NYMF's Vampire Rock Musical THE CURE Holds Broadway Blood Drive 9/20 At The Theater At HA!

The vampire rock musical The Cure will sponsor a Broadway blood drive through the New York Blood Bank on Sunday, September 20th from 12noon-5pm at the Theater at HA! (at 163 West 46th Street). The production runs from September 29th-October 11th at the American Theatre of Actors as part of the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Written by Mark Weiser, The Cure features direction from Elizabeth Lucas (Wild About Harry, The Last Starfighter, and The View From Here at NYMF), and is produced by The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Samantha Saltzman.

To RSVP for the blood drive, please email bloodrsvp@gmail.com

In The Cure, two longtime friends, Gray and Alex, reunite for one last night of revelry; Gray's childhood illness has returned, threatening his survival, and Alex has been cast out by his family because of his sexuality. As the night progresses, they find themselves invited to a secret party where they stumble upon the sanctuary of the world's last surviving vampires, including a mysterious girl named Unique. With their identity in jeopardy, the vampires must protect their secret and invite the two friends to join them. While Alex embraces their offer, Gray rejects them and escapes, pitting the entire coven of vampires against him, and risking everything for the love of a girl he may never see again. At the crossroads of humanity and immortality lies...The Cure.

Featured in the cast are Manu Narayan (Bombay Dreams on Broadway, subUrbia at Second Stage, The Love Guru starring Mike Myers), Michael Buchanan (Broadway's Cry-Baby, Mame at the Kennedy Center), Tim Carosi, Brie Cassil, Tony Edgerton (National Tour of Joseph), Daniel Greenwood, Gregg Goodbrod (Thoroughly Modern Millie on Broadway), Kyle Harris, Lianna Jessop, Tony Ramos (Babes in Toyland at Lincoln Center), Zak Resnick, Kyra Selman, Jen Sese (Mamma Mia! Las Vegas), Cat Stephani, and Lindsie Van Winkle (Pinkalicious).

The production will also feature choreography from Shea Sullivan (Road to Ruin, and Wild About Harry at NYMF, Broadway Bares), costume design by Cherie Cunningham, scenic design by Solomon Weisbard, and lighting design by Herrick Goldman (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Actor's Fund Benefit Concert). Mark Hartman (Associate Conductor of Avenue Q on Broadway) will serve as musical director. The Cure is also the recipient of a grant from the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust (www.annasosenkotrust.org).

The Cure runs from September 29th to October 11th at the American Theatre of Actors (315 West 54th St), playing the following performance schedule: Tuesday, 9/29 at 8pm, Friday, 10/2 at 10:30pm, Saturday, 10/3 at 1pm, Tuesday 10/6 at 8pm, Saturday 10/10 at 9pm, Sunday 10/11 at 1pm.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.NYMF.org

For more information on The Cure, visit www.thecuremusical.com

The New York Musical Theatre Festival, now in its sixth year, has premiered more than 175 new musicals since 2004. The largest musical theatre event in America, NYMF has been hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," and is widely regarded as the key source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2009 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by Back Stage, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, King Displays, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, New World Stages, NASDAQ OMX, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, Queerty.com, Reuters, Sweet Caroline's, Tekserve, TheMenEvent.com, The Tank, and Times Square Squared. 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 Mayer, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. NYMF's programs are made possible with public funds 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 available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org.

Photo credit: Nick Gaswirth