NYMF Presents V-DAY, Begins 10/4

The New York Musical Theater Festival and John Ellison Conlee present The World Premiere of V-DAY-Book, Music & Lyrics by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen, Directed by Ted Sperling

An Official Selection of the 2010 New York Musical Theater Festival
Limited Run Begins October 4, 2010 at Urban Stages

From two of the minds that brought you Don't Quit Your Night Job comes V-Day, a new musical by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen that will make its world premiere on October 4th at 8pm as part of the 2010 New York Musical Theater Festival.

Josh Cohen hates Valentine's Day. This year is no exception: he's unlucky in love, working a job he hates, and his apartment just got robbed of everything except a Neil Diamond CD. But when an unexpected treasure arrives in his mailbox, he's forced to confront his biggest enemy: his own conscience. Woven with songs in the "Diamond style," V-Day is about doing the right thing, even when it sucks.

Directed by Tony-Award winner Ted Sperling (See What I Wanna See, South Pacific, Guys & Dolls) with Musical Direction by Vadim Feichtner (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), the hilarious comedy stars authors Steve Rosen (Guys & Dolls, Spamalot, The Farnsworth Invention) and David Rossmer (Titanic, Fiddler on the Roof) both as the ill-fated Josh Cohen along with Sara Chase (The Toxic Avenger, The First Wives' Club), Feichtner, Hannah Sielatycki and Danny Stone, all of whom will also double as the band.

The creative team for V-Day includes Associate Director/Musical Staging by Andrew Palermo, Set Designer Dane Laffrey, Lighting Designer Bradley Clements, Sound Designer Ted Pallas, Costume Designer Meredith Benson and Production Stage Manager Jennifer Rogers. Produced by Lauren Bass.

V-Day runs: October 4th at 8p, October 5th at 1p, October 6th at 4:30p, October 8th at 8pm, October 9th at 1p, and October 10th at 4:30p & 8pm. at Urban Stages, located at 259 W. 30th St. btw 7th & 8th Avenues. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased any time at www.nymf.org or, beginning September 27th, in person at the box office.

For more information about the show or to purchase tickets, visit www.nymf.org or call 212-352-3101.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

David Rossmer & Steve Rosen met each other on stage doing an improv at French Woods summer camp. They have since been collaborators on a number of projects, and occasionally punch each other in the face. Rosen and Rossmer created, wrote and hosted, with Dan Lipton and Sarah Saltzberg, the comedy improv variety show Don't Quit Your Night Job, which began at Joe's Pub in downtown NYC and migrated off-Broadway to the HA! Comedy Club in Times Square, The Zipper and the Julia Miles Theater. Rossmer and Rosen wrote, with Lipton, The Great Broadway Shuffle, which Rosen has performed to standing ovations at Joe's Pub, Ars Nova and somewhere else no one can remember. Currently, Rosen and Rossmer are splitting their efforts between creating their warped new game show People You Know are Aliens in New York, and developing their TV show, Say Ah, in Los Angeles. V-Day is their first musical... and quite possibly their last, because one of them doesn't bathe properly. You know who I'm talkin' about. Seriously, it's gross.
ABOUT THE CAST

Steve Rosen holds a degree from New York University. He has appeared on Broadway in Guys and Dolls, The Farnsworth Invention and Monty Python's Spamalot (original cast; Sir Bedevere, et. al.), directed by Mike Nichols. Rosen has performed Off-Broadway (The Golem, The Castle), regionally at La Jolla Playhouse and NY Stage and Film, and has appeared on television and in films -- including "Ed," "Law and Order," "Five Year Plan," "Kings.", Storytelling and the upcoming Arthur (2011). He wrote and performed in his own one man show at Ars Nova: "Steve Rosen Shamelessly Exploits His Role in 'Monty Python's Spamalot'. Occasionally, Rosen will sneak into David Rossmer's room while he's sleeping and attack him with a spatula. He thinks it's funny. Following this, he will appear in the world premiere of James and the Giant Peach, directed by Graciela Daniele.

David Rossmer holds a degree from Penn State University. He is singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the rock band The Misconceptions and has performed numerously on and off-Broadway, in films and TV shows (Titanic, Fiddler on the Roof, "Losing Leah," End of the Line, Robots, Barrymore Award nominee, Nerds, etc.). With collaborator Dan Lipton, he has penned a number of musicals, including JOE!, notes to MariAnne and The Blonde Streak. They also write special material regularly for singers including Kelli O'Hara (Lincoln Center American Songbook, Café Carlyle) and Sutton Foster (Joe's Pub). Rossmer is author of the play When the Dog Comes Knockin' at Your Door and the screenplay Pariss. Occasionally, he has nightmares of Steve Rosen coming into his room and attacking him with a spatula. He finds it terrifying. David will be appearing this winter in the NYC production of Peter and the Starcatcher.

Sara Chase: can currently be seen in "The Others Guys" and "The Winning Season." Theatre: originated all three mistresses in "The First Wives Club Musical" (Best Supporting Actress, San Diego Theatre Critics Award) and Sarah in "The Toxic Avenger" (OCR.) Her own show "Jen & Angie" played the Fringe, Upright Citizens Brigade LA/NY, and the offices of OK! Magazine. TV: series regular on "Michael and Michael Have Issues" (Comedy Central), "Mercy." Next up: "Arthur."

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Ted Sperling is a director, music director, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, singer, pianist and violinist. He is the music director and conductor for the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific and recent revival of Guys and Dolls.

Mr. Sperling won the 2005 Tony and Drama Desk Awards (with Adam Guettel and Bruce Coughlin) for his orchestrations of The Light in the Piazza, for which he was also music director. Other Broadway credits as music director/conductor/ pianist include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Angels in America, My Favorite Year, Falsettos, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Les Misérables, Roza, and Sunday in the Park with George. Mr. Sperling was also an original cast member of the Broadway musical Titanic. Off- Broadway credits as music director include A Man of No Importance, Wise Guys, A New Brain, Saturn Returns, Floyd Collins, Falsettoland, and Romance in Hard Times.

Mr. Sperling's work as a stage director includes the world premieres of three musicals: See What I Wanna See, Charlotte: Life? Or Theater? and Striking 12, as well as a revival of Lady in the Dark. He has conducted the scores for the films The Manchurian Candidate and Everything Is Illuminated, and directed the short film, Love Mom, starring Tonya Pinkins, which has been shown in five international festivals.

Mr. Sperling has an active concert career, working with singers Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Patti LuPone, Kelli O'Hara, Paulo Szot and Deborah Voigt. He has conducted concerts with the New York Philharmonic, for Live at Lincoln Center, the American Songbook Series at Lincoln Center and the Lyrics and Lyricists series at the 92nd Street Y. He recently conducted a concert presentation of Ricky Gordon's opera, The Grapes of Wrath, at Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Sperling was a recipient of the 2006 Ted Shen Family Foundation Award for leadership in the musical theater and is the Director of the Music Theater Initiative at The Public Theater, as well as the Creative Director of the 24-Hour Musicals.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

Now in its seventh 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 their creators to ensure 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 2010 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group, TheaterMania.com, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and is supported by AP-Red.com, Back Stage, Barnes and Noble, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, King Displays, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Queerty.com, Season of Savings, Tekserve, Terra Fossil, Thomson Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. 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, Cameron Mackintosh Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Spiritus Gladius Foundation, and The Theater League. 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.