Stranger to the Muse, a new musical with music by Adam David Cohen and book and lyrics by Patrick Gallagher, will receive two industry readings on Sunday, 10/4 and Monday, 10/5 at Manhattan Theatre Club Studios. Billed as "A history of love from Shakespeare to Casablanca," and the readings of Stranger to the Muse will be directed by Stephanie Kovacs. Both Cohen and Gallagher are currently first year members of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
The cast of the reading will feature Broadway's Jason Tam (A Chorus Line, Les Miserables), Sandy Binion (Jane Eyre), Susan Haefner (Thoroughly Modern Millie, 42nd Street, State Fair), and also Dawn Cantwell, Kathryn Holtkamp, Carla Magnuson, and Merissa Morin."Stranger to the Muse revolves around Eric, a young screenwriter trying to catch his big break. After being invited to a major studio to discuss his script, he's told by Hollywood producers that no one will produce it unless he adds a love story. He's unwilling to do so primarily because he's never been successful in love and doesn't know how to write about it. In his desperation to find a solution, he opens up a copy of Romeo and Juliet to learn about love and when he does, the characters come to life around him. He journeys through the great literary work of Romeo and Juliet, the philosophical writings of Plato's Symposium, and the cinematic masterpiece Casablanca in the exploration of love, all the while having them inform his real life decisions with the women in his life: Ashley, a beautiful aspiring actress he loves, Emily, an intelligent long time friend who loves him, and Deborah, his loving mother."Photo credit Walter McBride
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