's "The Playboy Club" and the upcoming FOX series "Wayward Pines."

Benanti's Broadway credits include The Sound of Music, Swing!, Into the Woods, Something Good, Nine, The Wedding Singer, Gypsy - for which she won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical - In the Next Room and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. She also recently appeared in NBC's live presentation of The Sound of Music, starring Carrie Underwood. Her TV credits include Law & Order: SVU, Royal Pains, Go On, The Playboy Club, Eli Stone and Starved.

McClure last starred on Broadway in Chaplin in 2012, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. His other stage credits include Avenue Q and I'm Not Rappaport, as well as the Muny's production of Shrek the Musical last summer.

The World Premiere musical Holiday Inn, based on the Academy Award-winning film, is produced in association with Universal Stage Productions and by arrangement with The Irving Berlin Music Company. Universal Stage Productions is the Live Theatre division of the world-famous motion picture studio which has produced such Broadway hits as Wicked, Billy Elliot, Bring It On, the recent award-winning revival of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess and many more.

The show is set to make its debut at Goodspeed from September 19 to November 30, 2014.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride