Casting Set for Beautiful Soup's Festival of Plays by Steven Carl McCasland, Beginning 5/6

Following critically acclaimed workshop presentations, McCasland's plays will return to NYC in a month-long festival celebrating the young playwright. Together with The Clarion Theatre, they'll present six plays beginning on May 6th, 2015, with a company of actors performing in repertory. All of the plays focus on historical figures, including Laurette Taylor, Billie Holiday, Tennessee Williams, Gertrude Stein, Lillian Hellman and more.

Hailli Ridsdale serves as Production Stage Manager with Lighting Design by Molly Tiede and Costume Design by Somie Pak.

In What Was Lost, beloved stage actress Laurette Taylor returns to the stage after a six-year hiatus. BroadwayWorld critic Kristen Morale called the play "one of the most riveting" she had ever seen. For the first time in over a decade, she takes to the stage sober. Chronicling her process from the first rehearsal of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie through her legendary first performance as Amanda Wingfield, What Was Lost is a piercing look at the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive. Pennylynn White returns as Laurette Taylor, with Paul Thomas Ryan as Tennessee Williams. They are joined by returning cast members Colin Fisher, Kristen Gehling, Kimberly Faye Greenberg and Brian Piehl. Rachel Adams joins the cast as Julie Haydon. McCasland directs.

In Der Kanarienvogel, Soprano Anna Kirkland (Rags, Moose Murders) stars as legendary soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Long believed to have been a Nazi sympathizer, the play explores her affair with Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels and her connections the inner sanctions of The Third Reich. Featuring arias by Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Strauss and more, this play with music takes an inside look at Nazi Germany. McCasland directs this World Premiere production. Also featured are Levi Morger as Joseph Goebbels and Kim Rogers as Kirsten Flagstad. They are joined by Rachel Adams, David Gautschy, Rick Grossman, Orlando Iriarte, Matthew Martin, Brian Piehl and Ellyn Stein.

It's France, 1939 in Little Wars. Tensions are high. The booze is flowing. War is coming. The coolest women on earth are having the what-if dinner party you always imagined. Together they'll drink, scoff and face their demons. Someone has a secret. All of them have confessions. Inspired by one of the literary world's most famous scandals. McCasland's play has been called "fascinating", "outstanding", "heartbreaking" and "magical" by New York critics. Kimberly Faye Greenberg returns as Lillian Hellman with Kristen Gehling reprising her turn as Muriel Gardiner, Kim Rogers (Liliom) returning as Agatha Christie, Dorothy Weems returning as Dorothy Parker and Pennylynn White returning as Alice B. Toklas. Polly McKie joins the cast as Gertrude Stein, with Samantha Hoefer as Bernadette. Cara Picone directs the production.

Neat & Tidy returns to the stage after its acclaimed premiere in 2012. When a child is brutally murdered, the seismic aftershocks ripple throughout a small town. At its center, a marriage cripples. Inspired by the 1994 Susan Smith case, Neat & Tidy takes an original look at desperation. The play stars Kristen Gehling as Tracy. She is joined by Mark Eric Gomez, Alana Inez, Matthew Martin (Ghostlight), Samantha Mercado-Tudda (Lift), JoAnn Mariano, Brian Piehl, Patrick Pribyl, Kelly Reader (Liliom), Kim Rogers, Paul Thomas Ryan, Laurie Sammeth, Ellyn Stein and Dorothy Weems. Critics hailed the original production as "brilliant", "moving" and "bravely imagined", comparing McCasland and his play to Thornton Wilder's Our Town. McCasland returns to direct the production.

In the World Premiere of 28 Marchant Avenue, McCasland draws back the curtain on The Kennedy Family's Hyannisport compound. Examining five summers in the family's lives, the play focuses on the lobotomy of Rose Marie Kennedy. Dorothy Weems stars as Rose Kennedy, with Kristen Gehling as Rosemary. They are joined by Colin Fisher as John F. Kennedy, Rachel Adams as Eunice Kennedy and Orlando Iriarte as Joseph Kennedy. Also featured are Kimberly Faye Greenberg, Brian Piehl, Kelly Reader, Paul Thomas Ryan and Laurie Sammeth. The production features original music by composer James Horan, and direction by the playwright.

The Clarion Theatre is located at 309 East 26th Street in New York City. Tickets, priced $18 each are now on sale. The 5-Play Package is available for a reduced price. Tickets can be purchased at http://beautifulsoup.showclix.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.