Amas Musical Theatre to Stage Readings of New Musical I AM, I WILL, I DO Next Month

Amas Musical Theatre and The Amas Musical Theatre Lab will present staged readings for the New York premiere of I Am, I Will, I Do, a new musical with book, music and lyrics by Dan Manjovi. Directed by Christopher Scott with Musical Direction by Steven Gross, the readings will be held on Monday, February 9th at 6pm and Tuesday, February 10th at 3pm & 7pm at Shetler Studios - Penthouse (244 West 54th Street - between Broadway & 8th Avenue). The readings are free and the seating is limited. For reservations, email boxoffice@amasmusical.org or call 212-563-2565.

Marriage Equality has catapulted the world's oldest institution in the 21st Century. Be careful what you wish for. I Am, I Will, I Do is a romantic musical comedy about three diverse couples at different stages of commitment all determined to prove that "love and marriage" is not an oxymoron.

The cast of I Am, I Will, I Do is: Jane Blass, (Annie, 9 to 5), Julia Burrows (Greed), Nick Cearley (Pageant, The Skivvies), Bill Coyne (The Brightness of Heaven), Ryan Duncan (Shrek, Altar Boyz), Alan H. Green (Sister Act) and Claire Neumann (Triassic Parq). The Production Stage Manager is Jana Llynn.

The presentations are part of the ongoing Amas Musical Theatre Lab, a development series for writers, lyricists and composers to mount public readings of their new musicals. The Amas Musical Theatre Lab is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by the Actors' Equity Association Foundation, the Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, BMI Foundation, the Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, the Frederick Loewe Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, the Michael Tuch Foundation, and through the generous support of many individuals.

BIOS:

Dan Manjovi (Book, Music & Lyrics) is a pianist, vocalist, composer and lyricist. His music and arrangements have been performed and/or recorded by Michael Feinstein, Grace Hightower, the late Donna Summer, and other numerous pop, musical theatre and cabaret performers. His song, "Somethin's Comin' My Way" written at the request of Oscar-Nominated Director and Filmmaker Lee Daniels, was featured in the Academy Award-winning 2010 Lionsgate Film Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire. The soundtrack recording of that song also appears on the Universal-Interscope label and was produced and arranged by Manjovi. Dan has released two solo albums Dan Manjovi (2005), Woke Up This Morning (2008), and his song "Things'll Get Better" appears on the Compilation CD United For The Ride (2009). He is a multiple ASCAP Popular Award Winner, and he is a recipient of Backstage Newspaper's coveted Bistro Award for Outstanding Singer/Instrumentalist. Manjovi is also an annual favorite at New York City's Bryant Park Piano In The Park Jazz Piano Series. An active member of Actors' Equity Association, Dan has performed at some of the country's top regional theaters including Denver Center Theater Company, Arizona Theatre Company (Master Class), as well as notable workshop productions including George Furth's (Company, Merrily We Roll Along) final musical project The End (2006). He has also performed in concert at many top music venues including the Canal Room, and The Carlyle Room in New York City. As a featured performer of his music, Manjovi has appeared either solo or with his band alongside notable artists such as Elvis Costello, Nellie McKay and John Mayer and Allan Toussaint. This wide range of writing and performing experience informs all of Dan's work, including the score and libretto of his new contemporary romantic musical comedy, I Am, I Will, I Docurrently in development, and for which he has written book, music and lyrics. Manjovi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music from New York University and did post graduate work at The Juilliard School in composition with Tom Pierson. He is a protégé of renowned voice teacher Katie Agresta, and jazz pianist Joanne Brackeeen. He currently resides in New York City and serves on the Faculty at HB Studio, teaching Voice and Vocal Performance in addition to maintaining a busy private studio practice.

Christopher Scott (Director) is Artistic Associate at Amas Musical Theatre where he has directed productions for the Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy (RLMTA) for the past 15 years. He recently directed Lorenzo at NYMF and A Mother's Love by Michael Watson, starring Jan Maxwell. Off-Broadway: Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden, For Lovers Only, Golf: The Musical!, Tails, The Big Bang, The Broadway Kids Sing Broadway and Theatreworks USA. TV: opening number "The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" (NBC), "Museum of the Moving Image Salutes Ron Howard" (Bravo), "Kathie Lee: We Need a Little Christmas" (CBS), "The NBA All-Star Game" (NBC). Acting: Broadway: Meet Me in St. Louis. Off-Broadway: The Fantasticks, The Chosen, The Twilight of the Golds, Bent, Jekyll and Hyde and Pets! Teaching: NYU/CAP21, Baruch College and the Michael Howard Studio.

Steven Gross (Musical Director) has worked on Broadway and the West End as a music director, conductor, pianist, sub and vacation conductor on such shows as The Life, Urinetown, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chicago, Miss Saigon, The Wedding Singer,Saturday Night Fever, Dreamgirls, Phantom Of The Opera and on the New York City Opera productions of A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, The Most Happy Fella and Candide. He has worked Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons and the Algonquin Theater and is a Lortel Award nominee for Best Musical for his adaption of The Pirates of Penzance at the South Street Seaport. Steven has collaborated on new musicals with Award-winning composers including Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus, Cy Coleman, David Friedman and Mark Hollmann. He also works as an orchestrator and arranger for many symphony orchestras, television, radio, video and on-line stations. Check out his new Musical Theater Search Engine: www.Musicaltheatersongs.com

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer), now in its 46th year of continuous operation, is New York City's award-winning pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since 1968. 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 underserved young people in the New York area. In recent years, Amas has emerged as a leading not-for-profit laboratory for new musicals, the most recent being Red Eye of Love. Its production of The Other Josh Cohen received six 2013 Drama Desk nominations including Outstanding Musical, a 2013 Lucille Lortel nomination for Outstanding Musical, and a 2013 Off-Broadway Alliance nomination for Best New Musical. Other shows that Amas has produced includeTriassic Parq, The Countess of Storyville, Distant Thunder, Marry Harry, Me and Miss Monroe, Aesop & Company, Signs of Life, Wanda's World, Shout! The Mod Musical, Lone Star Love, From My Hometown, Zanna, Don't!, 4 Guys Named Jose, and Stormy Weather: Reimagining Lena Horne. Amas education programs include the Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy, Lens on Live Theatre and in-school theatre arts residencies designed in partnership with elementary, middle, and high schools.

For more information, visit www.amasmusical.org, or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Amas-Musical-Theatre and Twitter: www.twitter.com/AmasMusicalThea.

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