NY Theatre Experiment Presents THE WASP WOMAN With Michele Ragusa 10/25 At Pearl Studios

NEW YORK THEATRE EXPERIMENT PRESENTS THE WASP WOMAN A ONE NIGHT ONLY STAGED READING OF A NEW MUSICAL COMEDY By Blake Hackler & Phillip Chernyak Directed by Darren Katz
Produced by Rori Bergman & Laura Gale

Featuring: Marty Brown, Jody Cook, Nicol Dellisanti, Gaby Gold, Darin Guerrasio, Jason Ostrowski (Company), Michele Ragusa (Young Frankenstein), Allen Read, Emily Senn, Angela Shultz, Hanniel Sindelar, and Tom Stuart

October 25, 2009 @ 7 PM

Pearl Studios
500 Eighth Avenue, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10036

In keeping with our season-long "Gimme Five Drive," celebrating NYTE's 5th birthday, all tickets to The Wasp Woman will be just $5.

ADAVNCE TICKETS CURRENTLY SOLD OUT-
Additional seats may become available on the day of the event on a first come, first serve basis.

ABOUT THE WASP WOMAN:
Don't miss the one-night only staged reading of this world premiere piece, originally workshopped in NYTE's 2009 Summer Camp!

Inspired by a 1950's B-movie, "The Wasp Woman" infuses social satire with musical comedy to create a hilarious musical everyone is buzzzzing about! The female founder and spokeswoman of a major cosmetics company is concerned with dropping sales and drooping skin- she's not as young as she used to be and wants to restore her former beauty at any cost. When a scientist brings her a new miracle elixer made from wasp enzymes, she offers to become his test subject...but the product is not ready for human use and soon she finds herself transforming into the lethal "Wasp Woman"...

*Also part of TCG's Free Night of Theater 2009*

BIOS OF KEY CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM:
Michele Ragusa Broadway: Young Frankenstein (Elizabeth); Urinetown (Penny/Hope cover); Ragtime (Evelyn); A Class Act (Mona); Titanic (Caroline); Cyrano (the Novice). Other NYC: Corinna in Adrift in Macao (Primary Stages, Lortel/Drama League noms.), The Audience (Transport Group), Bloomer Girl (Encores!). National tours: Fiddler on the Roof with Theodore Bikel (Hodel), West Side Story (Maria). Regional: Kiss Me Kate, She Loves Me (Paper Mill); Adrift in Macao (Philadelphia Theatre Co., Barrymore Award); Bad Dates, Noises Off (Studio Arena); Guys and Dolls (Dallas Theatre Center, Rabin Award); Side by Side by Sondheim (Berkshire Theatre Festival); Nunsense (Sacramento Music Circus); My Fair Lady with Michael Moriarty (Westbury/Valley Forge); Lend Me a Tenor (Portland Stage); Me and My Girl, Li'l Abner (Goodspeed); South Pacific (Dallas Theater Center); Phantom (Jupiter Theatre/Artpark); Carousel (Connecticut Rep./Jupiter Theatre); Show Boat (Artpark). Film/television: Heart of Spider (NYU/IFC), "Law & Order SVU," "Guiding Light," "One Life to Life," "All My Children."

Jason Ostrowski Broadway: Company (U/S Peter); Forever Plaid (national tour), Who Killed Woody Allen? (Triad Theater), Walt Disney World Entertainment. BFA in musical theatre, SUNY Fredonia.

Allen Read (Mask-LA)

Phillip Chernyak (Composer) is a songwriter and filmmaker whose musical short films have been seen everywhere from Los Angeles to Stockholm. He is currently a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in New York City.

Blake Hackler (Book and Lyrics) is an actor, writer, and teacher currently living and working in New York City and Chicago - Broadway : The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; Off-Broadway: Spring Awakening with Roundabout Theatre Company; Mirror, Mirror- Playwright's Horizons; A Family Affair, China Song, The Good War, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with York Theatre; Spring Awakening, The Alchemists with Prospect Theatre. Other New York Credits - George M, Exit the King, Stranger. Regional: The Irish and How They Got That Way - Mercury Theatre , Chicago; Summer of 42 - Mill Mountain Theatre; Babes in Arms - Auditorium Theatre , Chicago. Film: Roslyn - winner Chrysler Short Film Competition at Cannes, France. MFA, Yale University. He is a member of the esteemed BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Program and was the 2009 recipient of the Harrington Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing. He writes with composer Phillip Chernyak.

Darren Katz (Director)

Darren is currently directing (in conjunction with James Lapine) I GOT SICK THEN I GOT BETTER by Jenny Allen at New York Theatre Workshop. Other recent directing credits: THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE (National Tour); HAPPY SUNSHINE KUNG FU FLOWER (Zipper Factory); workshops of FALLING by Hyeyoung Kim and Dina Gregory, and A DAY WITH A THOUSAND FACES by Tarik Davis; readings of GRAND DELUSION by David Rock and HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND THEN KILL THEM by Halley Feiffer (Second Stage). In development: THE HENRY DARGER PROJECT (NYU); SUNRISE AT HYDE PARK; and a newly commissioned piece derived from the socialist movie musicals revealed in the documentary EAST SIDE STORY. Darren was the Resident Director for the Broadway production of SPELLING BEE; Associate Director for the San Francisco/Boston and the 1st national touring productions; Associate Director for Kathy Najimy on BACK TO BACHARACH AND DAVID in Los Angeles; and as Assistant Director he worked with Michael Blakemore, Scott Ellis, Lois Weaver and Holly Hughes.

ABOUT NEW YORK THEATRE EXPERIMENT:
New York Theatre Experiment (NYTE), founded in 2004, is dedicated to artistic exploration and innovation. Each season is guided by an "experiment," which shapes and influences the works of theatre we develop and produce, leading to an examination of the current cultural moment.

NYTE proudly serves as a creative home and developmental forum for leaders in the American theatre. We challenge artists to continually explore the creative process and offer a supportive environment for ongoing growth and development. We view each project as an experiment, an opportunity to discover new ways to bring vibrant works of theatre to full and powerful life.

NYTE is also committed to the development of the next generation of theatre artists and audiences. NYTE's unique educational programs are designed to empower and inspire, and like our productions, are intended to make theatre accessible, relevant and personal for all audiences.

New York Theatre Experiment is comprised of
Director of Casting- Rori Bergman
Director of Community Relations- Emberli Edwards
Executive Artistic Director- Laura Gale
Director of Marketing and Public Relations- Allyson Morgan
Director of Project Development- Joseph Schultz
PLEASE CLICK TO WWW.NEWYORKTHEATREEXPERIMENT.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION

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