New York Stage and Film's mainstage season, at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, begins on June 23 with Once Around the City (June 23-July 11), claimed as the first mainstage musical in the history of Vassar's Powerhouse Theatre.

The Robert Reale (music)-Willie Reale (book & lyrics) creation is a romantic comedy set in the underhanded world of '80s New York real estate. Linn-Baker will direct. The cast will feature Reed Birney, Jane Bodle, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Peter Jay Fernandez, Tom Ford, Joe Grifasi, Peter Jacobson, Deirdre Lovejoy, David Margulies, Michael Potts, Michael A. Shepperd, John Sloman, and Anne Torsiglieri. The show is expected to open Off-Broadway next fall.

The summer's other Powerhouse production is Cellini (July 17-Aug. 2), written and directed by Shanley. A change of pace for the playwright, the play tells of Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini and his ambition to create a work to rival the greatest achievements of Michelangelo. A cast of 11 plays 30 roles.

The season in the smaller Coal Bin Theatre continues with Fire Eater (June 26-28), Brighde Mullins' story of a cross-dressing lady reformer during the time of the Irish Potato Famine, directed by Maria Mileaf; The Ballad of Lily From Hell (July 10-12), a tale of a vampire and two petty crooks in small-town New England, written by David Grimm and directed by Mayer; and Hurricane, Erin Cressida Wilson's examination of the backlash against '60s feminism and free love, directed by Barry Edelstein.

For information of the season, call (914) 437-5599 or (914) 437-7235. -- By Robert Simonson