TRU Announces Finalists of 2010 TRU Voices New Musicals Series

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) is pleased to announce the finalists in the 2010 TRU Voices New Musicals Series. In a series that is unique because it develops new producers as well as new musicals, two works were chosen from submissions by emerging or established producers, as well as writers. The works will be read on Monday, December 13 and Monday, December 20 at 7pm at The Roy Arias OB Theatre, 300 W. 43rd Street, 5th floor, NYC. Admission is FREE but reservations are required at 212-714-7628. For more information, visit www.truonline.org.

The musicals chosen as finalists for the TRU Voices New Musicals Reading Series are The Cure by Mark Weiser, produced by Samantha Saltzman; and Ocean in a Teacup by Joel Krantz, produced by Sherry Eaker, featuring Quentin Darrington, who starred as Coalhouse Walker in the revival of Ragtime.

The Cure will be read on Monday, December 13, 2010 at 7pm. In The Cure, two longtime friends, Gray and Alex, reunite for one last night of revelry; Gray's childhood illness has returned, threatening his survival, and Alex has been cast out by his family because of his sexuality. As the night progresses, they find themselves invited to a secret party where they stumble upon the sanctuary of the world's last surviving vampires, including a mysterious girl named Unique. With their identity in jeopardy, the vampires must protect their secret and invite the two friends to join them. While Alex embraces their offer, Gray rejects them and escapes, pitting the entire coven of vampires against him, and risking everything he has for the love of a girl he may never see again. At the crossroads of humanity and immortality lies...The Cure.

Mark Weiser (Book, Music and Lyrics) is a schizophrenic songwriter, with one foot in the pop world and the other in musical theatre. If he had a third leg, not only would he be a valuable circus performer, but that leg would be in film scoring. This current project, The Cure, combines all three loves. His film scores include Francesca Paige (Sundance Film Festival), It Ain't Love (Cinemax), A Rose by Any Other Name and many more. Among his other musicals currently in development are Ivanhoe (T.R.U. Musicals Festival Finalist), Time Machine 2.0 (Midtown Int'l Theatre Festival), Feeding the Machine and The Great Bridge. Mark spent his formative years deep in the heart of the NYC club scene, at various stages working a mop, working the bar or working the door. Starting at the age of 16, he was the first teen staffed at the legendary club - The Saint. He reveled in the irony of being an 18 year. old carding IDs at the door for the Tunnel in its heyday. Other hotspots whose employment inspired Mark's creative juices were Cat Club, Limelight, Webster Hall and many more... Mark has recently become the top scorer EVER on FOX TV's "Don't Forget the Lyrics", reinforcing his love of rock n roll. Today, Mark can be found spreading that love nightly at numerous rock n roll piano bars around the tri-state area.

Samantha Saltzman's production credits include Trails (Stage Entertainment USA Development Award recipient), Rock of Ages, Starquest International Dance Competition, The Cure, The Story (Playhouse on the Square), The 24-Hour Musical. New York directing credits include: No Moves Back, No More Waiting and Line. Directing credits include: Kol Nidre, Bed and Breakfast, and Icee (Hangar Theatre), Bernard Goes to Surgery, The Music Man. Assistant directing credits include: Titanic Benefit Concert (NYSEC), Hair, Girl's School Gothic, Arkansaw Bear, The Ant and The Grasshopper (Hangar Theatre).

Ocean in a Teacup will be read on Tuesday, December 20, 2010 at 7pm. The war may be over, but Ray Hauserman remains in India and can't bring himself to return home to the woman he loves. His betrayal of his vow, "Never to kill," has left him a broken man. Wasting away in the dive bars of Calcutta, Ray meets a fascinating Hindu doctor and teacher who offers him a path to redemption through service to the poor and homeless. When his fiancée arrives from America to try to bring him back to the States, both are challenged to learn the ultimate lessons of love and sacrifice.

Joel Krantz (Book, Music & Co-Lyricist) is a singer/songwriter who has performed at hundreds of clubs and concerts. He has appeared as the opening act for Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Meatloaf. As the founder, front man, and lead singer of The JK Band, he has performed at thousands of events and celebrations in the New York Tri-State area. The JK Band has also performed all over the country for companies including GE Capital, Pfizer, Charter Communications, and Guardian Insurance. Ocean in a Teacup marks Joel's debut into the musical Theatre World.

Jamibeth Margolis (Director) has directed readings of Warsaw: A Musical Drama at Safra Hall, NYMF, and Stockton College, as well as the recent production for Boheme Opera NJ. NYC directing credits include assistant director to Jerry Zaks on the 2006 Broadway revival of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial and also on A Bad Friend by Jules Feiffer at Lincoln Center Theater. Jamibeth directed Plane Crazy and Far From The Madding Crowd at the NYMF, as well as a number of developmental productions and readings. Recent regional credits include directing Pirates Of Penzance at Boheme Opera, Do I Hear A Waltz? and Jekyll and Hyde at Denver's Arvada Center Theater, serving as assistant director on La Traviata at Opera NJ, and as SDCF Directing Observer on Tosca at NYC Opera. Jamibeth is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and specializes in the development of new plays and musicals. Jamibeth also cast some of the longest running shows in Broadway history including Les Miserables, Cats, Miss Saigon, and Phantom of the Opera.

Sherry Eaker (Producer) produces the annual Bistro Awards which will soon be celebrating its 26th anniversary. She is the former Editor in Chief of Back Stage (1977 to 2006), a publication founded by her dad in 1960. She has compiled and edited a number of books specifically designed for the performing artist, but her new passion is to work with writers and directors in developing new works for the stage.

The TRU Voices Series'track record is impressive. Among the shows that began in the series are The Great American Trailer Park Musical by Betsy Kelso and David Nehls, which went on to a popular off-Broadway two seasons ago and is currently touring; Nor'mal by Yvonne Adrian, Cheryl Stern and Tom Kochan, which went on to win a Larsen Award and played a limited in the East Village starring Barbara Walsh; and last year's Opa! by Mari Carras and Laurel Ollstein, which was a recent sell-out hit of the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival. For the 2001 Series, TRU President Bob Ost cast the perfect actress for the one-woman musical The Ambition Bird by Matthew Sheridan, Victoria Clark (who won a Tony for Light in the Piazza). The show went on to be a selection at the Cardiff Wales International Festival, as was About Face by David Arthur, which played this past summer in the New York Musical Festival (NYMF). And in the 2005 Series, TRU found a producer for Saint Heaven, a writer submission from Martin Casella and Keith Gordon; TRU put the show in the hands of Van Dean and Hillary Cutter of Van Hill Entertainment, and also matched Van and Hillary with mentor Broadway producer Cheryl Wiesenfeld (Legally Blonde, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, In the Continuum). As a result of this successful partnership, Saint Heaven moved from a reading in December '05 into a full production in June '06 at the Stamford Center for the Performing Arts starring Deborah Gibson and Tony winner Chuck Cooper and went on to a production at The Village Theatre in Issaqua, Washington.

TRU was founded in 1992 to promote a spirit of cooperation and support within the general theater community by providing information and a variety of entertainment-related services and resources that strengthen the business capability of producing organizations, individual producers, self-Producing Artists and other theater professionals. The company holds monthly seminars on a wide range of subjects important to theatrical producers and artistic directors conducted by panels of experts from both the commercial and not-for-profit segments of Broadway, Off-Broadway and the motion picture industry. These educational forums have been a core program of TRU since its inception. TRU also publishes a monthly email community newsletter of services, goods and productions. In addition, TRU produces the TRU VOICES New Play Reading Series as well as the TRU VOICES New Musicals Reading Series in which TRU underwrites developmental readings of new works for theater. In 2001, TRU began giving annual scholarships to The Commercial Theater Institute, to encourage the development of aspiring producers, created a Producer Development Program whose mentors are among the most prominent producers and general managers in New York theater, and presents Producer Boot Camp workshops to help aspirants develop the business skills they need. In March '08, TRU was associate producer of its first Equity showcase, Missives at 59E59 Theatre, a play that was developed in the 2006 TRU reading series. TRU programs for actors include an Annual Audition Event, Resource Nights and "Speed Dating" as well as free monthly actor events, including workshops.

Programs of Theater Resources Unlimited are supported in part by public funds awarded through the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as generous support from the Friar's National Foundation Association.

For more information about TRU membership, visit www.truonline.org or call 212-714-7628.

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