TIN PAN ALLEY Premieres Off-Broadway, 3/19

Edmund Gaynes, in association with David Gersten, will present Loni Ackerman, Brad Bradley Gene Castle, and Karla Shook in TIN PAN ALLEY (The Original iTunes), which began an open-ended Off-Broadway engagement February 25^th at Actors Temple Theater (339 West 47^th Street between 8^th and 9^th Avenues). Opening Night is tonight, March 19^th (7pm). TIN PAN ALLEY will run 75 minutes.

TIN PAN ALLEY is described as "a musical revue of the golden age of American popular music from the 1890s through the 1930s. With simple tunes, it sings and dances its way through the music that has become part of our collective memory," including “Let Me Sing And I’m Happy,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “The Sidewalks Of New York,” “Maple Leaf Rag,” “Some Of These Days,” “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “St Louis Blues,” “’Til We Meet Again,” “Blue Skies,” “It Had To Be You,” “He Loves and She Loves,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Second Hand Rose,” and “Let Yourself Go,” among others.

Loni Ackerman’s Broadway credits include George M!, No No Nanette, The Magic Show, So Long, 174th Street, Evita andCats. She was in the original cast of Starting Here, Starting Now and appeared Off-Broadway in Diamonds, The Petrified Prince  (both under the direction of Hal Prince), Brownstone, and Dames At Sea. Karla Shook is making her Off-Broadway debut. Her National/International tours include Ragtime (Mother), Irving Berlin's I Love a Piano (US & Japan companies), R & H's Cinderella, andKiss Me Kate.  Numerous credits including Annie Get Your Gun (Annie Oakley), The Sound of Music (Maria), The Will Rogers Follies(Betty Blake), Anything Goes (Reno Sweeney), White Christmas (Betty Haynes), Funny Girl (Fanny u/s). Karla can be heard on original cast recordings of Who’s Got The Keys and Take It Easy (jazz version). Brad Bradley was most recently seen in the closing cast of the Broadway production of Billy Elliot.  Brad was an original cast member of Monty Pythons Spamalot on Broadway, and then went on to star as Patsy to Gary Beach and Richard Chamberlain’s King Arthur on the 1^st National Tour of Spamalot. Other original Broadway credits include People in the Picture, Annie Get Your Gun (with Bernadette Peters and Reba McEntire), Thou Shalt Not, andSteel Pier. Other NY and Off-Broadway credits include Ernest in Love (Irish Rep), A Christmas Carol (MSG), Cocoanuts, Strike Up The Band and Bye Bye Birdie (both at Encores). Made his professional debut at age 12 as a back up dancer for Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial.

Gene Castle (Director/Choreographer/Performer). Since moving back to New York in 2008, Gene directed & choreographed the Off-Broadway production of Babalu-Cy, and also did the musical staging for the Off-Broadway productions of Love Divided By, Dietrich & Chevalier, and Danny and Sylvia (still running) and the national tour of Gilligan’s Island. He directed and choreographed On The Town for the San Jose CLO, which won him the Bay Area Theatre Critics Outer Circle Awards for Best Direction, Best Choreography and Best Musical. Other directorial credits include several plays in and around Los Angeles.  He also wrote, directed & choreographed nine original productions for Dr Pepper. Additional choreographic credits include the Emmy Awards starring Jason Alexander; the feature film Kiss Me Goodbye starring Sally Field & James Caan; the television specials “Bonnie And The Franklins” and “The Doc Severinsen Show;” Movin’ On, an original Sondheim musical for the Laguna Playhouse; Strike Up The Band for Reprise/LA; The Dybbuk at the Mark Taper Forum; and Cinderella at the Long Beach CLO, as well as celebrity tribute shows at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He also choreographed episodes for television series and commercials. Gene made his Broadway debut as a “newsboy” in the original production of Gypsy and followed that with featured roles in the original productions of Flower Drum Song, High Spirits and George M! He also played Percy Potter in the pre-Broadway production of Oh Kay!

Erik James will serve as Musical Director. His Off-Broadway credits include Slugbearers of Kayrol Island, or, the Friends of Dr. Rushower (Music Director, Vineyard Theatre), This Beautiful City (Music Director, Kirk Douglas Theater and Vineyard Theatre),Help is on the Way - Broadway Cares (Music Director, Laurie Beechman Theater) as well as Piano/Music Direction for cabarets (Mario Cantone, Stephanie J. Block). Erik also makes a living by composing and producing music for TV and Film. His credits include the College Baseball World Series theme song, “Omaha” for ESPN, theme music for “Killer School Girls From Outer Space” starring Ron Jeremy, as well as many orchestral, pop, and rock library packages for ESPN, Spike TV, and Inside Edition. Erik has collaborated with Frank Black (of the Pixies) and Mark Mulcahy. Josh Iacovelli will provide scenic and lighting design.

Performances will be Monday evenings at 7pm, with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets from $36.50 may be purchased online at Telecharge.com or by calling 212/239-6200.

To post a comment, you must register and login.