Donna Lynne Champlin to Star in PRIDE & PREJUDICE, 9/29 at NYMF

The New York Musical Theatre Festival and J&B Productions present the musical Jane Austen'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, a musical - a story of "First Impressions" and second chances - with music, lyrics and book by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, directed by Igor Goldin ("YANK!"), and starring, in the title role of Jane Austen, Donna Lynne Champlin ("Sweeney Todd," "Billy Elliot"). Jane Austen'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, a musical is presented as part of the 2011 New York Musical Theatre Festival and will play at Signature Theatre's Peter Norton Space (555 West 42nd Street) in Manhattan beginning September 29 - with only 6 performances available.

Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy's romance comes to life with fresh eyes as Jane Austen revisits her unpublished manuscript, First Impressions. As Austen transforms their story into what will ultimately become her masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice, both the author and her characters struggle to learn the joy of second chances.

Directed by Drama Desk Award nominee Igor Goldin ("YANK!," "Unlock'd") Jane Austen'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE will star Donna Lynne Champlin in the title role of Jane Austen, with additional casting TBA.

Jane Austen'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE has book, music and lyrics by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs, choreography by Lucille Lortel Award nominee Jeffry Denman ("Yank!"), musical direction by Timothy Splain ("Adding Machine"), set design by Josh Zangen, lighting design by Zach Blane, costume design by Colleen Kesterson, and general management La Vie Productions.

Donna Lynne Champlin most recently was seen on Broadway in "Billy Elliot," her other Broadway credits include "Sweeney Todd," "By Jeeves," "James Joyce's The Dead" and most notably for her portrayal of Older Helen (based on a young Carol Burnett) in "Hollywood Arms" written by Carol Burnett and directed by Harold Prince. Other NYC/Off-Broadway credits include "Master Class" at the MET, "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" (OBIE Award), "Bury The Dead," "Flight of the Lawnchair Man" (NYMF award, "Outstanding Performance"), "Love Jerry" (NYMF award, "Outstanding Performance"), "First Lady Suite," "My Life with Albertine," City Center Encores! "Bloomer Girl," and Carnegie Hall's "Very Warm for May." A Princess Grace Grant winner and Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Donna Lynne graduated with high honors from CMU and studied at Oxford on scholarship with an emphasis on Shakespeare and Chekhov.

Lindsay Warren Baker began collaborating with Amanda Jacobs in 1997 when they co-authored "Daniel: The Musical." Additional works by Baker and Jacobs include "Lily, a Musical Portrait," "All the Buzz" (Winner: Youth Education on Stage 2010 Summer Shorts 5, Williston, ND); "Personal Foul" (Winner: St. John Fisher College & Spotlight Theater Arts 2010 Celebration of One Acts, Rochester, NY); "The Rendez-Vous;" "Blocked" and are currently working on a play for children, "In the Garden." Baker received her BA in theater and music from St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN), and trained at the O'Neill National Theater Institute (Waterford, CT), Moscow Art Theater (Russia), GeVa Theatre Center (Rochester, NY) and spent two months during the summer of 2010 in Ghana, Africa studying West African music and dance. She is also currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree at SUNY Empire State College concentrating on performing arts and cultural studies. Member: Dramatists Guild of America

Amanda Jacobs earned her BMus degree in Piano Performance from Wesleyan College (Macon, GA) and completed graduate studies in piano pedagogy, voice, jazz theory and organ. After moving to Rochester, NY in 1996, she discovered her talent for composition when inspired to compose "Daniel: The Musical" and began working with Lindsay Warren Baker. While working on "Daniel," she learned orchestral composition and arranging. In 2005, within a two-week period, she composed original orchestrations for a revival of Sigmund Romberg's "Maytime" for the Ohio Light Opera (Wooster, OH) and now arranges and scores all of her collaborative work with Baker. In June 2010, Jacobs' "Mass for the Living" won an Honorable Mention from the Foundation for the Sacred Arts and received its world premiere with the NIH Philharmonic Orchestra (Washington D.C.) in December 2010. Other accomplishments include the 2009 First Prize Winner of the 6th Annual Long Island Arts Council Composition Competition for her "Garden Verses," the 2010 Honorable Mention in the "Celebrating Grace" Composition Competition for an SA Choral Arrangement, and First Prize for the Marin Lutheran Church composition competition for her original SATB anthem "Peace, Be Still." Member: Dramatists Guild of America

Igor Goldin's credits include: Off-Broadway: "With Glee" (Prospect Theater Company at Theatre Row), YANK! (York Theatre Company - Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical). Previous productions of "YANK!;" Diversionary Theatre, San Diego (Outstanding Achievement in Direction of a Musical, StageScene L.A.) The Gallery Players (2008 New York Innovative Theatre Award) and the New York Musical Theatre Festival (2005 Talkin' Broadway Outstanding New Summer Musical). Other productions for NYMF: "The Tenth Floor" (2010 Talkin' Broadway Outstanding New Summer Musical); "Sing, But Don't Tell;" "Liberty;" "Main-Travelled Roads" (2008 Richard Rodgers Award staged reading); "Unlock'd" (2007 Best in Fest Award); "Common Grounds" (NYMF 2006 Award for Excellence in Direction). Other credits: "Liberty" (Workshop), "Like You Like It," (2009 New York Innovative Theatre Award). Tours: Associate Director, "Seussical" directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Theatreworks USA). Regional: "...And Then I Wrote A Song About It" (Luna Stage, NJ and Diversionary, San Diego), "The Mystery of Irma Vep," "The New Century," "A Little Night Music," "I Love You Because" (NH Theatre Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical), "Romance Romance," "The Complete History of America (abridged)," "Blithe Spirit," "Dracula," "Violet," "The Spitfire Grill" and "The Full Monty." Igor was nominated by his peers as a top 5 finalist for the 2010 SDC Joe A. Callaway Award for Distinguished Direction. Member: Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).

Now in its eighth 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 ensuring their creators 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 2011 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com. 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, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 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.

Performances of Jane Austen'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE will run Thursday, September 29 at 8:00pm; Saturday, October 1 at 9:00pm; Sunday, October 2 at 1:00pm; Sunday, October 2 at 5:00pm; Friday, October 7 at 1:00pm; and Tuesday, October 11 at 5:00pm at Signature Theatre's Peter Norton Space (555 West 42nd Street) in Manhattan.

For additional information on Jane Austen'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, please www.pride-prejudice-musical.com or www.nymf.org.