York Presents Musical 'Of Mice and Men' Reading, 7/30

The York Theatre Company will present the musical drama version of Of Mice and Men, based on the book by John Steinbeck as part of the Developmental Reading Series on Monday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. at The York Theatre at St. Peter's (54th Street just East of Lexington Ave.). The Developmental Reading Series is made possible through a generous donation from The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation, and supported in part by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Department of Cultural Affairs and The New York State Council on The Arts.

Of Mice and Men is adapted by Ira J. Bilowit and Wilson Lehr with music by Alfred Brooks and lyrics by Bilowit.   The reading will feature: Robert Delbert as Crooks, Brandon Ellis (Company) as Curley, Robert Gomes (The Last Night of Ballyhoo), as Narrator, Rita Harvey (Fiddler on the Roof) as Curley's Wife, Michael Milligan as George, Ray McLeod (Wonderful Town) as Lennie, Will North as Whit, Rod Porter as Carlson, Charles Techman as Candy and Gerritt VanderMeer (York's I and Albert) as Slim. Matt Castle (Company) serves as Music Director.   The show will be directed by Anthony Newfield (Tartuffe).  

The show has a long history.   John Steinbeck adapted his novel into a play, which opened at the Music Box Theatre on November 23, 1937, ran for 207 performances and was directed by George S. Kaufman.  A revival ran at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, opening on December 18, 1974 for a 62-performance run; that production was directed by Edwin Sherin.  The musical of Of Mice and Men was originally presented in 1958 at Provincetown Playhouse with Steinbeck's full support of Bilowit and Lehr's vision.  The show starred Leo Penn as George, Art Lund as Lennie, Jo Sullivan as Curley's Wife, and was directed by Jerome Eskow.  The New York Times called the show a "work of substance and power."  The show received solid reviews but was seriously hampered by a newspaper strike, and closed after six weeks.  It was never recorded and has not been produced since.

The York Theatre's Developmental Reading Series presents some 40 readings and workshops of new musicals by emerging and established authors throughout the year, free of charge to the public and the writers. These readings are a vital part of the writing process. Post-performance discussions are occasionally held with audiences. This series also serves as an incubator for shows to be considered for Mainstage production, thus serving the York's unique mission of taking new musicals through the complete development process to full production. Among the numerous shows that were developed in the Developmental Reading Series are: York's  productions of Souvenir and The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) as well as Bush is Bad, Adrift in Macao, Summer of '42, Children's Letters to God, Harold and Maude and the current Tony Award-winning Broadway hit, Avenue Q. 

For ticket information visit www.yorktheatre.org or call 212-935-5820.  The York Theatre Company in Saint Peter's Theatre is at 54th Street Just East of Lexington.

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