GAYFEST NYC Festival Opens With MOONLIGHT AND LOVE SONGS, 5/24

GAYFEST NYC, Inc. (Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, Producers; Craig Wesley Divino,Associate Producer), the country's premier producer of new LGBT-themed plays, will present the Fifth Festival of Plays, a four-week event filled with powerful theatre works spotlighting gay issues. The Festival opens with New York premiere of Moonlight and Love Songswritten by Scott C. Sickles. Directed by Steven Petrillo, the 7-member cast features Nick Bailey, D.H. Johnson, Kathryn Markey, Gerald McCullouch, Robert Meksin, Corey Richmond Skaggs and Christine Verleny. Performances begin Thursday, May 23 and will continue through Sunday, June 2, 2013 at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex (312 West 36th Street). Opening night is Friday, May 24, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. All proceeds from GAYFEST NYC benefit the Harvey Milk High School.

Moonlight and Love Songs finds forty-five and alone, architect Harry Wallace's romantic dreams come true when he falls in love with Jim, a young college student. Their romance seems motion picture-perfect until a staggering revelation causes it to implode. Public outrage follows as Jim attempts to repair the damage caused by his betrayal and Harry finds himself complicit in the deception.

The creative team includes Michael Bottari and Ronald Case (Set and Costumes), and John Eckert (Lighting). The Production Stage Manager is Amy Francis Schott.

Single tickets are priced at $25 and are available at www.Theatermania.com or by calling 212-352-3101. For additional information log onto: www.GAYFESTNYC.com.

The 2013 GAYFEST NYC Festival continues with the world premiere of The Loves of Mr. Lincoln written by David Brendan Hopes and will be directed by Sidney J. Burgoyne. Performances begin Thursday, June 6, 2013 and will continue through Sunday, June 16, 2013. Opening Night is set for Friday, June 7, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.

In addition, the Festival will present a special event: The BaSiC Theatre Project production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, written by Moisés Kaufman and directed by Zi Alikhan. Performances are set to begin Thursday, May 30, 2013 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 16, 2013. Openinig night is Friday, May 31, 2013 at 8:00 p.m.