TheatreWorks Presents [TITLE OF SHOW], 6/1-26

An innovative new musical-within-a-musical about a pair of struggling writers creating a Broadway hit, [title of show] makes its regional premiere at TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley. From the clever minds of former starving artists Hunter Bell (Book) and Jeff Bowen (Music and Lyrics), this rollicking backstage comedy pays homage to the agony and ecstasy of making musical theatre. Directed by Meredith McDonough, [title of show] features New York theatre veterans Jamison Stern ("Hunter"), Laura Jordan ("Susan"), and Farah Alvin ("Heidi"), and TheatreWorks favorite Ian Leonard ("Jeff"). [title of show] plays June 1 - 26, 2011 (press opening June 4) at TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets and information the public may call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Born from a script feverishly assembled mere weeks before the New York Musical Theatre Festival's submission deadline, [title of show] evolved into a certified Broadway hit. In a re-enactment of actual events, Bell and Bowen's stage personas go from desperately seeking inspiration to realizing that their desperation is itself entertaining material. From showbiz in-jokes to off-hand anecdotes, everything is game in this completely original musical. With help from their fellow theatre geek friends Heidi and Susan, Hunter and Jeff invent a playlist of offbeat but utterly on-target tunes such as "Awkward Photo Shoot," "What Kind of Girl Is She?" and "Die, Vampire, Die!"

Actor Hunter Bell authored the script for [title of show] and originated the role of "Hunter Bell." He has also written the books for "Villains Tonight!" produced on the Disney Cruise Line; "Bellobration," the 137th edition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus; and Silence! The Musical, an award-winning Off-Off-Broadway musical theatre adaptation of the film Silence of the Lambs. Bell has appeared in two other Broadway productions; first as a Dogette in a 2006 benefit concert of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, second as a citizen of Whoville in the 2007 staging of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. For his work on [title of show], Bell received a 2009 Tony Award Nomination for Best Book of a Musical, a Special Citation for the 2006 Obie Award, a Drama League Award Nomination for "Distinguished Performance by an Ensemble Cast," and a GLAAD Media Award Nomination.

Composer, lyricist, and actor Jeff Bowen has written music and lyrics for the opening numbers of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS 2007 Easter Bonnet Competition, the Actors' Fund 125th Gala, and the 53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards. For his work on [title of show], Bowen garnered a 2006 Obie Award Nomination, the GLAAD Media Award Nomination for Outstanding New York Theatre: Broadway and Off-Broadway, a Drama League Award Nomination for Distinguished Performance by an Ensemble Cast, and was named as one of the Top 100 Most Interesting, Influential and Newsworthy People in OUT Magazine's 2008 "OUT 100" issue.

For this quirky new musical, TheatreWorks has assembled an outstanding cast including Bay Area actor Ian Leonard ("Jeff") and Broadway veterans Jamison Stern ("Hunter"), Laura Jordan ("Susan"), and Farah Alvin ("Heidi").

Ian Leonard has performed in several TheatreWorks Productions, including the World Premiere of My Antonia, A Christmas Memory, A Civil War Christmas, Dessa Rose, and Jane Eyre. He has also appeared with American Musical Theatre San Jose and played "Rolf" in the Asian tour of The Sound of Music.

Jamison Stern has performed in Broadway productions of By Jeeves, Little Shop of Horrors, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast (as "Lumière") and Off-Broadway productions of Natural Woman and Love! Valour! Compassion! Regional credits include Around the World in 80 Days at the Triad Stage, Neil Simon's Chapter Two at Theatre Aspen, and The Compleat Works of Wm Shkspr (abridged) with the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Film and television credits include Day Zero (with Elijah Wood and Chris Klein), Law and Order and others.

Laura Jordan has appeared in Broadway productions of Cry-Baby and In My Life, the New York Musical Festival's Oedipus for Kids! and Perez Hilton Saves the Universe, winner of the 2008 New York City Fringe Festival's Outstanding Musical Award. Film credits include The Jimmy Show (with Carla Gugino and Ethan Hawke).

Farah Alvin has performed in Broadway productions of Nine, Saturday Night Fever, and in the Broadway National Tour of Grease. Regional credits include roles in the Concert Production of Ragtime at the White Plains Performing Arts Center and the world premiere of Edges at the Capital Repertory Theatre. She received a 2009 Drama Desk Award Nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (The Marvelous Wonderettes), and the 2010 Talkin' Broadway Festival Citation for Best Actress (The Tenth Floor).

TheatreWorks Director of New Works Meredith McDonough helms this entertaining tribute to creative endeavors. McDonough has been actively developing new works for the past ten years at theatres including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Round House Theatre, The Public Theatre, LABryinth Theatre Company, Ars Nova, Women's Project and Productions, New Georges, and the Drama League. She spent two years as the New Works Program Director at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and three seasons as a resident director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, famed for its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays. She has directed over twenty world premiere plays and musicals, and recently directed the world premiere of Laura Schellhardt's Auctioning the Ainsleys and the regional premiere of Michael Hollinger's Opus at TheatreWorks, for which she won the Bay Area Critic Circle Award for Best Direction in 2010.

With 8,500 subscribers and 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast from across the country. A home for artists developing new works, it was at TheatreWorks that Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical (now playing its second year on Broadway and recently released as a feature film) was first workshopped and received its world premiere.

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