Cullum, Tune, Latessa Star in THE LAST DANCE Reading

David Binder and Barbara Whitman will produce a private reading of The Last Dance, a new musical directed and choreographed by Jonathan Butterell on Thursday, July 29. Musical direction is by Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

The cast features Barbara Barrie, Yolanda Bavan, Maxine Brown, Dick Cavett, John Cullum, Dick Latessa, Marni Nixon, Stefan Olaguera, Eugene "Oz" Smith, Pat Suzuki, Tommy Tune and Charles Turner.

The cast will be accompanied by a four member band.
The Last Dance is a new musical about a long neglected part of our society, the aged. The show will feature a cast of 10 older people, ages 65 and up. Through contemporary songs, we get to know this group of spirited and opinionated men and woman as they face the issues of growing older.

Whitman explains "We're all going to get older - hopefully. Yet no one talks about it. It's the big elephant in the room. Rarely is it explored in films or books or theatre. The Last Dance puts issues of aging center stage. We meet an amazing group of people who, through stories and songs, are reflecting on lives lived - the joys, the hardships, the challenges. The Last Dance gives voice to a generation of people who refuse to be ignored."

Jonathan Butterell is the acclaimed and innovative musical stager of A Light in the Piazza, Assassins, Fiddler on the Roof and Nine with Antonio Banderas.

Mary-Mitchell Campbell is currently the music director for The Addams Family, and her many credits include Company(Drama Desk Award, Best Orchestrations), Sweeney Todd, Road Show and Next to Normal(Second Stage).

David Binder and Barbara Whitman's credits together include 33 Variations, Mary Stuart and A Raisin in the Sun. Binder's credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch and De la Guarda. Whitman's credits include Next to Normal and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Photo Credit: Linda Lenzi