Scotty Arnold and Alana Jacoby's MORTALITY PLAY Reading Set for Joe's Pub, 3/12

Rock out at JOE'S PUB on Wednesday March 12th at 7pm with this one- night-only concert reading of MORTALITY PLAY, the new hybrid rock show/morality play by Composer Scotty Arnold and Bookwriter/Lyricist Alana Jacoby.

Todd wants to be a rock star, but he's living in London in 1349 and the plague keeps getting in his way. With ultimatums from loved ones getting him down and the ghost of his former bandmate pressuring him to make a choice, Todd will have to figure out how to survive the pervasive specter of the Black Death and reconcile his drive to make art with the needs of those suffering around him. Half rock show and half medieval morality play, this new musical follows a young man's struggle to do the right thing, both for himself and his community.

Developed at the Yale Institute for Music Theater under the direction of Mark Brokaw and previously presented at Ars Nova's ANT Fest, MORTALITY PLAY will feature Gerard Canonico (American Idiot, Spring Awakening), Bradley Dean (A Little Night Music, Spamalot), Jeremy Kushnier (Jesus Christ Superstar, Footloose), Eric William Morris (Mamma Mia!, Bloodsong of Love), Hannah Whitney (The Mistakes Madeline Made, La MaMa Cantata), and Luke Wygodny (American Idiot, The Disappearing Man). West Hyler (Jersey Boys, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) will direct, and Jess Glover (The Other Josh Cohen, Tales from the City) will direct the band, which comprises Eric Day (Bass), Patrick Deeney (Guitar), and Trey Files (Drums).

Catch a sneak preview of the songs at https://soundcloud.com/mortalityplay.

The reading will take place ONE NIGHT ONLY on Wednesday, March 12th at 7pm at JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater at 425 Lafayette St. Tickets: $25 at 212-967-7555, joespub.com and at The Public Theater Box Office or Joe's Pub

"The exciting thing about MORTALITY PLAY is that the songs really are rock songs that you'd hear on the radio," raves Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), "but they're working dramatically to tell this very compelling story."

ALANA JACOBY's musicals include Mortality Play, Trivøya Gold, Who Wants To Be Adopted? and Pandora's Paintbox. Her shows have been presented at the Yale Institute for Music Theater, Ars Nova, NYU, and Brown University; her songs have been featured in cabarets at the Barrington Stage Company, 54 Below, the Laurie Beechman Theater, and Joe's Pub. She has a BA from Brown University, where she graduated with honors in playwriting, and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she received the Paulette Goddard Scholarship. She is a teaching artist for the Roundabout Theater Company.

SCOTTY ARNOLD has written music for Mortality Play (Yale Institute for Musical Theater, Ars Nova), That Time We Found A Sasquatch in the Woods (Merry-Go-Round Playhouse), The Wonderful Visit (NYU), The Distant Land of My Father (Margaret Wingrove Dance Company), Tereshkova (Music Theater Company, IL), Lost & Found (Nautilus Music Theater), and The Veteran's Wife (Colony Theater, CA). He holds a BA in Theatre Arts and Music from Santa Clara University and MA in Musical Theater Writing from NYU, and has studied at the Academy for New Musical Theater (CA) and New Dramatists. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.