Treasure Island Reading to Feature Matthew Gumley, Jamie Jackson, Zachary James, Nick Dalton

By Andrew Gans
22 Feb 2011

Matthew Gumley
Matthew Gumley
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

A by-invitation-only backers' audition of Treasure Island, A New Musical, a reverent adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, will be held Feb. 28 in Manhattan.

Directed by Brett Smock, the cast will feature Matthew Gumley (Jim Hawkins), Jamie Jackson (Long John Silver), Zachary James (Israel Hands), Nick Dalton (George Merry), Kevin McGuire (Squire Trelawney), Howard Kaye (Captain Smollett), Erik Liberman (Ben Gunn/O’Brien), Daniel C. Levine (Abraham Gray), Eric Anderson (Billy Bones/Redruth), Don Burroughs (Pew/Thomas Morgan), Mike Masters (Dr. Livesey), Bruce Warren (Black Dog/Job), Matthew Farcher (Dick) and Trisha Rapier (Mother).

The new musical features a book by director Smock and Carla Vitale, who is also the dramaturg, with a score by Corinne Aquilina.

Treasure Island, A New Musical is described as "a daring adventure that re-examines the essence of heroism, the journey to maturity and the strength of the human psyche in the face of harrowing conditions."

About the new musical director/librettist Smock told previously Playbill.com, "We focus on young Jim's coming-of-age journey and his relationship with the complicated and cunning Long John Silver. We narrowed down the book's many characters to 14 critical ones: 12 men, one boy and a mother. This gives us a tight group of compelling individuals and we use them as devices to explore the work's thematic content — the nature of greed and its consequences, the futility of desire and the adherance to one's moral compass. So while it is indeed family fare, it's a musical adventure that uses the larger themes as critical guideposts."

Industry folk interested in attending the performance should e-mail info@treasureislandthemusical.com.

For more information visit www.treasureislandthemusical.com.