Kathy Fitzgerald, Heath Saunders, and More Will Lead Industry Reading Of THE SEAVIEW NURSING HOME FOR THE NEWLY DECEASED

Karen Nascembeni presents the New York City premiere of THE SEAVIEW NURSING HOME FOR THE NEWLY DECEASED, a new play written and directed by Nate Bertone, at Open Jar Studios (1601 Broadway) on Tuesday, May 9 at 3pm and on Wednesday, May 10 at 11am.

When the world hits pause as an unknown virus wreaks havoc, six souls - newly deceased - wake up in the abandoned SeaView Nursing Home. Unaware of their passing, the souls work to discover where they are and why. After accepting their death, they meet an unrelenting, and divinely connected, real estate agent on a mission to sell the property. When she reveals that they are stuck in the in-between, the souls must discover the key to crossing over to the great beyond before their time runs out.

A heart-warming and side-splitting new story of love and loss, Nate Bertone's THE SEAVIEW NURSING HOME FOR THE NEWLY DECEASED will make you cherish the here and now, and wonder what really comes next.

Co-produced by North Shore Music Theatre, SEAVIEW gains inspiration from the life of North Shore General Manager herself, Karen Nascembeni.

The cast features JARED REINFELDT (American Horror Story, Gossip Girl), Ebony Marshall-Oliver (Ain't No Mo', Chicken and Biscuits), Kyra Kennedy (Waitress National Tour), Kathy Fitzgerald (Wicked, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Mia Matthews (Single Drunk Female, American Soul), Heath Saunders (Alice by Heart, Jesus Christ Superstar: Live), Alex Branton (Water for Elephants Lab, Son of a Gun), and Tarra Connor Jones (From Birmingham to Broadway, White Girl in Danger).

Casting is by Benton Whitley (Life of Pi, Hadestown), of Whitley Theatrical, with general management by SHOWTOWN THEATRICALS (Parade, Into the Woods). Katherine Wallace (PSM) and Amanda Stuart (ASM) provide stage management.

SEAVIEW is produced by Karen Nascembeni, a long time mentor of Bertone, with the support of Haley Swindal, Bill Hanney/North Shore Music Theatre, Proof Productions, Greg DeLuca, Laura and Marc Freedman, and Greg and Jean Chastain.

Creator BERTONE shares the inspiration for play: "SeaView is a piece that I began as part of my grieving process when my beloved friend Steven Richard lost his life to Covid-19. When Steven passed, I was unable to be consoled. His wife and my best friend, Karen, was equally as ill in the ICU, and much like the rest of the world, I was struggling to process the situation we were in. In a time of isolation and loss, I was driving through the North Shore of Massachusetts in hopes of finding some peace. As I drove through Danvers, MA, I passed a sign that appeared to say 'The New England Home for the Dead.' I looked at it, said to myself, 'Huh, how strange. That must be like a home for souls that are stuck since we can't grieve them properly right now,' and kept driving. Later, I learned that I had driven past a home for the deaf and it was my grief-stricken mind that changed a letter. In those moments, a new play was born about life, loss, and the gray area in between - a play that didn't want to talk about the pandemic, but wanted to talk about life, love, and how we spend the time we have on earth."

Adds BERTONE, "Over the last few years, the world has been turned upside down by a tremendous amount of loss and collective grief. As a storyteller, my 'why" is to help people move through life and loss with art as a way to help us heal. My hope is that this piece will help audiences move through the difficulties we've lived through by offering a collective and personal experience filled with the best medicines of all - laughter and love."

Learn more at seaviewnursinghome.com. Follow the show @seaviewnursinghome on Instagram and Facebook.

Nate Bertone (Playwright/Director) As a theatrical storyteller, Nate is a member of The Dramatists Guild and USA829 and works as a playwright/director, and scenic designer. Working often on new work, he recently designed world premieres of May We All, Mystic Pizza, Dracula, Flame Broiled or the ugly play, and Punk Rock Girl!. Nate's theatrical work has appeared with Disney's D23 Expo, Google,Broadway Sacramento, Ballet Memphis, Ogunquit Playhouse, Bucks County, NSMT, The Rev, TBTS, and more. He is a long time mentee of Tony Award-Winning Scenic Designer Beowulf Boritt. As the Associate to Boritt: Be More Chill (West End/Japan), Crazy for You (LCT), Superhero (2ST). Assistant to: New York, New York, Freestyle Love Supreme, A Bronx Tale (Broadway). His plays Letters From War and The SeaView Nursing Home for the Newly Deceased are currently in development. Represented by Gersh Agency. Carnegie Mellon Alumnus. Dean's Scholar at Central Saint Martins, London. @natebertone, natebertone.com

SHOWTOWN THEATRICALS, founded by Nathan Gehan, is a general management firm based in New York City that specializes in managing Broadway shows, Off Broadway shows, and national touring productions. showtown.nyc

WHITLEY THEATRICAL, founded by Benton Whitley, is a New York City based casting and producing office for theatre, film, and television that is currently represented on Broadway with the casting of the Tony and Grammy Award winning best musical Hadestown. whitleytheatrical.com

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