Opel, Saltzberg, Sesma, Etc. Star in 3/5 Waterwell Benefit

The acclaimed theatre ensemble Waterwell has announced its second annual Waterwell Cabaret Benefit, which will once again take place on Monday, March 5, 2007 at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street). 

The performance will be hosted by Waterwell ensemble members  Hanna Cheek, Rodney Gardiner and Kevin Townley and will feature performances by Waterwell ensemble member Nicole Parker (recently seen on Broadway in Fame Becomes Me and a regular on the long-running comedy series "MadTV") as well as Broadway vets Carey Anderson (Mamma Mia!), Anjali Bhimani (Bombay Dreams), Heath Calvert (Good Vibrations), Jordan Gelber (Avenue Q), Sarah Hyland (Grey Gardens), Nancy Opel (Tony nominee for Urinetown), Sara Saltzberg (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Stephen Scarpulla (Gypsy), Thom Sesma (The Times They Are A-Changin') and Elizabeth Stanley (Company).  The evening begins at 7:30 p.m. with a pre-show cocktail reception inside The Public Theater, followed by the performance, which begins at 9:30 p.m. in Joe's Pub.

The cocktail reception will also feature an auction featuring such items as an original Diane Von Furstenberg dress and signed memoir, a weekend trip to Maine, singed scripts from the casts of "Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy," etc.

"Founded in 2001 in Bloomington, Indiana, Waterwell relocated to New York City in 2002.  The company devises fresh new productions – or 'drops' - that blend everything from original live music to incisive social commentary and interaction with the audience.  The most recent Waterwell drop was the critically acclaimed Marco Millions (based on lies), which played the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row in August of 2006.  In 2005, The Persians . . . a comedy about war with five songs enjoyed a twice-extended run, first at the Theatre Under St. Marks and then at The Perry Street Theatre, and is currently published by the New York Theatre Experience in its indie theatre anthology Playing With Canons.  Other Waterwell drops include Lost in Yemen, or The Bizarre Bazaar at Collective: Unconscious, an adaptation of Fuenteovejuna at the Duplex Cabaret Theater, the original piece Stuck at the Peoples Improv Theater, the double-bill Chill & Serve at the Ground Floor Theatre and Sweetness & Light at Altered Stages," according to press materials.

The Waterwell ensemble includes Happy Anderson, Hanna Cheek, Lauren Cregor, Rodney Gardiner, Brian McMullen, Arian Moayed, Joe Morse, Nicole Parker, Elizabeth Payne, Tom Ridgely and Kevin Townley.