Candy Benge, Raissa Katona Bennett, Peter Buchi, Gini Dustin, Amanda Fekety, Noreen Foster, Scott Glascock and Michael Ingram will take part in the reading, which is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM. The musical, according to press notes, concerns the life of Manhattan bookstore owner Tony Gambini whose "life is falling apart as are the lives of some of his customers — an aging actress, a has-been director, an editor for a sleazy publisher, and even a robber who later returns what he stole."

Bookstore features book and music by Richard Wolf and lyrics by Jane McAdams.

The series continues Nov. 2 at 7:30 PM with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The classic tale has been adapted "with a twist" by Michelle Ackerman, who penned the musical's book and score.

Brad Howell Houghton and George Barthel's Believe will be presented Nov. 5 at 7:30 PM. The musical, according to press notes, "tells the tale of a street musician and an actress who meet and fall in love in a train station in Toulon, France on the eve of World War II. With the Germans closing in from the north and Mussolini's forces closing in from the south, the young lovers abandon their parents to run off together with the hope that their love can transform their lives."

The November offerings will conclude with Bill Russell and Peter Melnick's The Last Smoker in America on Nov. 6, also at 7:30 PM. In this musical, a college professor named Joyce "can't give up cigarettes, even as anti-smoking laws become more and more Draconian. After running off with the few remaining smoking renegades, she returns home to judgment and mayhem." The York Theatre Company is located at Saint Peter's Theatre in Citigroup Center at 619 Lexington Avenue. Call (212) 935-5824, ext. 24 for reservations. Visit www.yorktheatre.org for more information.