The Last Dance Reading Features Barbara Barrie, Dick Latessa, Tommy Tune, Dick Cavett and More

By Andrew Gans
29 Jul 2010

Barbara Barrie
Barbara Barrie

A private reading of The Last Dance, a new musical directed and choreographed by Jonathan Butterell, will be presented July 29.

The cast features Barbara Barrie, Yolanda Bavan, Maxine Brown, Dick Cavett, John Cullum, Dick Latessa, Marni Nixon, Stefan Olaguera, Eugene "Oz" Smith, Pat Suzuki, Tommy Tune and Charles Turner.

David Binder and Barbara Whitman produce.

In a statement Whitman said, "We’re all going to get older - hopefully. Yet no one talks about it. It’s the big elephant in the room. Rarely is it explored in films or books or theatre. The Last Dance puts issues of aging center stage. We meet an amazing group of people who, through stories and songs, are reflecting on lives lived - the joys, the hardships, the challenges. The Last Dance gives voice to a generation of people who refuse to be ignored." 

The Last Dance, according to press notes, "is a new musical about a long neglected part of our society, the aged. The show will feature a cast of 10 older people, ages 65 and up. Through contemporary songs, we get to know this group of spirited and opinionated men and woman as they face the issues of growing older."

The creative team also features musical director Mary-Mitchell Campbell.