The York Theatre Company has two new musicals left in its Fall 2000 Developmental Reading series, which is free and open to anyone interested in first looks at new shows.

Following presentations of The Witch of Wall Street (Nov. 2) and Anne & Gilbert (Nov. 6), York offers readings of The Showgirl of 52nd Street (7:30 PM Dec. 4) and Family Album: A Musical Reminiscence (7:30 PM Dec. 10), at The Theater at St. Peter's in midtown Manhattan.

The Showgirl of 52nd Street, by lyricist-librettist Charles Leipart and music by John Kroner, concerns Billie Shay, a panhandling baglady living on a park bench on East 52nd Street. She confronts her younger self and brings alive the glamour and betrayals of a lost career in the world of 1950's New York and Hollywood.Together the two Billies struggle for control of their livesÐand try to find forgiveness for a troubled past.

Family Album, with poetry Paul Mariani and music by Steven Schoenberg, is a song cycle which tells the story of an American family spanning the last half century.  Traveling back and forth through time, the audience witnesses the struggles and events that shaped this family's relationships and identity, as seen through the memories of Michael, the eldest son.

The Theatre at St Peter's Citicorp Center is at 619 Lexington Avenue, at 54th Street. For information and reservations, call (212) 935-5824, ext. 24. — By Kenneth Jones