Photo Flash: York Theatre Company's DESPERATE MEASURES Welcomes Celebrity Guests Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Lucie Arnaz

The cast of the York Theatre Company production of the knee slappin' new musical Desperate Measures, with a nod to Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, with book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg (Anna Karenina) and music by David Friedman (Scandalous), presented in association with Cecilia Lin and Hu Guo, welcomed celebrity guests Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Lucie Arnaz onstage following a recent performance.

Directed and choreographed by Bill Castellino (Marry Harry, Cagney) and with music direction by David Hancock Turner(The World Will Not Contain Us), the six-member cast features Emma Degerstedt (The Little Mermaid) as Susanna/Sister Mary Jo, Gary Marachek (Camelot) as Father Morse, Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages) as Bella Rose, Conor Ryan (john and jen) as Johnny Blood, Peter Saide (Skin Tight) as Sheriff Green, and Nick Wyman (Les Misérables) as Governor von Richterhenkenpflichtgetruber.

In 1890, in a territory out West, Johnny Blood, a hot-tempered young cowboy is sentenced to hang for killing a man in a bar fight. His sister, a novice nun in a nearby mission, is persuaded to plead with a corrupt governor to spare her brother's life. The governor promises to pardon Johnny if his sister, the Sister, will 'do his bidding' for the night. Adding to the humorous complications are a hard-bitten sheriff, a voluptuous saloon girl and a priest who reads Nietzsche. It's funny, it's sexy, it's country, and it's a New York premiere with music by award-winning composer David Friedman and book and lyrics by two-time Tony nominee Peter Kellogg.

Now in performance, the limited engagement of Desperate Measures continues through Sunday, October 15, 2017 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (619 Lexington Avenue, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). Opening Night is Sunday evening, October 1, 2017 at 6:00 p.m.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the York Theatre Company

James Morgan, Nick Wyman, Emma Degerstedt, Peter Saide, Lauren Molina, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Conor Ryan, Gary Marachek, David Friedman, Lucie Arnaz, David Hancock Turner, Bill Castellino

Lucie Arnaz, Dr. Ruth Westheimer

Lucie Arnaz, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, David Friedman, Bill Castellino

Peter Saide, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Nick Wyman

Peter Saide, Lucie Arnaz, Nick Wyman

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, David Friedman, Lucie Arnaz