Brightman, Strong Lead THE PERKS OF WRITING A MUSICAL Web Series

Executive Producer/Creator Tom Diggs is pleased to announce Alex Wyse (Mrs. Sharpe, Bored to Death), Alex Brightman (Wicked), Allison Strong (Bye, Bye Birdie), Paul Cereghino (Tony and Tina's Wedding) and Arden Myrin (Chelsea Lately, Mad TV) will join the cast of THE PERKS OF WRITING A MUSICAL, a new scripted musical web series to be launched this spring on blip.tv and YouTube.

Glee meets Wii.

THE PERKS OF WRITING A MUSICAL is the big-hearted story of Josh, a tech-savvy gamer, in love with the beautiful Courtney, but too shy to tell her how he feels. With his nerd-herd/tech posse and Darwin, his gay and most fun friend ever, they secretly write Courtney a musical based on her favorite book, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. It's the story of young love, the importance of friendship, and the responsibility of going after your heart's desire.

Drawing from the talents of the Broadway community, THE PERKS OF WRITING A MUSICAL will feature irresistible songs by Jason Michael Snow (The Book of Mormon, South Pacific, BMI) and Mishaela Faucher (BMI), including "She Doesn't Know My Name (Absolutely Hell)" soon to be available on iTunes.

Alex Wyse was last seen in the NY Music Theatre Festival production of The Last Smoker in America. He was "Charlie" in the Workshop/Reading of Mrs. Sharpe at Playwrights Horizon where he was also seen in the reading of The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World. Alex has the recurring role of "Steve" in the HBO series Bored to Death.

Alex Brightman just finished a 2-year run playing "Boq" in Wicked on Broadway. Other stage credits include Glory Days at Circle in the Square Theatre and the West Coast Premiere of The History Boys at the Ahmanson Theatre. Film and TV credits include Important Things w/ Demetri Martin on Comedy Central and the horror film Red Hook.

Allison Strong made her Broadway debut in Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Bye Bye Birdie as "Helen." She has sung everywhere from the White House to the Metropolitan Opera, most recently playing "Johanna" in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at Montclair State.

Paul Cereghino comes to NY from regional theatre where be played "Tyler Shaw" in Brooklyn Boy at the Olney Theatre and was in Peter DuBois's debut production of Miracle at Naples at Huntington Theatre Company. He can also be seen in the films Go Go Crazy and A Fairy Tale.
And

Arden Myrin's theater credits extend from coast to coast including David Mamet's Boston Marriage at The Public Theater with Kate Burton and Martha Plimpton. She is a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately and was on Mad TV for 4 years. Other TV and film credits include Kinsey, Morning Glory, Party Down, Reno 911, Friends, Gilmore Girls, Hot in Cleveland, and Royal Pains. She does improv and stand up and can be seen at UCB or her monthly show at Union Hall The Party Machine.
Director Bill Oliver's award-winning films have been featured at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Melbourne Film Festival. New York theatre credits include A History of Cobbling at Soho Playhouse, The Alice Complex at Cherry Lane, and The Club at Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Bill is also the winner of the 2008 and 2009 awards for Outstanding Direction from the New York International Fringe Festival.

Mishaela Faucher is a member of the BMI Songwriting Workshop. Her lyrics have been featured in the Semi-Annual BMI Smokers Concert which honors the top songs from the BMI Workshop that year. She is a lyricist for the show, Hey, You Know What Movie Would Make a Good Musical? which has had sold out performances at The Julia Miles Theatre and The Zipper Factory Theatre.
Jason Michael Snow has been seen on Broadway in South Pacific and currently in The Book of Mormon. His compositions have been featured in Hey, You Know What Movie Would Make a Good Musical? at The Zipper Factory and The Women's Project. He was in the national tour of Xanadu and seen Off-Broadway in Saved at Playwrights Horizons.

Cinematographer David Kagen has worked in the film and television business for over 15 years on such productions as CSI:NY, Entourage, True Blood, and Brothers & Sisters. His work spans film, television, music videos and commercials including The Green Hornet and Marvel Comic's Thor. He's worked on music videos with artists ranging from Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre to James Blunt and Plain White Tees. David has been cinematographer on films for Tom Diggs as well as for actor/director James Franco.

Executive Producer/Creator Tom Diggs has been a member of the BMI Songwriters Workshop, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, and had a play nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His plays, musicals and short films have been seen at major regional theatres and film festivals, including Seven Devils, the Tisch Alumni Festival, and WHAT Film Takeover on Cape Cod.

"We are thrilled to have a cast of such remarkably talented actors and fast-rising Broadway stars," said Tom Diggs. "To be bringing the sensibilities of the Broadway musical to the frontier of Web Shows is an exciting opportunity."
Principal Photography will be completed by April 1st with a May 15th launch on blip.tv and YouTube.
Additional information about the show can be found at www.theperksofwritingamusical.com 

The Perks of Writing a Musical is partially funded by the generous grassroots support at Kickstarter.com

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/858783783/the-perks-of-writing-a-musical

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