The presentation of the musical comedy by Donald Pippin (music), Steve Brown (lyrics) and Anthony Stimac (book) is part of Primary Stages' PrimeTime Reading Series, and will appear 8 PM April 21 at the 59E59 Theaters.
In Fashion – The Musical, according to production notes, "the Long Island Mask and Wig Society, an all-female amateur drama club, is putting on a musical written for them by their handsome, sexy male director, Richard. Richard has rehearsed each of them individually in the privacy of their own homes and is bringing them together for their first stumble-through. The musical he has written is based upon the first American play written by a woman [Anna Cora Mowatt] in 1845, also titled Fashion. In Evelyn's living room, the fashionably gowned women play the men's as well as the women's roles, with the exception of the phony French Count, who is played, of course, by Richard, in this timeless (and timely) comedy of manners about the pursuit of Fashion versus good old American values."
The cast includes Golden Globe nominee and LA Critics Circle winner Arnaz, Off-Broadway's Jan Buttram, four-time Tony nominee Feldshuh, two-time Tony nominee Fuller, Tony nominee Gets, Tony winner Huffman, Ovation Award winner Christiane Noll, and two-time Tony nominee Mary Testa.
Jason Hindelang is stage manager for the reading. Sande Campbell will be the musical director; she also plays a club member named Edwina.
* According to PrimaryStages.org/primetime, "We are proud to offer our PrimeTime Reading Series as a creative lab for emerging and established playwrights. PrimeTime has blossomed into one of the hottest tickets in town. Conveniently located in our in-house rehearsal studios, PrimeTime provides a home for writers to hear their new work read aloud. Friends of Primary Stages are invited to attend and be a part of a playwright's creative process. Several plays have received productions at Primary Stages since participating in PrimeTime including Michael Hollinger's Opus, Lee Blessing's A Body of Water and Tina Howe's Chasing Manet."
