I AM, I WILL, I DO Set for 10/12-13 Readings with Amas Musical Theatre Lab

Amas Musical Theatre and The Amas Musical Theatre Lab will present further 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 Meg Zervoulis, the readings will be held on Monday, October 12th at 6pm and Tuesday, October 13th at 3pm & 7pm at Pearl Studios - Room 1204 (500 Eighth Avenue - between 35th & 36th Streets).

Marriage Equality has catapulted the world's oldest institution into 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), Jamal Crowelle (Peter and the Star Catcher), Nicholas Dromard (Jersey Boys, Wicked), Ryan Duncan (Shrek, Altar Boyz), Jillian Louis (It Shoulda Been You), Claire Neumann (Triassic Parq!) and Seth A. Tucker(Pageant:The Musical). The Production Stage Manager is Allyson Namishia.

The readings are free and the seating is limited. For reservations, email boxoffice@amasmusical.org or call 212-563-2565.

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 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 DO currently 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 most recently directed The Glass Menagerie and A Midsummer Night's Dream for Masterworks Theater Company, Lorenzo at NYMF and A Mother's Love by Michael Watson, starring Jan Maxwell. Off-Broadway: Nancy Friday'sMy 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.

Meg Zervoulis (Musical Director) is a New Jersey born music director, arranger and classically trained pianist. Off-Broadway: Rated P...for Parenthood (now in development with ABC Family), Chuckleball (Snapple Center). Regional: Ever After, Elf, and Oliver! at Paper Mill Playhouse. Workshops/Concerts: Stu for Silverton (NAMT 2014), Kooman and Dimond's Dani Girl in the ASCAP/Disney Workshop and Andrea Grody's Strange Faces (directed by John Rando.) Meg is the music supervisor for Sheri Sanders' Rock The Performance. She helms Hotel Elefant, a chamber ensemble in NYC, and plays keyboard for the Big Apple Circus. Other residencies: Midtown Direct Rep, Mile Square Theatre, NJPAC, Pittsburgh CLO, Pittsburgh Ballet. Meg serves as music director at Kean and Montclair State Universities. Education: Carnegie Mellon University - B.F.A. with University Honors, inaugural classes of the Goodspeed Opera House Musical Direction Intensive and the Marvin Hamlisch/ASCAP Broadway Conductors' Program. Meg is active as a music therapist and educator in the Hudson County public schools. Member, Local 802 AFM.

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer), now in its 47th 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 include Triassic 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 about Amas, 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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