ABOVE HELLS KITCHEN Plays NYMF At TBG Theatre 10/4-17

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and La Vie Productions present ABOVE HELL'S KITCHEN. Performances will take place from October 4th, 2010 through October 17th at TBG Theatre - 312 West 36th Street 3rd Floor New York, NY 10018. Official Opening is set for Monday, October 4th, 2010 at 8:00pm.

In order to grow we must confront our demons... An eccentric therapist is on the brink of falling in love for the first time in years when a neurotic rock musician comes to call. Dream play? Ghost story? Romantic comedy? Gothic Tragedy? Jonathan Spottiswoode and his cult band, Spottiswoode & His Enemies, bring a sexy expressionist twist to Don Giovanni that is tinged with jazz, blues, rock, gospel, classical and punk. They say love is a game - so who can you blame for playing?
Jonathan Spottiswoode (Author) grew up in London and now resides in New York. His songs have been covered by numerous artists and featured in a variety of independent and Hollywood films. The New Yorker has called him a "genius" and a "downtown ringleader." S&M, his recent duo collaboration with Riley McMahon, was voted the Best DIY Release of 2007 by Performing Songwriter Magazine and nominated for an Independent Music Award. He has also put out two solo CDs, including the 2010 Old Soul release, PIANO 45. Spottiswoode's 7-piece band, Spottiswoode & His Enemies, has released four acclaimed CDs, toured nationally and internationally, played at Lincoln Center, and performed residencies at some of New York's most prestigious venues. In 2008, in honor of the band's tenth anniversary, Spottiswoode was profiled on NPR's "Weekend Edition." www.spottiswoode.com

Hayley Finn (Director) is committed to new writers and new stories. She has directed New York and Regional premieres and serves as the ResidentDirector and Lab Producer at The Playwrights' Center. New York premieres include Katecrackernuts (The Flea Theater), Scab (Greenwich Street Theater), and the operetta Metal (HERE Arts Center) by Sheila Callaghan, The Lake (The Flea Theater), Golem and Dead Reckoning (both at Cherry Lane Theatre) by Gary Winter, Bold Girls by Rona Munro (Women's Expressive Theatre), The Shoe Box at Ebbets Field by Ross Berger (Cherry Lane Theatre), Double Sophia by Kendra Levin (Cherry Lane Theatre), and The Apology which she co-adapted with actor Yusef Bulos (The FleaTheater). Additional credits include Caryl Churchill'sNot, Not, Not, Not, Not Enough Oxygen (Drama League), Jigsaw Nation (Relentless Theatre) which has toured across the country (South CoastRepertory, The Curious Theater, Ellis Island), and Hysteria: Silence in Stills (Women Center Stage Festival at the Culture Project). Regional credits include Hiding In The Open by Kira Obolensky (The History Theatre), Permanence Collection by Kira Obolensky and Ed Bok Lee (Walker Art Center), Ady by Rhiana Yazzie (Pangea World Theatre), and Doe by Trista Baldwin (Workhaus Collective). She has assistant directed numerous plays for Michael Mayer including the Tony Award winning productions of A View From The Bridge, Side Man and the musical You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. She also assisted Gerry Gutierrez on Man of La Mancha and Susan Schulman on the premiere of Violet. She has directed workshops and readings for such organizations as The Public Theater, New Dramatists, The New Group, and The Kitchen. Hayley is the recipient of the Ruth Easton Directing Fellowship, the Drama League Directing Fellowship, and the TCG New Generations Future Leader Grant. She holds both a B.A. and M.A. from Brown University.
CAST:
Justin Badger (Hair; Welcome Home, Hamlet! (Joe's Pub)) as "Vic / Charley"
Andrea Frierson (The Lion King; Once On This Island) as "Dr Charity"
Elizabeth Ward Land (The Scarlet Pimpernel; ABC's One Life To Live) as "Ethel"
George Merrick (South Pacific; High Fidelity) as "Gary"
Jonathan Spottiswoode as "DJ"
Yasmeen Sulieman (Junie B. Jones; TLC's Hi-5) as "Isabel"
also starring Spottiswoode & His Enemies
CREATIVE TEAM: Scenic Design - Josh Zangen; Costume Design - Meghan Healey; Lighting Design - Stephen Brady; Sound Design - Jeremy Lee; Projection Design - Austin Switser; Stage Manager - Jessica Felix; Production Manager - James Cleveland / La Vie Productions; Vocal Arrangements - Jeffrey Lodin; Choreographer - Janine Molinari; Musical Director - Riley McMahon; Director - Hayley Finn.
La Vie Productions (Producer) is dedicated to managing, developing and producing new works, fostering new talents and attracting new audiences. La Vie Productions works as a Producer, General Manager, Production Manager and Manager for Theatre, Music and Film. Some current projects include: Liberty: A Monumental New Musical, Vinilo (NYC based Latin Rock Band - debut album "ALO!" will be released this fall), Extremities (a new multi-media stage show in development), The Love Project Journey (a documentary film and CD about the top musicians in the world - now available www.drumaddict.net), and The Sphinx Winx (a new off-Broadway musical). www.lavieproductions.com
Now in its seventh year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and their creators to ensure the continued vitality of one of America's greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2010 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group, TheaterMania.com, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and is supported by AP-Red.com, Back Stage, Barnes and Noble, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, King Displays, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Queerty.com, Season of Savings, Tekserve, Terra Fossil, Thomson Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Ariel Phinney, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, Cameron Mackintosh Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Spiritus Gladius Foundation, and The Theater League. 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.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org. Single tickets for Festival events will go on sale September 1.
ABOVE HELL'S KITCHEN plays at TBG Theatre (312 West 36th Street) as follows: Oct 4th at 8pm; Oct 7th at 5pm; Oct 12th at 9pm; Oct 13th at 4:30pm; Oct 15th at 8pm and Oct 17th at 1pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.nymf.org or by calling (212) 352-3101. For more information, please visit www.nymf.org/AboveHellsKitchen.