More casting has been announced for the Huntington Theatre's third annual "Breaking Ground Festival of New Readings." Joining previously-announced stars Douglas Sills, Nancy Anderson and Jill Paice will be Denis O'Hare, Campbell Scott, Julie White and others; the festival will run from April 6th through 9th at the Boston theatre's Calderwood Pavilion.
Sills (
The Scarlet Pimpernel), Anderson (
Wonderful Town) and Paice (
The Woman in White) will headline
a staged reading of Steven Lutvak and Robert Freedman's new musical Kind Hearts and Coronets on April 6th. Sills will play all eight D'Ascoyne relatives who block disinherited aristocrat Louis Mazzini from becoming the Duke of Chalfont. The show, presented at 7:30 PM, is based on the classic 1949 film starring Alec Guinness.Noah Haidle's (Mr. Marmalade) play Persephone, directed by John Benjamin Hickey, will next be presented on April 7th. The 8 PM reading will feature Julie White (The Little Dog Laughed) as well as Mimi Leiber and Jeremiah Kissel. "Guiseppe is trying to carve an image of the Greek goddess Demeter from
an unyielding block of marble – she's the love of his life. Little does
he know, he's also the love of hers. But relationships are hard,
especially when stretched over centuries," state Huntington notes.
Michael T. Weiss, Pamela Gray and Will LeBow will star in a reading of Valerie Martin's
Property, which she based on her 2003 novel. Set on a New Orleans sugar plantation in 1828, the story concerns a love triangle between a plantation owner, his wife and his slave Sarah, as well as a brewing slave rebellion. That reading will be presented on April 8th at 8 PM. Peter Schneider directs.
A reading of Ronan Noone's
The Atheist will be seen on April 9th at 2 PM. Starring Scott (Ah! Wilderness, Long Day's Journey Into Night), the play concerns "Augustine, a crooked journalist with nihilistic intentions, (who) has made an
art of clawing his way up the professional ladder. When he unveils the
Mayor's tawdry predilections (involving a hidden camera and reams of
videotape), the scandal threatens to undo the one person who thought he
was immune – Augustine himself."
On April 9th at 7 PM, Tony-winner O'Hare (
Sweet Charity, Take Me Out) will star in the staged reading of Theresa Rebeck's
Mauritius.
The world of high-stakes stamp collecting is much seedier and
more dangerous than anyone ever suspected. After her mother's death,
Jackie discovers not only a raft of debts, but an album of old stamps,
one of which may be her ticket to a life-saving windfall. Now too many
philatelists are getting in on the game, and her half-sister's claims
on the album are the least of Jackie's worries." Justin Waldman is the reading's director.
A donation of $10 per person per reading is suggested. Reservations are recommended, as seating is limited. Call 617-266-0800 or visit
www.huntingtontheatre.org for tickets.
