TV: NYMF 2009 - THE LAST SMOKER IN AMERICA

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and Andy Sandberg (Hair) present The Last Smoker in America with Book & Lyrics by Bill Russell (Side Show, Tony Award Nominee), and Music by Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao, Drama Desk Nominee).

Directed by Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall), with music direction by Fred Lassen (South Pacific) and choreography by Matt Williams (Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America), the four-member cast includes Natalie Venetia Belcon (Avenue Q) as Phyllis, Felicia Finley (The Wedding Singer) as Pam, Marcus Neville (The Full Monty) as Ernie, Alex Wyse (Mrs. Sharp) as Jimmy, and, in a cameo role, featuring the Voice of Tony Award-winner Alice Ripley (Next to Normal) as Asphyxia.

The limited 6-performance engagement begins Monday, October 12, 2009 and will continue through Sunday, October 18, 2009 at the 45th Street Theater (354 West 45th Street).

The Last Smoker in America is an original, four-character musical comedy about a dysfunctional family struggling to survive in a world where smoking has recently been outlawed. Pam, an English lit professor at a small college, is having an impossible time trying to quit smoking. Her husband Ernie dreams of being a rock star and relentlessly practices his electric guitar in the basement. Their teenage son Jimmy listens to so much rap music he's convinced he's black. Their nosy, anti-smoking zealot neighbor Phyllis lurks around trying to catch transgressors mid-puff. Will Pam kick the habit or fight for the right to light up as The Last Smoker in America?

The creative team includes Charlie Corcoran (Sets), Michael McDonald (Costumes), and Bart Fasbender (Sound). The Production Stage Manager is David M. Beris.

The Last Smoker in America will play the following performance schedule: Monday, October 12th at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, October13th at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 14th at 8:00 p.m., Friday, October 16th at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, October 17th at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 18th at 1:00 p.m. Tickets to individual festival events are now currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org.