New Musical Revue THREE LITTLE MAIDS To Have York Developmental Reading

The York Theatre Company will present a developmental reading of Three Little Maids, a new musical revue with book by Alice Scovell, music by Arthur Sullivan and lyrics by W.S. Gilbert, piano accompaniment by Christopher Zander and directed by Christine Pedi.

The by-invitation-only presentation will take place on Wednesday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m. at The Dramatists Guild – The Mary Rodgers Room (1501 Broadway). Admission is free, BY INVITATION ONLY. For further information, please contact boxoffice@yorktheatre.org. These presentations are part of The York Theatre Company's Developmental Reading Series.

Oh joy! Oh rapture! Join in the “innocent merriment” of Gilbert and Sullivan songs and stories, presented by NYC's top female interpreters of the oeuvre. You'll hear old favorites (“Poor wand'ring one” and “I'm called Little Buttercup”) and discover new ones. You'll also learn many cheerful facts about the topsy-turvy Victorian world.

The cast comprises longtime NYGASP members Sarah Caldwell Smith, Amy Maude Helfer, and Angela Christine Smith, each of whom has received the company's Isaac Asimov Award for Artistic Achievement.

Three Little Maids has been developed in partnership with New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, now celebrating its 50th anniversary season. To learn more about NYGASP and the 2024-25 season, go to www.nygasp.org.

About the Artists

Sir Arthur Sullivan (Music) (1842–1900) was an English composer best known for his fourteen operatic collaborations with Gilbert. His works include 10 other operas, eleven major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces.

Sir W.S. Gilbert (Lyrics) (1836–1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet, and illustrator best known for his fourteen operatic collaborations with Sullivan. Gilbert's creative output includes over seventy-five plays and libretti, numerous stories, poems (including the Bab Ballads), lyrics, and various other comic and serious pieces. His playscripts and realistic style of stage direction inspired other dramatists, including Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw.

Alice Scovell (Book) is the award-winning playwright of The Rewards of Being Frank, a sequel to Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Other theatrical projects with 2024 productions: a new musical featuring songs by Christine Lavin, InunDATED, with the York Theatre's Developmental Reading series (starring Sierra Boggess and Josh Grisetti), and Kindred Spirits, a sequel to Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit (under a special license), at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (starring Christine Pedi and Austin Tichenor). She is the author of two middle reader novels, The Spirit of Chatsworth Mansion and Engraved in Stone.

Christine Pedi (Director), the “Lady of 1000 Voices” is an award-winning artist who has starred in musicals (Chicago and Little Me on Broadway, Forbidden Broadway, NEWSical, and Spamilton off-Broadway, Jerry's Girls, My Favorite Year, and The Mad Show at the York), comedy/drama (The Rewards of Being Frank, Miss Abigail's Guide, Talk Radio), and cabaret shows (Great Dames, Snow Bizness). She is also a Sirius XM radio personality (daily show and Saturday's “Dueling Divas with Seth Rudetsky”), a YouTube semi-sensation, a custom video greeting creator, and a memorable character on “The Sopranos” (Mrs. Bobby Baccala). In winter 2024, Ms. Pedi directed Alice Scovell's new musical InunDATED for the York Theatre's Developmental Reading Series. www.christinepedi.com

Christopher Zander (Pianist) is a Music Director in NYC and an accompanist at NYU Steinhardt. He holds a BA in Music from St. Olaf's College.

The York Theatre Company “Where Musicals Come to Life,” is the only theatre in New York City—and one of very few in the world—dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving notable shows from the past. For over five decades, York's intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Under the guidance of Producing Artistic Director James Morgan since 1997, The York has focused on new musicals in its Mainstage Series—most of them world, American, or New York premieres—by some of the field's most esteemed creators and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Over 45 cast recordings from York Theatre Company productions are now available, including its acclaimed revival of Closer Than Ever (2013 Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Revival). Commercial transfers of such York premieres as The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), Souvenir (Tony Award Nomination for actress Judy Kaye), and Jolson & Company, and revivals of Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd (four Tony Nominations including Best Revival) have all showcased the importance of The York and its programs.

Recent York productions have included A Sign of the Times (New World Stages), The Jerusalem Syndrome, Vanities—The Musical, Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust Road, Penelope: or How the Odyssey Was Really Written, Cheek to Cheek: Irving Berlin in Hollywood, A Taste of Things to Come, Marry Harry, and Rothschild & Sons. The critically acclaimed musical Yank! received its Off-Broadway debut at The York, and subsequently to rave reviews in London—as did York's Rothschild & Sons. The hit musical Cagney received its York premiere in 2015, transferring to The Westside Theatre for over 15 months. In 2017, Desperate Measures received a total of 15 award nominations (and three wins) that included Best Musical from the Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, and Off-Broadway Alliance and subsequently transferred across town to New World Stages. The York is the recipient of a special Drama Desk Award for “Developing and Producing New Musicals,” a special Outer Critics Circle Award for “50 Years of Producing New and Classic Musicals.” Due to a flood in their home of 30 years at Saint Peter's Church in January 2021, The York is currently producing at The Theatre at St. Jean's at 76th Street and Lexington Avenue.

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