UnsungMusicalsCo.'s MAKE MINE MANHATTAN Opens Off-Broadway

UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. (www.UnsungMusicals.org) has announced a new production of the hit 1948 musical revue Make Mine Manhattan. The limited three-week engagement will play March 1 – 17 at the Connelly Theatre (220 East 4^th Street), opening night Sunday, March 4. With sketches and lyrics by Arnold B. Horwitt (Plain and Fancy, "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis") and music by Emmy Award winner Richard Lewine ("Cinderella", "My Name is Barbara"), this new production is directed by UMC artistic director Ben West (Gatsby, How Now, Dow Jones, Platinum). 

The original 1940s revue Make Mine Manhattan is a loving send-up of New York City's most infamous borough. Struggling actors, disgruntled theatre critics and hapless out-of-towners all bite the Big Apple in this sparkling entertainment!

Make Mine Manhattan will feature choreography by Rommy Sandhu (How Now, Dow Jones, Encores! Applauseassociate), musical direction and arrangements by Fran Minarik (Gatsby, Making the Boys), lighting design by Joe Hodge (Perfect Crime, Gatsby) and costume design by Martin T. Lopez (Penelope, Orpheus).

UMC is presenting Make Mine Manhattan as it was originally conceived by its authors under the title A Nice Place to Visit; the initial drafts describe the musical as "a pocket revue, designed for a cast of eight with two pianos". This new one-act production of the hit revue will feature discarded dialogue and four musical numbers cut prior to the revue's Broadway bow: "I Gotta Have You", "New York Gal", "Old Fashioned Girl", "Please Take It Back". 

Tickets, priced at $18, are now on sale via SmartTix.com or by calling 212-868-4444. Casting will be announced soon. For more information, visit www.UnsungMusicals.org.

The original Broadway production of Make Mine Manhattan opened January 15, 1948 at the Broadhurst Theatre. Staged by Hassard Short and starring Sid Caesar, Sheila Bond and Danny Daniels, the hit revue played 429 performances and was followed by a successful national tour starring Bert Lahr.

Arnold B. Horwitt Broadway credits include Plain and Fancy, Are You With It?, Pins and Needles, Call Me Mister, Inside U.S.A., The Girls Against the Boys, Two's Company and Make Mine Manhattan. For television, he wrote numerous episodes of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis", "The Patti Duke Show" and "I Dream of Jeannie", among others. 

Richard Lewine was director of special programming for CBS-TV. He received an Emmy Award for producing "My Name is Barbara". Other television credits include "Cinderella", "Aladdin" and "The Young People's Concerts". He also served as interim managing director of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. His theatre credits include Make Mine Manhattan, The Girls Against the Boys and Fools Rush In.

Ben West is the artistic director of UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. For UMC, his directing credits include the upcoming world premiere concert of Caesar's Wife, world premiere concerts of Gatsby and Nothing is Forever, developmental productions of How Now, Dow Jones (also revisions) and Platinum (also revisions) and readings of Barefoot Boy With Cheek and The Fig Leaves Are Falling (also revisions). Other NY credits: Trav'lin, York Theatre Reading Series; Love, Linda, Triad Theatre. Broadway: Old Acquaintance, assistant director and dramaturg; August: Osage County and The Homecoming, assistant producer.

UNSUNGMUSICALSCO. INC. (Ben West, Artistic Director) is a not-for-profit Production Company dedicated to the preservation of musical theatre through the restoration and presentation of obscure but artistically sound works. UMC projects include the upcoming world premiere concert of Caesar's Wife, world premiere concerts of Gatsby and Nothing is Forever, developmental productions of How Now, Dow Jones (revised) and Platinum (revised) and exploratory readings of Barefoot Boy With Cheek, Arms and the Girl and The Fig Leaves Are Falling (revised). Focusing primarily on overlooked projects from the Golden Age, UMC treats each property as a new musical thereby providing a unique collaboration between the artists of today and those of the past. UMC has also created a new initiative aimed at researching, assembling and restoring the material from unpublished and out-of-print musical shows: The Archival Project.www.UnsungMusicals.org