Alexis Bledel, Reed Birney & Rob McClure to Lead Reading of Tom Schulman's SACRILEGIOUS

Sacrilegious, a new play written by Academy Award winning screenwriter Tom Schulman (Dead Poets Society) and directed by Andy Sandberg (Application Pending; The Last Smoker in America), will receive two invitation-only readings in New York on May 7-8, 2015.

The cast features Tony nominee and Drama Desk winner Reed Birney (Casa Valentina; I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard; "House of Cards"), Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls," "Mad Men," Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), and Tony nominee Rob McClure (Honeymoon in Vegas; Chaplin) with Kevin Pariseau (Legally Blonde) and Kenneth Tigar (Fish in the Dark).

"Billionaire David Katz (Birney), once convicted of felonies for his financial misdeeds, donates twenty million dollars to his temple provided they name their school after him. Young, newly installed rabbi Mark Pickerman (McClure) strenuously objects and offers the congregation an alternative option. A struggle for the hearts and minds of the congregation - as well as those of Katz, Rabbi Pickman, and Katz's beautiful daughter Elissa (Bledel) - ensues. It's going to be an interesting High Holy Days."

TOM SCHULMAN (Playwright) wrote Dead Poets Society, for which he received an Academy Award. He also wrote What About Bob?, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Medicine Man, and Holy Man. He wrote and directed Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag. He was an executive producer on Indecent Proposal and Me, Myself and Irene. He was the writer/producer of Welcome to Mooseport. He co-wrote and co-produced The Anatomy of Hope, a pilot for HBO. His next film will be Morgan's Summit, staring Terrence Howard. Schulman served on the board of directors and then as vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West. He also served on the board of directors and then as President of the Writers Guild Foundation. Schulman graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Philosophy. He studied at the USC Graduate School of Cinema, the Actors and Directors Lab with directors Jack Garfein and Harold Clurman, and more recently with director Joan Darling. He directed the Actors' Studio West production of Harold Pinter's The Caretaker.

ANDY SANDBERG (Director) most recently directed the world premiere of Application Pending (co-authored with Greg Edwards), which received a 2015 Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance. He has previously directed the world premieres of Craving for Travel, also co-authored with Greg Edwards (Peter J. Sharp Theater), The Last Smoker in America (Westside Theatre / CATCO), Operation Epsilon (Central Square Theater, MA; four IRNE Awards, including Best Play and Best Director; three Elliot Norton noms.), Shida (Ars Nova / A.R.T.; four AUDELCO Award noms., including Best Musical and Best Director), and Zelda at the Oasis (St. Luke's). Sandberg has been represented on Broadway and London's West End as a producer of the hit revival of HAIR (2009 Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle Awards), the Broadway revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man (2012 Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle Nominations), and Will Eno's The Realistic Joneses. As a director, other New York credits include R.R.R.E.D. and Bernice Bobs Her Mullet (NYMF). As producer: A Perfect Future (Cherry Lane Theatre); Paradise Found (Menier Chocolate Factory, London; dir. Hal Prince and Susan Stroman); Vigil (DR2 Theater); and Pageant (Davenport Theatre; 2015 Drama Desk nomination - Outstanding Revival of a Musical). Sandberg worked with Hal Prince on the Broadway production of LoveMusik. B.A. Yale University. Proud member of SDC / AEA. Alumni Boards: Yale Dramat, Yale Alley Cats (President), and The Whiffenpoofs. AndySandberg.com / @Andy_Sandberg

Photo Courtesy of Rex