Andy Sandberg (Bernice Bobs Her Mullet) directs a cast that includes Jim Poulos (Rent), Natalie Venetia Belcon (The Glorious Ones, Avenue Q), Jenna Coker-Jones (Evil Dead), Jared Gertner (Spelling Bee), Chasten Harmon (Iphigenia 2.0), Logan Lipton (Wicked), David McDonald (Mamma Mia), Lauren Mufson (A New Brain), Paul Anthony Stewart (Cyrano) and Valerie Wright (Annie Get Your Gun).

With book, lyrics and a score by Matt Gould, Twilight in Manchego features vocal arrangements and musical direction by Justin Hatchimonji.

Gould's musical, according to press notes, "tells the story of Esau Munsey (Poulos), a passionate young school teacher in a small town who finds his own way while trying to make a difference in the lives of others. A tragedy at the school where Esau teaches brings the town of Manchego together as a community and forces Esau to move on from the past in a way that he was previously not able. Esau's experiences with love and loss help him to move forward with his life and embrace the world with a new outlook, recognizing that he and his work in the classroom are part of something so much greater."

Dee Hoty earned Tony nominations for the Broadway productions of Footloose, Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public and The Will Rogers Follies. She has also appeared in the Broadway companies of City of Angels, Mamma Mia!, Me and My Girl, Big River, The Five O'Clock Girl and Shakespeare's Cabaret. Off-Broadway Hoty appeared in Personals, Vanities and Forbidden Broadway, and the acclaimed Paper Mill production of Follies.

The free readings of Twilight in Manchego will take place at 7:30 PM on March 16 and at 3 PM on March 17 at Chelsea Studios. For reservations, e-mail [email protected].