Michael McGrath and Beth Leavel Set for Broadway-Bound SUGAR BABIES Workshop Tonight, 9/20

Shooting High Productions is producing an AGVA-sanctioned workshop/showcase of the Broadway-bound production of SUGAR BABIES, starring Tony Award winnersMichael McGrathandBeth Leavel tonighht, September 20th.

Richard Sabellico will direct, with music direction by Nick De Gregorio and choreography by Denis Jones.

The SUGAR BABIES workshop is set to rehearse September 10-14, with two 75-minute presentations on September 20, 2012 in New York City.

Starring alongside Tony winners Michael McGrath and Beth Leavel are Brooks Ashmanskas, Richard Bell, Jack Doyle, Marty Passante, Jennifer Cody, Kelley Bradshaw, Mary Callahan, Melissa Jones, Amanda Kloots-Larsen, Brittan Marcin, Beth Nicely, Abbey O'Brien, Jillian Owens, Kristyn Pope, Kimber Stevenson, Scott Brateng, Barry Busby, Sean Quinn and Clifton Samuels.

SUGAR BABIES, a tribute to the burlesque era, was conceived by Ralph G. Allen and Harry Rigby and with music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields and Al Dubin. It opened on Broadway in 1979 with staging and choreography byErnest Flatt, music direction by Glen Roven, scenic and costume design by Raoul Pene Du Bois, lighting by Gilbert Vaughn Hemsley, Jr., and vocal arrangements and lyrics by Arthur Malvin, with orchestrations by Dick Hyman.
The original Broadway cast starred Mickey Rooneyin his Broadway debut, as well as Ann Miller, Scot Stewart, Tom Boyd, Peter Leeds, Jack Fletcher, Jimmy Matthews, Bob Williams, Sid Stone, Michael Davis and Ann Jillian.
 
The Broadway run was followed by a short 1980 US tour, which starred Carol Channing and Robert Morse. That same year, it was nominated for eight Tony Awards. Following a second US tour, SUGAR BABIES debuted on the West End in 1988.

Michael McGrath was last seen on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It, for which he won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. He has also appeared in Born Yesterday, Memphis, Is He Dead?, Spamalot, Wonderful Town, Little Me, Swinging on a Star, The Goodbye Girl, My Favorite Year and more. His Off-Broadway credits include The Butter and Egg Man, Game Show, Exactly Like You, Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, The Boys from Syracuse, The Cocoanuts, Louisiana Purchase, Forbidden Hollywood, Du Barry Was A Lady and several incarnations of Forbidden Broadway.

Beth Leavel just finished her run in the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma's Call Me Madam. She was last seen on Broadway in Baby It's You!, as well as Elf - The Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, Mamma Mia!, 42nd Street, The Civil War, SHow Boat and Crazy for You. Her Off-Broadway and regional credits include Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Lone Star Love, The Jazz Singer, An Unfinished Song, Broadway Jukebox, Promises, Promises and more.