A private, informal reading of an aborning new musical work by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire is being held June 15 in Manhattan, a source close to the reading told Playbill On-Line.

Take Flight is said to include three musical tales relating to man's fascination with flight: Lindbergh's crossing of the Atlantic, the story of the Wright brothers and a piece about a famous woman aviator.

Several days of rehearsals culminated in the June 15 reading, which is said to be lyricist Maltby and composer Shire's first objective hearing of the developing material. Alice Ripley (Side Show, The Dead), Brian d'Arcy James (Titanic), Christiane Noll (Jekyll and Hyde), Jarrod Emick (Damn Yankees), John Jellison (A New Brain and Stephen R. Buntrock (Les Miserables) are among performers.

Maltby and Shire are best known for their smart, urbane revues, Closer Than Ever and Starting Here, Starting Now, and the book musicals Baby and Big. Maltby is a director (Fosse and Ain't Misbehavin') who also contributed lyrics to Miss Saigon, and Shire has scored a number of films.

Kevin Stites (Titanic, On the Town) is musical director. -- By Kenneth Jones