Brendan Milburn & Valerie Vigoda's New Musical LONG STORY SHORT to Play 59E59 Theaters, Begin. 2/28

59E59 Theaters and Prospect Theater Company announce cast for the NYC premiere LONG STORY SHORT, adapted from David Schulner's play An Infinite Ache by Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda, and directed by Kent Nicholson. LONG STORY SHORT begins performances on February 28 for a limited engagement through March 29. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:15 PM, Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM and 8:15 PM; and Sunday at 3:15 PM. Please note the following schedule adjustments: there are no matinee performances on Saturday, February 28 and Saturday, March 7; the performance on Sunday, March 1 is at 7:15 PM only. Press Opening is Tuesday, March 10 at 7:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $50 ($35 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

A funny, frazzled couple-one Jewish, one Asian American-careens from first date to old age, illuminating the challenges and joys of a life time of love. Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda (Striking 12) turn David Schulner's play An Infinite Ache into a touching, melodic pop-rock musical, unwrapping a 50-year romance in 95 minutes and 17 songs.

The production stars Pearl Sun (Broadway's If/Then) as Hope, and Bryce Ryness (HAIR on Broadway, Peter Pan Live!) as Charles. Music Director Vadim Feichtner leads a four-piece band.

The design team includes David L. Arsenault (scenic design); Kirche Leigh Zeile (costume design); Grant W. S. Yeager (lighting design); and Kevin Heard (sound design). The Production Stage Manager is Emily Paige Ballou.

Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda (adaptation, music and lyrics) have been writing songs together for twenty years, first for their band GrooveLily, and more recently for musical theater and film. Their work includes two musicals written with librettist Rachel Sheinkin: Striking 12 (Off Broadway & countless regional and international licensed productions, including far-flung theaters in Zimbabwe and Finland), and Sleeping Beauty Wakes (Center Theatre Group, Deaf West, McCarter, La Jolla Playhouse). Other musical theater: Beautiful Poison (commissioned by 5th Avenue), Wheelhouse (TheatreWorks), Toy Story: The Musical (Disney), Fantasy Faire (Disneyland's Royal Theatre), Long Story Short (Pittsburgh City Theatre, TheatreWorks, San Diego Rep), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Dir. Tina Landau, McCarter/Paper Mill Playhouse) and its complete reworking as the rock musical Midsummer Night (in development), and Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (Seattle Rep/Balagan/ACT, Off Broadway-bound). Separately, Brendan has written/arranged/orchestrated music for WATT?!? (w/David Javerbaum, Village Theatre), The Behavior of Broadus (w/ The Burglars of Hamm, CTG), and produced albums for musicals, singer-songwriters, and four CDs for City Stomp: New York Music for New York Families. Valerie is the first-call lyric doctor for Disney live events on three continents, and she toured the world with Cyndi Lauper and Joe Jackson as electric violinist and backup singer. Brendan and Valerie have written many songs for Disney animated films: Tinker Bell & The Lost Treasure, Tinker Bell & the Great Fairy Rescue, Tinker Bell & The Pixie Hollow Games (2011 Annie Award nomination), The Secret of Wings (2012 Annie Award nomination), as well as the lyrics for the animated feature film Amulet (Amazon Studios, in development). LA Ovation Award (2007) for Sleeping Beauty Wakes, Jonathan Larson Award (2006 and 2008), ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award (2009).

Kent Nicholson (director) previously directed Long Story Short at San Diego Repertory. New York credits include: Five Flights (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), Wet (Summer Play Festival), and Marry Harry (NYMF, American Theater Group). Regional: The Light in the Piazza (South Coast Repertory), How to Write a New Book for the Bible (South Coast Repertory, Berkeley Repertory, Seattle Repertory), Lizzie (Theater Under the Stars, Village Theater), Grey Gardens, Vincent in Brixton, Ambition Facing West, and All My Sons (TheatreWorks), Saint Ex (Weston Playhouse), 9 Circles, The Good German, and Jacques Brel (Marin Theater Company), Small Tragedy and Satellites (Aurora Theater Company). He created the New Works Initiative at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto and currently serves as the Director of Musical Theater at Playwrights Horizons, and the Curator of the Uncharted Writers Group at Ars Nova. ###

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