HUSH THE MUSICAL To Play FringeFest 8/13-8/25

The New York International Fringe Festival will present HUSH The Musical at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street) on Saturday August 13, Tuesday August 16, Tuesday August 23, Wednesday August 24 and Thursday August 25. 

Hush the Musical, a production from Charles "Rocco" Mandracchia in association with the Frizzi & Lazzi Musical Theatre Company, has emerged as the Winner of the Mid-Winter Madness Theatre Festival after playing sold out shows at the Roy Arias Theatre in Times Square, NYC and returned for a sold out encore run at the world famous Triad Theatre NYC.

Hush is set in the VIP waiting room at LaGuardia airport during a blinding snowstorm which has halted all departures. Several stranded, eccentric characters and their opposing philosophies are forced into comical confrontations with delightfully humorous consequences. Georgia, a New Age Buddhist meditation instructor encounters a successful, materialistic businessman, Othello Salviati. They are joined by an inept Hit Man, a kooky Stewardess and Othello's Wife. Music for Hush is composed/co-conceived by Charles Mandracchia, who also directs and produces. The libretto was adapted by Emelise Aleandri, Artistic Director of Frizzi & Lazzi, from Etta Cascini's original one-act Italian comedy, SHHHH!

After a successful run in "Next To Normal" Cellist, Alisa Horn & Violinist, Yuiko Kamakari have joined with Mitch Marcus Music Director to play the award winning "Hush the Musical" at the New York International Fringe Festival.

The Hush Company features Seth Blum as Othello. He recently created the role of Balthazar in the original musical adventure, Lighthouse. He previously played Leon Whittaker in the debut of Chains of Dew at the Wings Theatre, NYC. Coming soon, Seth can be seen in the role of Morty in the independent film, I Hate Tom Petty. Diana Falzone is a television/radio host, relationship expert, and writer. She hosted Cosmolicious with Diana, her own national daily primetime talk show on Sirius XM. Diana is the spokesperson for Paltalk.com and she hosts a weekly interview show focusing on relationships and dating. Diana is a field correspondent for G4TV's "Attack of the Show " and guest host of "The Feed". She is a host and for Wetv.com. Additionally, she is the "Love and Marriage" host for the lifestyle magazine Fox News iMAG. Diana is the advice columnist for Military.com. Emelise Aleandri creates the role of Georgia. She is featured as the Mother in the film, Vito Bonafacci, She creates the title role of Sister Italy by Angela Rago, and is featured in numerous TV shows, theatrical productions and films, including Spike Lee's Crooklyn , Italian Funerals and Other Festive Occasions at the Walnut Street Theatre. Tommy J. Dose plays Nick, the incompetent Hit Man. His credits include Phantom, Spamalot, My Fair Lady, In the Beginning, Urinetown, Assassins, Into the Woods, Oklahoma, Captains Courageous and Oliver. Madelyn Schwartz plays the kooky Stewardess. She made her NYC stage debut in Nicu's Spoon Theatre children's production of Cinderella. Oregon credits include Wild Oats, As You Like It, The Person I Once Was, Big River, Spelling Bee, Beauty and the Beast, Honk, Oklahoma and The Boys From Syracuse. Isabel Cristina Obando Passenger Isabel- Isabel Cristina Obando was born in Medellin, Colombia and now resides in the Big Apple persuing her acting career after graduating from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in May 2010. Recent credits include Miranda in Up to Date, Sam in The Forest, and the Mad Hatter in Alicia en el Pais... Maravillas. A mama y papa, poco a poco la vida se mejora! isabelcristinaobando@gmail.com. Jim Roumeles Passenger Jim-Jim Roumeles is thrilled to be a part of Hush! Favorite NY credits include the Follies, Kiss Me Kate! (Gremio) and the concept recording of 1812 - The Musical. Regional credits include Singin' in the Rain (Don Lockwood), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Caleb), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka) and Cabaret (Cliff Bradshaw). A teacher of choral music and musical theater, Jim had the pleasure of directing Guys & Dolls this past spring. Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, MSED in Theatre Education from The City College of New York. Emily Billig Passenger Emily-Emily Billig- She is a recent college graduate with a BA in Vocal Performance and theatre from the University at Albany. Recent credits include: Simply Outrageous, My First Time Woman #2 and Cabaret Texas (University At Albany). Thanks to everyone apart of the Fringe Festival. Blair Anderson Passenger Blair-Blair Anderson is excited to be performing in her first Fringe show! She has performed in Disney productions around the world, including Big Band Beat inTokyo and as assorted princesses and one evil (not ugly) stepsister on Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Mexican Riviera cruises. Other favorite roles include: Fiona in Brigadoon; Pinky in Happy Days: A New Musical; Ida in Honk!; and Patty Simcox in the international tour of Grease. Many thanks to her parents for their support and racking up of many frequent flier miles. Alisa Horn Cello-An active free-lance cellist in New York City, Alisa Horn enjoys performing, recording, and teaching a wide variety of musical genres from classical to jazz to rock and beyond. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Alisa received her Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the University of Michigan and completed her Master of Music in Cello Performance at Northwestern University with Professor Hans Jensen. Alisa performed regularly in the 2009 Tony Award-Winning Musical and 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Drama, "Next to Normal" on Broadway. She has also performed in the 2007 Tony Award-Winning Best Musical, "Spring Awakening" as well as the new musical, "Catch Me If You Can"on Broadway. Alisa joined jazz greats, Bill Mays and Marvin Stamm, to form The Inventions Trio, who performs a fusion of jazz and classical repertoire. The Trio released its debut recording, "Fantasy," on Palmetto Records which was voted one of the top new jazz releases in The Village Voice and has been given four stars in Downbeat Magazine, as well as rave reviews in Jazziz and Jazz Times magazines. For more info about Alisa: www.alisahorn.com. Yuiko Kamakari (violin / viola ) is native of Kamakura, Japan and is currently living in New York City. She has played with many of the freelance local orchestras and chamber groups in the New York area and is quite active in pop, rock and roll, and various studio projects as well. Artists she has shared stage with include Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, Jack Dejohnette, Kelli O' Hara, Arturo Sandoval,Alexander Markov, Il Divo, Lior , Paul Banks(from Interpol) , Mary J Blige, U2, Mick Jagger, David Garrett, Fargie, Liza Minnelli, Gigi D'Alessio, Trisha Yearwoodand many others.Television work includes Women's World Awards, Late night with Conan O'Brien(NBC), the View(ABC), and Good Morning America(ABC). She has lately joined the recording sessions with Charlie haden quartet west and Nick Zinner ( from Yeah Yeah Yeahs ). As a violinist, she received her bachelor's degree from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music , where she studied with Sakiko Shimo, Kazuki sawa, Garhard Bosse, Isaac Malkin and Daniel Phillips. Miss. Kamakari has played keyboard/ violin on the original Broadway show Next To Normal from 2009 to January 2011. Mitch Marcus, Music Director, is a composer, pianist, and saxophonist/clarinetist whose career spans the vast spectrum of musical genres from classical and jazz to rock, R & B, and musical theatre. Mitch also accompanies ballet and modern dance classes at dance centers across the five boroughs including The Mark Morris Dance Group and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Etta Cascini, author of the one act play, Shhhhh! Her plays have been produced and performed in Italy and broadcast by RAI and Swiss Radio. Her one act play, Donne Africane (African Women), was 2nd Prize Winner of the "Luigi Antonelli 91" International Competition and was featured during "Human Rights Day" in 1994 by the Soroptomist International Women's Association. Charles Mandracchia- Co-conceiver/ Composer/Director/Producer of Hush is a 25 year stage veteran and has appeared in numerous Broadway and Off Broadway productions, such as the original Broadway cast of Grand Hotel, South Pacific and Porgy and Bess, as well as New York City Opera productions. His credits include: Composer/Co-Creator of Valentino the Musical, numerous television and film appearances, and creation and development of projects for Paramount Pictures. Charles is a vocal consultant for Atlantic, Epic, Sony and Warner Brothers Records.

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