OTHER WORLD Presents Industry Reading in NYC Featuring Ryan Andes, Max William Bartos, Shonica Gooden and More

An invitation-only reading of the new musical Other World will take place on Thursday, March 9 (2:30pm) and Friday, March 10 (11:00am) at the Lyric Theatre Studios (Lyric Theatre - Studio A, 214 West 43rd Street, NY, NY 10036). Other World features a book by Hunter Bell, music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and Ann McNamee, and will be directed by Gabriel Barre.

When avid online gamer Sri, and confirmed non-gamer Lorraine, are magically and unexpectedly sucked into Sri's favorite video game, Other World, they must find a way to work with each other and, with the aid of fellow gamers and their avatars, survive the game and find a way home.

The cast of the reading of Other World will feature Ryan Andes, Max William Bartos, Shonica Gooden, Ryan J. Haddad, David Hess, Micah Hilson, Miriam A. Laube, Justin Gregory Lopez, Tiffany Mann, John McGinty, Bonnie Milligan, Mary Kate Morrissey, Shiv Ajay Pancholi-Parekh, Jamie Parton, Seth Rettberg, Dee Roscioli, Blake Stadnik, Carla Stickler, Ali Stroker, and Sally Ann Triplett.

Music Supervision for Other World is by Mary-Mitchell Campbell. Casting by Telsey + Company. General Manager is Alchemy Production Group. Design is by Weta Workshop.

Hunter Bell (Book) earned an OBIE Award, a Drama League nomination, a GLAAD Media nomination, and a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical, all for the original Broadway musical [title of show]. Other credits include the books for Silence! The Musical, Now. Here.This. (Vineyard Theatre), Bellobration! (Ringling Bros. Circus), Villains Tonight! (Disney Cruise Lines), Found (Atlantic Theater, Drama Desk Nomination), and Julie Andrews' The Great American Mousical (Goodspeed). He is a co-creator of the web series the [title of show] show and has developed television with ABC Studios/ABC Television. Hunter is a proud graduate and distinguished alumnus of Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts, a member of the Dramatists Guild, Writers Guild, a MacDowell Fellow, and currently serves on the board of the Educational Theatre Association, a national arts advocacy organization representing theatre teachers and students. @huntbell

Jeff Bowen (Music & Lyrics) wrote the music and lyrics for and starred in the Broadway musical [title of show] (OBIE Award) and Now. Here. This. Additionally, he has written music and lyrics for Now. Here. This. (Vineyard Theatre), Villains Tonight! (Walt Disney Company) and the theme songs for the web series the [title of show] show and Squad '85. His songs can be heard on the original cast albums of [title of show], Now. Here. This., as well as Broadway Bares openings and Over the Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project. He's developed TV sitcoms, designed Broadway show websites, and worked as a florist. He is a proud member of ASCAP, AEA, Writers Guild, Dramatists Guild, and the National Audubon Society. He serves as a faculty member of the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. He also serves on the advisory board of Unsung Musicals and Stetson University's School of Music.

ANN McNAMEE (Music & Lyrics) received a B.A. from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in Music Theory from Yale University, leading to a twenty-year career in teaching, choral conducting, and music research at Swarthmore College. After retiring as Professor Emerita, Ann composed for, sang, played keys, and toured with the Flying Other Brothers and Moonalice, both bands led by her husband Roger McNamee. For the Lilith Fair tour in 2010, she fronted the band Ann Atomic. She retired from touring in 2012 in order to collaborate on musical theater projects full-time. Ann's outside interests include co-founding the Tembo Preserve for African elephants and co-founding the Haight Street Art Center, a community center/poster museum/print shop to celebrate rock poster art in the Bay Area. annmcnamee.com

Gabriel Barre (Director) is the internationally-acclaimed director of Amazing Grace on Broadway. His off-Broadway credits include the original productions of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party (nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards including Best Director); Summer of '42; Son of a Gun; Stars in Your Eyes; Honky-Tonk Highway; john & jen; and Almost, Maine. He also directed the national tours of Pippin and Cinderella and his regional credits include the world premiere production of Memphis at the North Shore Music Theatre as well as Sweeney Todd, Finian's Rainbow, and many new musicals at Goodspeed Musicals. His international credits include the world premiere of the Frank Wildhorn musical Carmen, as well as Jesus Christ Superstar and Aida in Prague, Czech Republic, and the new musical Tears of Heaven in Seoul, Korea.

Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Music Supervisor) is a well-known music director, conductor, orchestrator, and arranger in the Broadway community. She just finished a two-week run on Broadway with Kristin Chenoweth in My Love Letter To Broadway. Her New York credits include: Sweet Charity (with Sutton Foster), Tuck Everlasting, Finding Neverland, Big Fish, Company, Sweeney Todd, Next to Normal, and The Addams Family. She won a Drama Desk for Best Orchestrations for Company, and was nominated for Best Orchestrations for her work on Allegro and Hello Again. She has a very active concert career and performs frequently with Kristin Chenoweth, Jonathan Groff, Laura Benanti, and Raul Esparza. She has also worked with Carole King, John Legend, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Elvis Costello, Josh Groban, Amy Grant, and Renee Fleming. She is passionate about arts education and poverty reduction, and started the nonprofit ASTEP- Artists Striving To End Poverty (www.asteponline.org) as a way to bring artists into the solutions. She is from North Carolina and has taught on the faculties of Juilliard, NYU, and Boston College.

WETA WORKSHOP (Design) For over 20 years, five-time Academy Award-winning Weta Workshop has applied creativity and craftsmanship to blockbuster films and hit television series including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, King Kong, Avatar, District 9, Thunderbirds Are Go, and Ghost in the Shell. This diverse, innovative company is also a tourist destination, producer of consumer products, interactive studio in collaboration with Magic Leap, behind-the-scenes facility, and creator of public sculptures and exhibitions, like the Te Papa's record-breaking Gallipoli: The scale of our war. CEO Richard Taylor is involved in all projects, from concept to completion.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos