SIGNS OF LIFE Begins Performances at Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre 2/16

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Producing Artistic Director) and Snap-Two Productions' will begin performances of the new musical Signs of Life this Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
Signs of Life has a book by Peter Ullian, lyrics by Len Schiff, music by Joel Derfner, music direction by Michael Pettry, musical staging by Christine O'Grady and directed by Jeremy Dobrish. Signs of Life will begin performances on Tuesday February, 16 and will open on Thursday, February 25, running through Sunday, March 21 The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre (5 West 63rd St.).

Tickets are $55 for adults and $40 for seniors and students and $40 for all previews and can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/425

Signs of Life is an exploration of life in the Jewish artists' ghetto created by the Nazis in the Czech town of Terezin during World War II. Hitler renamed it Theresienstadt and his propaganda cynically proclaimed it "A City for the Jews". He proceeded to populate Theresienstadt with the most prominent artists, composers, scientists, and scholars of Europe. A vibrant artistic community emerged and the ghetto was alive with concerts, plays, and lectures. The Nazi's, for their own international propaganda purposes, coerced their prisoners to depict Terezin as a place where they lived free lives. But hidden from the watchful eyes of their captors, the artists created secret pictures and writings which were concealed and smuggled out to alert the world to what was really happening. They felt that, because of their covert efforts, the truth could survive. Signs of Life is a true story of love, defiance and the power of art.

The cast includes Erika Amato (Lead singer of Velvet Chain, Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV Show and Soundtrack), Wilson Bridges (My Fair Lady, National Tour, Off-Broadway: Academy), Jason Collins (Annie National Tour, Next to Normal), Nic Cory, Gabe Green, Patricia Noonan (Girl Crazy, Carousel -Barrington Stage), Allen E. Read (Mask-Pasadena Plyhse), Stuart Zagnit (Broadway: Suessical, The Wild Party), and Kurt Zischke (Broadway/Nat's Tour Whistle Down the Wind, Buddy, Broadway) .The creative team includes Alexis Distler, set design; Michael Gottlieb, lighting design, Jennifer Caprio, costume design; Michael Eisenberg, sound design; Chris Kateff, video design; casting, Carol Hanzel Casting; marketing, HHC Marketing.

Signs of Life
Book by Peter Ullian, lyrics by Len Schiff, music by Joel Derfner, music direction by Michael Pettry, musical staging by Christine O'Grady and directed by Jeremy Dobrish.

Begins Performances on Tuesday, February 16; Opening, Thursday February 25 through March 21.

The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre is located at 5 West 63rd St.
Performance schedule: Tuesday at 7:30; Wednesday - Saturday at 8PM; Saturday & Sunday at 3PM
Tickets are $55 ($40 during previews).
For tickets call 212 352 3101 or visit www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/425

Joel Derfner (Composer) is from Charleston, South Carolina, where his great-grandmother had an affair with George Gershwin. He graduated from Harvard with an A.B. summa cum laude in linguistics and from NYU with an M.A. in musical theater writing. His musical Blood Drive, with words by Rachel Sheinkin, has been produced at the Bridewell Theatre in London, the Provincetown Playhouse in New York, and the Theatre Latte Da in Minneapolis. Joel has been in residence three times at the O'Neill Music Theater Conference, and his work from his first year there has been heard at The Duplex and Joe's Pub in New York. Joel is a grateful alumnus of the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at NYU, where he is now on the faculty. He also teaches aerobics, knits, and is the author of Gay Haiku (Random House, 2005) and Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever (Random House, 2008). He has written for a number of national periodicals, including Out, Genre, and The Advocate. He can be found on the web at joelderfner.com

Len Schiff(Lyricist) Works for theater: Usher Falling (composer Randall Eng), produced at Dixon Place in NYC as part of their Opera Vindaloo series, Zach in Progress (composer Georgia Stitt), Æthernity (composer Chris Sidorfsky), and Strange Creations, produced as part of the Second Avenue Songbook series at NYU. Residencies: Ragdale Foundation (Lake Forest, IL), Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (Red Wing, MN), New Musical Festival (Lewes, DE). Publications: articles in The Island Ear and The Sondheim Review. Education: MFA, Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, BA with Honors in the Western Tradition: Irish Studies, Queens College, BMI Advanced Workshop. Professional affiliations: Dramatists Guild and NYC Writing Project. Len teaches English and American Culture Studies at North Shore High School on Long Island, NY. He lives in Queens with his wife, Jennifer, and son, Adam.

Peter Ullian (Bookwriter) has received awards for his dramatic writing from the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theatre Foundation, the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, and the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. Peter wrote the libretto for Eliot Ness in Cleveland, produced at the Denver Theatre Center and the Cleveland Playhouse. He also wrote the libretto for 3hree: The Flight of the Lawnchair Man, directed by Harold Prince at the Prince Music Theatre in Philadelphia and the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. His play Hester Street Hideaway: A Lower East Side Love Story was produced Off-Broadway by En Garde Arts. Other plays have been produced around the country and in New York. He has written screenplays for independent and major studios, and his short fiction has appeared in periodicals and anthologies. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the WGA, East. He and his wife, Michele, are the proud parents of Alexander and Caleb. They live in Beacon, NY, in the Hudson Valley.

Jeremy Dobrish (Director) Recent Off-Broadway: Inner Voices: Solo Songs (Zipper), Spain (MCC), Election Day (Second Stage). Regional: Barrington Stage, Goodspeed, Hangar, North Shore, NY Stage and Film, O'Neill, Village. Theatreworks USA: Curious George (writer/director), and Paul Revere Festivals: Fringe, NYMF, SPF. Jeremy has served as an Artistic Associate at Second Stage, and was the Artistic Director of Adobe Theatre Company for 13 years, for which he has written and/or directed over 20 plays. Jeremy's plays include Notions in Motion, The Handless Maiden, Blink of An Eye, Superpowers, Orpheus & Eurydice (all adobe) and Eight Days (Backwards) (Vineyard). He lives in Maplewood with his wife Beth and daughters Clea and Quinn. www.jeremydobrish.com
Mike Pettry (Music Director) Off-Broadway: Rooms. New York: The Black Suits (Public Theater), Things to Ruin: The Songs of Joe Iconis (Second Stage), Green Eyes (Fringe). Regional: RENT, Miracle on 34th Street (John W. Engeman Theater). Writing: 2007 Jonathan Larson Award, musicals include The Time Travelers Convention, Long Distance, World of Heroes, The Wonderful World of Zidney (featured highlight, Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Festival), and Flipside (2007 Frederick Loewe Award). Several songs featured on forthcoming Lin McEwan album, produced by Muzz Skillings (Living Colour). Solo album on iTunes. BA in music from Shepherd University, MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from Tisch. www.mikepettry.com

Amas Musical Theatre (Producer) New York City's celebrated pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts founded in 1968 by actress, producer and humanitarian Rosetta LeNoire (1911-2002). Amas ("you love" in Latin) is devoted to the creation, development and professional production of new American musicals through the celebration of diversity and minority perspectives, the emergence of new artistic talent, and the training and encouragement of inner-city young people. In recent years, Amas has emerged as a leading not-for-profit laboratory for new musicals, including Wanda's World, SHOUT! The Mod Musical, Lone Star Love, From My Hometown, Zanna, Don't!, and Stormy Weather: The Story of Lena Horne. Amas education programs include the Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy, a pre-professional training program for teenagers, the Immigration Experience for middle and high schools, and Lens on Live Theatre. Amas just celebrated its 40th Anniversary. Visit www.amasmusical.org

Donna Trinkoff (Producing Artistic Director) Since joining Amas Musical Theatre in Fall 1994, Donna has produced Wanda's World, Shout! The Mod Musical, Magpie, Lone Star Love, Stormy Weather: Imagining Lena Horne, Zanna, Don't!, Latin Heat, From My Hometown, Langston Hughes's Little Ham, 4 Guys Name José, Reunion, Rollin' on the T.O.B.A., Delphi or Bust, Richard Rodgers Award-winners Barrio Babies, Bobos, and The Prince and the Black-Eyed Pea, Song by Song, The Music of Michael Valenti, Galt McDermot's Time and the Wind, Bring In the Morning, an original musical revue, After Hours, Good God!, Working, and over 75 original musicals for the Amas Six O'Clock Musical Theatre Lab. Donna holds a BA in English and Theatre from SUNY Binghamton. She is a graduate of the National Theatre Institute, a theatre training program at the Eugene O'Neill Center in Waterford, CT and she received a Certificate of Merit from the Drama Studio in London. Donna has served on the Board of the League of Professional Theatre Women and as a panelist for the New Jersey Council on the Arts. In 1998, she received the New York Municipal Art Society Award of Merit and the 2003 Galaxy Award from the NY Women's Association. This past summer, Donna was delighted to return to the O'Neill as an artistic associate of the Cabaret Conference.
Signs of Life is made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Shubert Foundation, and the generous support of many individuals.

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