Sydney James Harcourt Will Lead Industry Reading of New Musical POPSTAR

An invitation-only staged reading of the new musical PopStar - featuring an original score by one of the music industry's leading songwriting teams - will take place at Ripley Grier, 305 W. 38th Street, on Thursday, October 17 and Friday, October 18.

Featuring a book by Martin Casella (The Irish Curse) and music and lyrics by Sophie Dupin (Manhattan Nocturne starring Adrian Brody; performs as Brix) and Jay Levine ("iCarly"), PopStar is conceived and directed by Sharon Rosen (Play It Cool) and choreographed by Josh Assor (Saturday Night Fever National Tour - Assoc).

PopStar features an original story and score about what it takes to make your mark in the cutthroat music industry. "Buzz" Michaelson - a driven, brilliant, but abrasive Hollywood record executive - decides to strike out on his own, risking it all to take his young proteges to the top of the charts. Featuring an exuberant, pulsing pop score and a diverse cast, PopStar is a modern tale about taking charge of your own destiny at all costs.

The cast includes Sydney James Harcourt (Hamilton) as "Buzz", Roman Banks (Dear Evan Hansen) as "Luka", Kalyn West (The Prom) as "Katie", Sally Wilfert (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Beea??National tour) as "Mimi", Ashley D. Kelley (Eve's Song Off-Broadway) as "Daphne", Eddie Cooper (The Cradle Will Rock Off-Broadway) as "The Lodge", Perry Young (In the Heights National tour) as "Marco", Amy Keum (Be More Chill - regional) as "Daisy", Levin Valayil as "Chaz". The ensemble features Liam Allen, Ian Campayno, Erik J. Christensen, Alex Hartman, Carolyn Miller, Genny Lis Padilla, Nico de Jesus, Cajai Fellows Johnson, and Monica Woods.

The music team for PopStar includes Dominick Amendum (First Date) and Aaron Jodoin (Pretty Woman) as Music Supervisors, and Matt Hinkley (Godspell) as Music Director. Casting is by Geoff Josselson (Southern Comfort, Yank!) and general management is by Alchemy Production Group (Come From Away).