York Theatre Co. & UCI Present 4 15-Minute Musicals

York Theatre Company is partnering with the University of California, Irvine's New York Satellite Program to present "4@15: Four New 15-Minute Musicals" which will be presented on Wednesday, April 18th at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. The show will be held on the York Stage, the Theatre at St. Peter's Church (54th Street, just East of Lexington).

Four writing teams have been engaged to write four original mini-musicals specifically for the thirty-two students in the Program. The teams include Tom Kenaston (Composer/Lyricist) and Tom Paitson Kelly (Librettist/Lyricist), Robby Stamper (Composer) and Arianna Rose (Lyricist), Jim Colleran (Composer/Lyricist/Librettist), and Miriam H. Daly (Composer/Lyricist/Librettist). Tammy Holder is Musical Director and York Theatre's Associate Artistic Director, Brian Blythe, directs.

University of California, Irvine's New York Satellite Program in Music Theatre, now in its 26th season, is a full-time, full-credit program that runs for four weeks within UCI's undergraduate Spring curriculum, featuring daily classes and workshops from 9:00 to 6:00 with a faculty comprised of Broadway and off-Broadway directors, musical directors, choreographers, casting directors, agents, actors, singers and dancers. Students live in Manhattan apartments and enjoy nightly and weekend opportunities to see plays, musicals, dance concerts, museums, and everything that New York has to offer. Past performance workshop directors have included Broadway and off-Broadway notables Uta Hagen, Anne Reinking, Thommie Walsh, Baayork Lee, Randy Skinner, Nicole Fosse, Jenn Colella, James Calleri, Kyle Gonyea, Maribeth Griffith, Jamibeth Margolis, Jenn Foote, Patti Wilcox, Rick Spaans, Tammy Holder, Brian Blythe, Michael Kubala and Josh Bergasse.

"This partnership with UCI is in line with York's mission of being a birthplace for new musicals, providing support for creators of new musical theatre, showcasing new musical theatre talent and providing students with opportunities for hands-on theatre education.York is the only theater in New York City – and one of the very few in the world that is dedicated to this mission developing and producing new musicals and preserving neglected, notable shows from the past," state press materials.

In addition to working with UCI, for its fourth consecutive summer, York will partner with Marymount Manhattan – a liberal arts college in New York City and home to a premiere performing arts program – to offer performers ages 18-27 a New Musical Theatre Intensive. This Intensive will culminate with a performance of an original musical revue on The York Stage. Applications for this Intensive which begins May 21, 2007, are now being accepted. For more information about either the UCI program or the Marymount Manhattan program, please call York Theatre Company at 212-935-5824.

Admission is a suggested donation of $5 at the door. For reservations, call 212-935-5824 x21.  Visit www.yorktheatre.org for more information on the York Theatre Company.