Well-Strung: The Singing String Quartet Returns to Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, Now thru 3/16

Back by popular demand, Well-Strung: The Singing String Quartet, will return to play a limited three-week engagement (tonight, February 28-March 16) at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater (10 West 64th Street - located in the YMCA).

Directed by Donna Drake, Well-Strung will play Thursday-Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at www.well-strung.com, by calling 800-838-3006, or in person at the box office (open 2 hours before each performance).

Well-Strung have been called a 'mash-up of string quartet and boy band,' that feature classical musicians who sing, putting their own spin on the music of Mozart, Vivaldi, Pink, Lady Gaga, Adele, and more. They are Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Christopher Marchant (second violin), Daniel Shevlin (cello) and Trevor Wadleigh (viola). Music arrangements are by Daniel Levinson with additional arrangements by Daniel Shevlin. The show was conceived by Christopher Marchant & Mark Cortale and written by Donna Drake & Mr. Cortale, with additional material contributed by Jeffery Roberson.

Coinciding with this return engagement will be the release of the group's debut CD on Twist Records. Produced by Matt Farber (Founder of LOGO Network) and Mark Cortale, the CD will be available on opening night (February 28).

The foursome enjoyed a sold-out debut engagement at New York's Joe's Pub in May 2012, followed by a summer of packed houses at the Art House in Provincetown, MA, before returning to New York for a three-week engagement this past fall. For further information, visit www.well-strung.com.

Edmund Bagnell (First Violinist) played Tobias in the 1st National Tour of "Sweeney Todd" directed by John Doyle. He was most recently seen this fall in Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Medium" playing the role of Toby opposite Varla Jean Merman. Recent regional theater credits include Charlie Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Summer Theater of New Canaan), Charlie in The Big Holiday Broadcast of 1959 written by Joanna Gleason (Fairfield Theater Company), and Oramel Howland in The Great Unknown written by Jim Wann (Pump Boys and Dinettes) and Bill Hauptman (Big River) as a part of NYMF.

Donna Drake (Director) has appeared in the original Broadway casts of A Chorus Line, Sophisticated Ladies, Woman of the Year, The Wind in the Willows, 5678-Dance, It's so nice to be Civilized and the original production of The 1940s Radio Hour. She was an Emmy nominee for Dear Alex and Annie, and received 4 Drama Desk Nominations, a Mac Award Nomination and a Theatre World Award. She also directed John Tartaglia's Imaginocean, which ran Off Broadway at New World Stages.

David Levinson (Arrangements) collaborated with Stacey Weingarten and Donna Drake on Les Enfants de Paris (world premiere NYMF 2011). David is also currently working on music and lyrics for Boys Lost, The Elliot's, and Who Is Prester John? which are in development.

Chris Marchant (Second Violinist) grew up singing and playing violin, but was not involved with theater until the end of his studies at Malone University in Canton, OH. Since then, he has been involved in numerous productions utilizing his multi-talents as a vocalist, actor, and musician. Career highlights include Tobias (Sweeney Todd, National Tour), violinist (Spring Awakening National Tour), Dennis (Sanders Family Christmas), and Naked Boys Singing.

Daniel Shevlin (Cellist/Arrangements) appeared off-Broadway in The Sandbox written and directed by Edward Albee, toured the U.S. and Asia in productions of Rent and Cabaret (Studio 54 version), and has worked regionally as both an actor and cellist in many theaters including the Arvada Center (CO), The Maltz-Jupiter Theatre (FL), Riverside Theatre (FL), and Mason Street Warehouse (MI), to name a few.

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