Jason Michael Snow, Tobias Segal, et al. Set for REAGAN Reading, 5/16

Alexander Greenfield (Asst. Director, BORN YESTERDAY) will direct a cast that includes Jason Michael Snow (The Book of Mormon), Tobias Segal (The Miracle Worker), Arden Myrin (Chelsea Lately), Lucas Near-Verbrugghe (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson) Maggie Low (Times of War) and Elizabeth West (The Women) in a reading of Pulitzer- nominated Tom Diggs' new play LOVE IN THE TIME OF REAGAN at an industry reading in midtown Manhattan one day only on May 16, 2011 at 3 pm in an undisclosed location.

Long before middle school kids came out of the closet and got bullied, back when syringes washing ashore on a beach would shut it down immediately, the summer Michael Dukakis' shot at the White House disappeared faster than Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," Parker and Cole were trying to find Love in the Time of Reagan.

Love in the Time of Reagan explores the relationship between gay and naive Parker (Jason Michael Snow) and straight and confident best friend Cole (Tobias Segal). Can their friendship coexist with the passions of youth and the politics of the Reagan years? The play looks head on at the world that led to today's gay bullying.

Love in the Time of Reagan takes place during a hazy summer on Cape Cod, a place renowned for its eccentric characters: an oversexed local check-out girl (Arden Myrin), a bad boy with more than a chip on his shoulder (Lucas Near-Verbrugghe), an extreme right-wing grandmother (Maggie Low), and an all-knowing Reagan-era Sexpert (Elizabeth West) who generously offers lifestyle advice to all who cross her path.

Love in the Time of Reagan is the story of young love, the value of friendship, and the responsibility of going after your heart's desire.

Love in the Time of Reagan has been developed at The Lark, id theater, 24Seven Lab, and short-listed for the O'Neill Playwright's Conference. Diggs writes, "I wanted to write a play that is part history play, part valentine to my youth. My intent was to explore and understand the covert homophobia so skillfully institutionalized during the Reagan years. By ultimately connecting the history of covert oppression to today's bullying, a clear and compassionate understanding will emerge to clear away the b.s. and make room for a more hopeful future."

ACTORS:

Jason Michael Snow (Parker). Broadway: South Pacific (Quale). National Tour: Xanadu (Thalia). Playwrights Horizons: Saved (Zac). Goodspeed Opera House: Pirates! (Frederic). Jason received a BFA from The Boston Conservatory and is currently a member of BMI.

Tobias Segal (Cole) was one of the youngest actors to win a Barrymore Award for his performance in Equus. He received both a Drama League Award Nomination and a Drama Desk Award Nomination for his work in From Up Here at Manhattan Theater Club. He appeared in The Bridge Project at Kevin Spacey's Old Vic Theatre (spring and summer 2009) under the direction of Sam Mendes, followed by a brief Broadway run of The Miracle Worker. Tobias was seen in the independent film The Other American, which appeared at the SlamDance Film Festival and Philadelphia Film Festival.

Arden Myrin's (Heather) theater credits extend from coast to coast including David Mamet's Boston Marriage at The Public Theater with Kate Burton and Martha Plimpton. She is a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately and was on Mad TV for 4 years. Other TV and film credits include Kinsey, Morning Glory, Party Down, Reno 911, Friends, Gilmore Girls, Hot in Cleveland, and Royal Pains. She does improv and stand up and can be seen at UCB or her monthly show at Union Hall The Party Machine.

Lucas Near-Verbrugghe (Johnny). Broadway: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (dir. Alex Timbers), The Ritz (dir. Joe Mantello). Off-Broadway: Macbeth (Delacorte), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (The Public), Oohrah! (Atlantic Theater), BOOM! (Ars Nova), STRETCH (Ohio Theater), The Most Excellent Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (CSC and Florence, Italy). Regional: A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Pittsburgh Public Theater and The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice and The Glass Menagerie all at Texas Shakespeare Festival. TV: "Law & Order," "Guiding Light." Film: My Idiot Brother (upcoming). MFA from NYU Tisch.

Maggie Low (Grandma) most recently collaborated with Alexander Greenfield on Happy Days by Samuel Beckett at NYU and with Tom Diggs on Milo at the Movies at Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. Also: Times of War by Eric Lane directed by Martha Banta, Candle In The Window by Tom Gilroy, directed by Michael Imperioli, Catholic School Girls by Casey Kurtti, directed by Burry Fredrik. She played Gertrude in Hamlet with JarEd Harris and Lili Taylor. Film & TV include: Poverty Outlaw, Postcards from America, Burnzy's Last Call, The Houses That are Left, and a guest lead on Law & Order. www.maggielow.com

Elizabeth West (The Sexpert). Elizabeth West is originally from the UK, but now splits her time between Harlem and Hollywood. She has appeared in NYC in The Women for The Roundabout at American Airlines Theatre and has worked off-Broadway for The New Group , MTC, The Culture Project and off-off Broadway with the award-winning Rising Phoenix Rep, among others. Regionally she has worked at Northern Stage in Vermont , a five-year stint in Chicago, and in the West Coast Premiere of The History Boys at the Ahmanson Theatre with Alex Brightman. Film and TV include Law & Order, From Stage to Screen on PBS and the indie film Anamorph .She has been involved with Love in the Time of Reagan since its early days with the 24Seven Lab.

Tom Diggs (Playwright)
Tom's work has been seen at major regional theatres, including The Seattle Rep, East/West Players, Intiman Theatre, 24Seven Lab, Seven Devils Playwriting Conference, The Kennedy Center, Pittsburgh New Works Festival, Vital Theatre, and Moving Arts. A Yorkshire Fairie Tale won the Aurand Harris Award at NETC in 2006 and was produced at The Michael Weller Theatre in NYC. Fair and Decent opened the 2007-2008 Luna Stage season and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Tom most recently created and produced the pilot for the web series Perks, which will launch in June, 2011. Tom graduated from NYU's Tisch of the Arts in 2007 with an MFA in Dramatic Writing, was named a Dramatist Guild Fellow for 2007-2008, and is an alum of BMI Songwriting Workshop.

Alexander Greenfield (Director)
Alex is an Atlanta raised, New York based stage. He has directed work by Samuel Beckett, Doug Wright, Caryl Churchill, and Stephen Sondheim as well as numerous new and original plays. Most recently, he assistant directed three Broadway shows-MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION, ELLING, & BORN YESTERDAY. Alongside Tony-winning director, Doug Hughes (DOUBT), he has worked with such actors as Cherry Jones, Sally Hawkins, Denis O'Hare, Brendan Fraser, Jim Belushi, Nina Arianda, and Robert Sean Leonard. As an Artistic Associate at 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta, GA, Alex worked to create a three-week training intensive in devised theatre. He was a core collaborator on the resulting workshop performance: THE BANANA RAPTURE OF 2012. Alex has directed at the Seven Devils Playwriting Conference and has worked in an administrative capacity for FringeNYC and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Alex will be directing SWEENEY TODD this fall at Fabrefaction Theatre Company. BFA with honors in Theatre from New York University: Tisch School of the Arts.

"Tom Diggs has written an American play of great humor, love, and relevancy," says Greenfield. "I cannot wait to hear these accomplished actors bring it to life around a table."

The reading is produced by MYTP Productions LLC.

Industry professionals interested in attending the reading, please make a reservation at lovereagan2011@gmail.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos