More casting has been announced for an Equity
staged reading of The Man in the Iron Mask, a new musical (and not to be confused with the show of the same name that shuttered in London this past August).
Brian Charles Rooney (the upcoming Threepenny Opera) and Paul Jackel (The Secret Garden) will play the boy king Louis XIV and Three Musketeer Athos, respectively. They join the previously-announced Ron Bohmer (The Woman in White, The Scarlet Pimpernel) as Aramis, Richard Roland (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Follies revival) as D'Artagnan and Marla Schaffel (Tony-nominated for Jane Eyre, Les Miserables) as the Queen Mother, Anne.
Adam Alexander, Adam
Armstrong, Deborah Bowman, Kyle Bradford, Selby Brown, Kimberly
Chesser, James DiMarino, Michelle Doucet, Osborn Focht, Bonnie Fraser,
Keith Gerchak, Deborah Grausman, John Haggerty, Dana Hart, Rebecca
Kupka, Tommy Labanaris, Jason Simon, Lucy Sorensen, Joseph Torello and
Alan Wager will also take part in the reading.
The
reading will take place on Monday night, February 13th, 2006 at the
Lamb's Theatre (off Times Square). The Man in the Iron Mask is
composed by Jeffrey Campos with book and lyrics by Shad Olsen. Brian
Swasey will direct the reading with musical direction by Phillip
Kirchman.
"The Man in the Iron Mask follows the story of Philippe, a
sheltered boy who has grown up in exile because he is the identical
twin to the king of France," according to the creators. "As a second
heir to the kingdom, he is considered a threat by the king and locked
into an iron mask to conceal his identity. The Three Musketeers, now
retired from duty, reunite to save Philippe and overthrow the
tyrannical king. In the short course of the mission, Philippe
experiences the world that has been kept from him, and he rises above
it as a man worthy of the crown," state press notes.
A previous reading of the first act of The Man in the Iron Mask was
presented in New York in May. Since then, the writers of the show have
been sharpening the piece, aiming for "the action and sweep of the
cinematic renditions," according to notes.