Will Pomerantz, who helmed the recent Prospect production of Cole Porter's Nymph Errant — adapted by Urbinati — will direct the 7:30 PM reading.
The cast will feature Tony Award winner Cady Huffman (Cole Porter's Nymph Errant, The Producers, Steel Pier), two-time Tony Award nominee Beth Fowler (The Boy From Oz, Beauty and the Beast, Baby), Rachel de Benedet (Catch Me If You Can, The Addams Family, Nine), Jenn Gambatese (Hairspray, Is He Dead) and Chris Hoch (La Cage aux Folles, Shrek The Musical, Spamalot).
Additional casting will be announced at a later date.
Here's how the work is billed: "What happens when you mix the wit of Noel Coward with the intricate plotting of Agatha Christie? Set during a weekend in an English country manor in 1932, Death by Design is a delightful and mysterious mash-up of two of the greatest English writers of all time. Edward Bennett, a playwright, and his wife Sorel Bennett, an actress, flee London and head to Cookham after a disastrous opening night. But various guests arrive unexpectedly – a conservative politician, a fiery socialist, a nearsighted ingenue, a zany modern dancer – each with a long-held secret. When one of the guests is murdered, it’s left to Bridgit, the feisty Irish maid with a macabre interest in homicide, to solve the crime. Death by Design is more than homage – it's a new classic."
Death By Design is being presented as a benefit for Prospect Theater Company's new works programming and to celebrate the 2013 publication of Death by Design by Samuel French. Prospect Theater Company was founded in 1998 by five graduates of Princeton University in order to "allow a diverse group of emerging theatre professionals to work together in pursuit of artistic excellence and innovation." Since 2000, the company has fully produced 18 new musicals in New York City, in addition to mounting productions of new plays and classic works, and supporting other developmental opportunities.
The 13th Street Theater is located at 136 East 13th Street. For more information and tickets, call (212) 352-3101 or visit ProspectTheater.org.
