Dean, Champlin, Thorell, Sapp and More Set for Reading of Silas Musical

By Andrew Gans
November 13, 2007

Casting has been announced for the two by-invitation-only readings of Silas, scheduled for Nov. 30 in Manhattan.

Plain Language Productions, Inc. will present the readings of the new musical, which is based on George Eliot's novel "Silas Marner." Heading the cast in the title role will be Bradley Dean. He will be joined onstage by Donna Lynne Champlin, Erin Davie, Clarke Thorell, Brooke Sunny Moriber, David Rossmer, Gordon Stanley, David Beach, Rena Strober, Robb Sapp, Curt Karibalis, Lindsay Mendez, Jill Abramowitz, Darryl Winslow, Matt Bailey, Stephen Trafton, Matt Leisy and Chelsea Jo Pattison. The children will be played by Scarlett Sperduto and Matthew Schechter.

Silas features a book by Captain Louie's Anthony Stein, music by Tony Award-winning orchestrator Bruce Coughlin and lyrics by Grey Gardens' Michael Korie. Meridee Stein will produce and direct the reading with musical direction by Wendy Bobbitt Cavett.

The musical, according to press notes, tells the story of "Silas Marner, the weaver of Raveloe, a village in the midlands of England in the early 1800s. It is a tale of betrayal and redemption, overflowing with warmth and humor, a story that continues to resonate today with a message of the binding power of family…family defined not by class or inheritance, but by the strength of mutual love."