York Theatre Presents JESUS' KID BROTHER Reading, 5/25

The award-winning York Theatre Company presents the musical, JESUS' KID BROTHER, May 25th at 3 p.m. The musical is part of the York Theatre Company's Development Reading Series which announced the cast for two other new musicals: THE AGE OF INNOCENCE with a reading on May 27th and LA LLARONA with a reading on June 2nd. All reading take place at York Theatre at Saint Peter's Church, enter on 54th Street Just East of Lexington.

JESUS' KID BROTHER was written by Brian and Mark Karmelich. The cast of JESUS' KID BROTHER features Eric Anderson (South Pacific), Jimmy Ray Bennett (White's Lies), Danny Bernardy, Randy Blair, Kevin Duda (Xanadu), Gwen Hollander (Little Women), Jeffrey Landman (Les Misèrables), Nicole Lewis (Lennon), Erin Maguire (101 Dalmatians tour), Maria Mindelle (South Pacific), Jason Michael Snow (South Pacific), Katherine Von Till and Michael Zahler. The reading is directed by Connor Gallagher with music direction by Brian Murphy.

If someone thinks growing up with a famous sibling is difficult, trying being Larry, Jesus' Kid Brother - he has an inferiority complex of Biblical proportions. This rollicking musical comedy follows Larry's attempts to be his own man. Helped by his best friend Barabbas, Larry searches for true love and finds it in the most unlikely and forbidden of places -- with the daughter of Pontius Pilate. This hilarious behind-the-scenes look at the New Testament features singing Jews, dancing lepers, menacing Romans, giddy disciple groupies and an outrageous climax where Larry finally confronts his insecurities.

THE AGE OF INNOCENCE has music by Ted Kociolek with the book and Lyrics by Walter Holland and Ted Kociolek. It was imagined by Walter Holland and based on the book by Edith Wharton. The reading will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 27th. The cast of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE features J. B. Adams (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Raissa Katona Bennett (The Phantom of the Opera), Kerry Conte (Ernest in Love), Jack Doyle (Young Frankenstein), George Dvorsky (The Scarlet Pimpernel), Kelly Francis (NBC's "You're the One That I Want"), Michael Halling (A Tale of Two Cities), Nancy Johnston (Porgy and Bess, Lincoln Center), Jeanne lehman (Beauty and the Beast), Georga Osborne (Meet Me in St. Louis), Spencer Plachy (Subways are for Sleeping), Bart Shatto (Dracula), Melanie Vaughn (The Lion King), Lynne Wintersteller (Closer Than Ever). The reading is directed by Pamela Hunt (The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!) with music direction by Ted Kociolek.

This is an encore presentation, featuring new material and songs, of THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, based upon the novel by Edith Wharton. When Newland Archer, a young attorney, engaged to the loving but conventional May Welland, encounters her European Cousin, the beautiful and mysterious Countess Olenska, his life is transformed. Set against the backdrop of Old New York, this story of forbidden love and repressed passions is "the most romantic of romances."

LA LLARONA- THE MEXICAN MEDEA is a musical drama by Hector Armienta and will presented on Wednesday, June 2nd at 7 p.m. The cast of LA LLARONA features Venuz Delmar, Leilah Dione Ezra, Lina Gallegos, Anna Katherine Montgomery and Tamra Paselk. The reading is directed by J. Esquea.

A young Xochil Indian girl fell desperately in love with a man of Spanish lineage, and the great Xochil river has never forgiven her. Twenty years later she is married, and now the river will take its revenge upon her. Her husband will betray her, she will go mad, and the river will torment her until she sacrifices her only child. This is the legend of La Llorona - the Weeping Woman.

The York Theatre Company is the only theater in New York City - and one of very few in the world - dedicated to developing and fully producing new musicals and preserving neglected, notable shows from the past. This season, York was nominated for seven Drama Desk, two Lucille Lortel, two Outer Critics Circle and one Drama League Award for its production of Yank! A WWII Love Story (which has been announced for a Broadway transfer, along with last season's Enter Laughing, The Musical). For almost four decades, York's intimate, imaginative style of producing both original and neglected classic musicals has resulted in critical acclaim and recognition from artists and audiences alike. Under the guidance of Artistic Director James Morgan since 1997, the York has focused exclusively on new musicals in its Mainstage Series-most of them world, American, or New York premieres-by some of the field's most esteemed creators, and has also helped launch the careers of many talented new writers. Over 30 cast recordings from York Theatre Company productions are now available on CD, and commercial transfers of such York productions as The Musical of Musicals - The Musical!, Souvenir, Jolson & Company, and acclaimed revivals of Sweeney Todd and Pacific Overtures have all showcased the importance of the York and its programs.

Each year, York's Developmental Reading Series presents between 30 to 40 readings and workshops of new musicals by emerging and established authors. Reading Series Coordinator Jeff Landsman says, "These readings give writers a unique opportunity to get audience feedback while a show is still in progress." York's Mainstage production, Yank!, as well as past Mainstage productions Souvenir and The Musical of Musicals, The Musical! were first developed in the Developmental Reading Series, where the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit Avenue Q also made its first appearances. The Developmental Reading Series is made possible in part by The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

 

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