RIALTO CHATTER: Is BARE Back? October Reading Likely

BroadwayWorld has learned that the musical BARE may be getting a staged reading in New York in October.  Randy Taradash and Martian Entertainment would produce the reading of the Damon Intrabartolo and Jon Hartmere piece. Stafford Arima will direct and Lynne Shankel will musical direct. The reading would begin either October 23 or October 24 and run through October 31.

BARE is the coming-of-age story of five high school seniors at a co-ed Catholic boarding school who face issues of sexuality and personal identity. To figure out who they are, they seek answers from their church, their friends, and ultimately, themselves. BARE deals with homosexuality, religion, drugs, and other issues relevant to today. BARE has been described as a kind of cousin to Broadway's RENT - pop and rock songs telling the stories of young people yearning to connect and be authentic in a time of great personal chaos.

The musical debuted at the Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles, California, running from October 2000 - February 25, 2001. The New York production of bare, at the American Theatre of Actors off-Broadway, ran from April 19 - May 27, 2004. The Los Angeles production and the New York production were both directed by Kristin Hanggi. bare made its Houston debut at The Country Playhouse Black Box Productions June 6-21, 2008. It was directed by O'Dell Hutchison with musical direction by Luke Kirkwood. bare had its Canadian Premiere in the Summer of 2009 at the Hart House Theatre, Toronto. The production was produced by WatersEdge Productions Inc. Bare had its Sydney Premiere in September 2010 at the New Theatre, as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival. Bare played at the Black Box Theater (also known as The Complex Performing Arts Center) in Putnam Connecticut from July 8-16, 2011. It was performed by MacEwan University performing arts grads and Raw ManGo Productions at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, August 14-20, 2011.