MCCREADY Moves Off Broadway This September

Her life was like a country song. It was 1990 and Mindy McCready was a 15-year-old girl who loved to sing and was the karaoke queen in Fort Myers, Florida.

By the age of 20, she had a No. 1 hit, and her first album sold over two million copies. She got engaged to Superman (actor Dean Cain), and was singing alongside some of country's megastars. Her demons, along with a smattering of sycophants, trailed her. As her personal struggles intensified, her record sales dwindled.

Beginning September 8th, Jennifer Blake will star in MCCREADY, which she co-created and co-wrote with Jon Bernstein. The show's initial run was done in Los Angeles 2015, was reworked, and then ran May/June 2016 at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

"Onstage Blake is always compelling, never shying away from the darker side of her character. But it is Blake's volcanic vocal performance that truly makes the show. When she sinks her teeth into a song, you know that you will truly feel it, as her voice is a primal conductor for every type of emotion." -Showmag.com

"It's refreshing to see a musical tackle an issue that carries real weight. It's stripped down, dirty, and tells McCready's story well. Hats off to cast and crew."

"... But McCready is not a one-woman show. this cast has the hunkiest male ensemble in town to play the men in Mindy McCready's life. Robert Hardin makes a powerful impression in two roles... Zack Crosby is convincingly domineering as Mindy's first celebrity boyfriend, Dean Cain, while Craig Umhoefer and Michael Ursu ably balance a number of smaller roles with their instrumental duties..."

From Rolling Stone Country,"The play features Blake accompanied by a four-member band performing throughout the show. They also step out from their various instruments to portray a few of the well-known men in McCready's life, including actor Dean Cain and a certain baseball legend, both of whom made headlines during and after their turbulent relationships with the controversy-plagued singer.

Like many who were aware of the more salacious aspects of McCready's public persona, Blake - who once roomed with Nashville actress Laura Benanti in New York City - admits that after doing extensive research on McCready, quickly realized she had more in common with the late singer than expected.

"I grew up in a small town, singing forever," says Blake. "I loved her ambition, her drive - which is a lot of what we are focused on in the show - and her real deep, deep love for the men in her life. It sounds sort of actor-y to say, but I'm a fan, too," she insists. "A lot of people know the negative parts of her life and there is some of that [in the play] because that's a large chunk of her life - making not necessarily the best decisions and surrounding herself with not necessarily the best people."

MCCREADY runs at The Triad Theatre, 158 W. 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023, September, 8th, 9th, 10th, 15th and 16th at 7pm and 17th at 9pM. Starring Zack Cosby, Robert Hardin, Craig Umhoefer, Michael Ursu and Jennifer Blake, with direction by Robert Glen Decker.

Tickets are $25 and are available at triadnyc.com or mccready-musical.com.

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