Michael Thomas Holmes & Dominique Plaisant Join Cast of UnsungMusicals' BLESS YOU ALL

Michael Thomas Holmes (The Producers, Oklahoma!) and Dominique Plaisant (The Nutty Professor, The Wild Party) have joined the cast of UnsungMusicalsCo.'s new Off-Broadway production of the 1950 musical revue Bless You All! with sketches by Emmy Award winner Arnold Auerbach ("The Phil Silvers Show," Call Me Mister) and a score by acclaimed songwriter Harold Rome (Fanny, Destry Rides Again).

Holmes and Plaisant join Jeremy Benton (Anything Goes), Jennifer Lee Crowl (Young Frankenstein), Emilee Dupre(Venice, Chaplin), Jacob Hoffman (I'll Be Damned), Brent McBeth (White Christmas), Ruth Pferdehirt (Finding Nemo: The Musical), Lindsay Roberts (Memphis), Christopher Ryan (Young Frankenstein) and Clifton Samuels (Follies) to comprise the casT. Holmes and Plaisant will take over the tracks of Aaron Kaburick and Billie Wildrick for the final week of performances.

Directed by UMC artistic director Ben West (The Fig Leaves Are Falling, At Home Abroad), the limited three-week engagement continues its run through Oct 5 at The Connelly Theatre (220 East 4th Street).

Brimming with jazz-infused melodies, song-and-dance specialties and classic comedy numbers, Bless You All! is a cheerful celebration of the Golden Age of the Broadway revue. Delicious send-ups of such cultural icons as the 21 Club and the roaring '20s line the landscape of this glittering entertainment!

UMC's newly adapted production of Bless You All! is the first time the musical has been performed in over 60 years. UMC has gathered the original manuscript material from various archival collections and has used it to create a fresh take on the classic revue, which features the addition of a never-before-seen comedy sketch written circa 1940 by Mr. Auerbach and Pulitzer Prize winner Herman Wouk (The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial)!

"Yesterday is Tomorrow", a post-performance discussion of how the Golden Age has influenced emerging and contemporary writers, will be held following the Wednesday, October 2 performance. The discussion will feature Sam Carner and Derek Gregor, Richard Rogers Award-winning authors of Unlock'd, with special performances by Natalie Weiss (Everyday Rapture, Les Miserables, Wicked) and David Perlman (Baby It's You!, Yank!). UMC Associate Producer Ben Coleman will moderate the discussion.

The Bless You All! creative team includes choreographer Ray Hesselink (Heat Wave: The Jack Cole Project, I Heart Bob), musical director and arranger Fran Minarik (At Home Abroad, Make Mine Manhattan), lighting designer Joe Hodge (The Fig Leaves Are Falling) and costume designer Heather J. Carey (The Fig Leaves Are Falling). The casting director is Geoff Josselson.

Tickets, priced at $20, are now available online via www.SmartTix.com or by calling 212-868-4444.

UMC's Fifth Anniversary Celebration is sponsored in part by The Ahn, Bottrell, DeSilva, Hall, Kim and Schimmel Group,Yvonne & Jim Fogerty, Griffith & Goodman, Nathan Romano, June Silver and Warner Chappell Music.

For more information, please visit www.UnsungMusicals.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.