Diane Phelan Joins THE DIAMOND AS BIG AS THE RITZ Industry Reading

With the addition of Diane Phelan (The King and I, Here Lies Love), casting is complete for the staged reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Diamond as Big as The Ritz, (www.theritzmusical.com) at 7pm, Thursday, November 9and 1PM Friday, November 10 at the Dramatists Guild Fund's The Music Hall, 356 W. 40th St., 2nd Floor.

Set to the rhythms of early 20th century music, F. Scott Fitzgerald's comic novella is told through the eyes of young foreign woman seeking to immigrate to the U.S. With Fitzgerald's deliberate satire involving impossibly wealthy Americans and the author's cavalier treatment of race issues, the story takes on added comic satire and an edgy, engrossing perspective. A mostly non-white cast of five actors bring to life characters from the present and the 1920s.

Phelan joins Marc de la Cruz (If/Then, Pacific Overtures), Reji Woods (The Wiz), Shiniya Daniels and Matthew Schatz (Heathers: the Musical). Directing the reading is Austin Regan, whose work has been seen at Ars Nova, the Hangar Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Joe's Pub, 54 Below, MTF 4x15, the Julia Miles Theater, the Zipper Factory, #serials@theflea, FringeNYC, the 92nd St. Y, the 52nd Street Project, New York University, the Boston Conservatory, and the United Nations. Cody Dry is music directing.

Directing the reading is Austin Regan, whose work has been seen at Ars Nova, the Hangar Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Joe's Pub, 54 Below, MTF 4x15, the Julia Miles Theater, the Zipper Factory, #serials@theflea, FringeNYC, the 92nd St. Y, the 52nd Street Project, New York University, the Boston Conservatory, and the United Nations. Cody Dry is music directing.

The Diamond as Big as The Ritz features music and lyrics by Seth Bisen-Hersh and book and additional lyrics by R.C. Staab. Among his many projects, Bisen-Hersh has written Love Quirks (three-week NYC run), Stanley's Party (Manhattan Children's Theatre) and More to Love (WVMTF Award winner for Best Lyrics), more than 200 cabaret songs and two books. Staab's musicals and plays have been produced in New York, San Francisco and England and include Dumb Luck, winner of the TRU Voices New Musical Series 2017 and Music Theatre of Madison's 2017 Festival of New Musicals.

Admission is free but the November 9th reading is at capacity. To RSVP, email: rcstaab@me.com.