Pop Singer Sariah to Appear in NYMF's ZOMBIE STRIPPERS THE MUSICAL, 7/21-26

The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Spectre Productions, LLC will present the new Pop Musical, ZOMBIE STRIPPERS, featuring Billboard chart-topping pop singer Sariah ("Deep N Luv"), July 21 at 3PM, July 25 at 9PM & July 26 at 1PM, at Ford Foundation Studio Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd St. ZOMBIE STRIPPERS is directed by Diane Englert with book, Lyrics and music by Mark LaPierre.

What do you get when you mix the Undead, Strippers, a horrible boyfriend and a Banshee with a super sultry pop/dance score? ZOMBIE STRIPPERS! Rebooting the Dance Musical for the club generation, ZOMBIE STRIPPERS makes you happy you are in a theatre seat, even as you want to shake yourself out of it. Part fast-paced farce, part sweet friendship story, all sexy and hilarious, this musical takes place in one wild night in a graveyard where one has come to mourn, one has come to murder, and many have come back from the dead!

Mark LaPierre's musical Heart Failure (later Heart Beatings) received a reading at the York (Off Broadway). His Off-Off Broadway productions include Grimm Late Night, Pinokenstein, Bitterella and Zombie Strippers with NY Artists Unlimited. Heart Beatings received Best Score and Best New Musical from the Portland Area Musical Theatre Awards when produced by CoHo Theatre. Mark created and curated 4x4=Musicals, a project where new musicals are written to be performed on a four foot by four foot platform, which has enjoyed three sold-out seasons and returns in 2015. Contributed pieces to 4x4=Musicals include: New York Minute, Tech Booth, the Musical (viewable on YouTube) and lyrics for The Adventure of the Case. He wrote book and lyrics for Cinderella, commissioned by puppet theatre Tears of Joy, which has toured the country for fourteen years. Other commissions include scores for Aristophanes' The Birds and Peace, both produced at Classic Greek Theatre of Oregon, songs for a TV pilot The Other Sock, and a score for Kaiser Permanente's touring health show The Amazing Food Detective. Pinokenstein was workshopped at the Eugene O'Neill Puppetry Conference and won a Best of the O'Neill Award. He attended the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.

Director Diane Englert's New York credits include: Heart Failure (workshop at the York Theatre), Pinokenstein (NY Artists Unlimited). Regional theatre credits include Lobby Hero (Artists Repertory Theatre); The Sisters Rosensweig, Angel Street, Beau Jest, Sight Unseen (Portland Repertory Theatre); selections from 365 Days/365 Plays (JAW/Portland Center Stage); Crimes of the Heart, The Dinner Party, Lettice and Lovage, The Woman in Black (Lakewood Theatre Co.), Honus and Me (Oregon Children's Theatre), and 3 seasons as a director and contributing writer to 4x4=Musicals. Co-Founder of SPECTRE Productions and Executive Director of Staged! Musical Theatre.

Music Director Andrew Wheeler's NYC credits include: It's a Wonderful Life (dir: Mary-Kate Burke); Failure by Philip Dawkins (w/ Max Von Essen, dir: David F. Chapman); Ligeia (Metropolitan Room); Hedwig...(w/ Jonathan Whitton); Welcome to the World (with Julie Foldesi, Chris Hanke); and Bring Back Birdie (2006 MAC Award Nominee). Regional: Sweeney Todd (Playmaker's Rep.); Fiddler...(w/ Bill Nolte, dir: Gary John LaRosa), Legally Blonde, JCS (CFRT); Hairpsray, Triumph of Love, ...Forum, Annie, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, ...Spelling Bee (Millbrook); Do Patent Leather Shoes...? (dir. by David F. Chapman). BFA from NYU/Tisch (CAP21).

The cast of ZOMBIE STRIPERS features Ellie Bensinger, Wendell Bullen, Ryan Farnsworth, Celeste Hudson, Megan Misslin, Laura Otremba, Sariah, and Joshua Stenseth.

Production design for ZOMBIE STRIPPERS includes scenic design by Will Pike, lighting design by Drew Billiau, choreography by Kelby Brown and costume design by Virginia Belt.

Performances of ZOMBIE STRIPPERS are on 7/21 at 3PM, 7/25 at 9PM and 7/26 at 1PM. Tickets are $25 and available online at www.nymf.org or by calling tel: 212-352-310. ZOMBIE STRIPPERS is is an official selection of the 2014 New York Musical Theatre Festival. For more information, visit www.zombiestrippersmusical.com, or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/dancezombiemusical.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.

Now in its eleventh year, the Festival is the largest musical theatre event in America. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theatre fans. More than 90 Festival shows have gone on to productions on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters in 48 states, and in more than 20 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theatre, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theatre Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2014 is presented in association with Fuzzrocket, TheaterMania, and Production Resource Group. NYMF is supported, in part, 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/member.