Lisa Brescia, Julie Hanson & Remy Zaken to Lead ROSE PETALS Reading at NYMF, 7/12 & 14

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) will present a developmental reading of Rose Petals, staring Lisa Brescia (Mamma Mia, Wicked, Aida), Julie Hanson (Phantom of the Opera) and Remy Zaken (Spring Awakening).

Rose Petals, an official selection of the 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival, has music by Elizabeth Hagstedt and book & lyrics by Sarah Rebell, When spunky debutante Maude becomes pregnant, her mother will go to any lengths to maintain the family's precarious place in the society of Gilded Age New York. Will the ensuing scandals, schemes, and slander tear the family apart?

The reading also stars Charissa Bertels (A Christmas Story), Ken Clark (February House) and Cooper Grodin (Shakespeare in the Park's Into the Woods), with Rachel Bahler ("Pan Am"), Haley Greenstein, Jeff Manno, Elyssa Samsel (Fairy Tale at NYMF), Amanda Savan (Cruel Shoes at NYMF), Emily Stokes and David Alan Thornton.

Rose Petals is directed by Celine Rosenthal, music directed by Karl Michael Johnson and stage managed by Laura Lindsay.

Rose Petals will be presented on July 12th at 3PM and 7PM and July 14th at 7PM at Theater Row Studio, 410 West 42nd Street, NYC.

For more information, please visit http://www.nymf.org/tickets/2013-events/rose-petals

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.

Now in its tenth year, the Festival is the largest musical theatre event in America. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 85 festival shows have gone on to productions on and off-Broadway, in 48 states, and more than 20 countries worldwide, and Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2013 is presented in association with Dunkin' Donuts, BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group, TheaterMania.com, New World Stages, Fox 5 New York, Tilson Consulting, The Out NYC, King Displays, Times Square Squared, Thomson Reuters, Nasdaq OMX, Backstage, Next Magazine, Ironpaper, BroadwayInsider.com, TheMenEvent.com, and Yelp. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The BWF Foundation, Con Edison, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer Phinney, The New Musical Development Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating are currently on sale. To purchase memberships or single tickets for Festival events, call (212) 352-3101 or visit www.nymf.org.