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Walsh, Myers and Zimmerman Will Star in Much Ado Musical About Face at NYMF
By Kenneth Jones
13 Aug 2008
About Face, the new 1950s college-set musical suggested by Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, playing the New York Musical Theatre Festival, will feature Barbara Walsh and Pamela Myers, veterans of different productions of Broadway's Company.
Performances of the new musical comedy, with book and lyrics by David Arthur and music by Jeffrey Lodin, will play 37 Arts Theater C Sept. 17-24.
"Set in 1955 amid the sexually charged hijinks of Whittney College, this rollicking, romantic comedy finds Coach Benedick and English Literature Professor Beatrice Stanton waging their 'merry war of wits,'" according to production notes. "Love, laughter and a little mischief are on a spree in this high-flying, heartwarming musical that puts the comedy back in musical comedy!"
Nick Corley directs, Mary MacLeod choreographs, Dave Pepin is music director, and Kim Vasquez is producing consultant.
About Face was developed in the Tony-honored BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and won the Jerry Harrington Award (David Arthur), the Spirit of Broadway Award (Jeffrey Lodin) and The Global Search For New Musicals (Cardiff, Wales).
Myers, who plays Mae Francis, created the role of Marta in Broadway's Company. She introduced "Another Hundred People."
Walsh, who plays Beatrice, is a 2007 Drama Desk nominee for Company and a Tony nominee for Falsettos. Her credits include Hairspray, Big, Blood Brothers, Nine, Rock 'n' Roll: The First 5,000 years and Ragtime (Mother in the Chicago company).
Mark Zimmerman will play Bill Benedick. His credits include A Catered Affair, The Rainmaker, Shenandoah, On the 20th Century, Brigadoon and Face Value and the first national tours of Mamma Mia! and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
The cast also includes Aubrey Sinn, Nick Mannix, Rebecca Weiner, Mark Christine, Kyle G. Bailey, Katie Gassert, Sean David, Elizabeth Rajasekhar, Andrew DiConcetto and Jacey Powers.
Arthur (book and lyrics) is a graduate of The Goodman/DePaul Theatre School, and a long-standing member of the BMI Lehman Engel Workshop. With Brian Lasser, he contributed material to the MAC Award-winning revue, Here's to Our Friends. For the concert stage he has written for Randy Graff, Judy Kuhn, Karen Mason, Marin Mazzie, Donna Murphy, Barbara Walsh and Julie Andrews. He most recently completed the music, lyrics and book for Saratoga Trunk Songs, which was presented as part of Chicago Stages at The Theatre Building Chicago.
Lodin (music) composed the score for A Hundred Years Into the Years (lyrics by William Squier, book by Richard Vetere), which was presented in the inaugural NYMF in 2004, and went on to a production at the Spirit of Broadway Theatre, Norwich, CT. Other scores include Doug Live! (lyrics by William Squier, book by Squier, Lodin, Jim Jenkins and David Campell), which played Disneyworld MGM Studios and songs for Disney's "Doug's First Movie" and the cartoon "P.B. & J. Otter"; Young Abe Lincoln (book and lyrics by John Allen) written for Theatreworks USA (Promenade Theatre and U.S. tour); Rebels, 1775 (lyrics by Squier and John Allen, book by John Allen, Squier and Mana Allen), which had its world premiere at The Starlight Theatre in Rockford, IL and a production at The Spirit of Broadway Theatre; and Top of the Heap (book and lyrics by Squier), winner of the Global Search for New Musicals, Cardiff, Wales, which was presented as part of the New American Theatre Festival, "Voices in the Heartland," in Rockford, IL, and the Curtain Call Theatre in Stamford, CT. It was also winner of the 2007 NMTN Director's Choice Award, and seen as part of NYMF 2007 Developmental Readings series.
For more information visit www.nymf.org.
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