World Premiere Musical, I LOVE YOU BECAUSE Opens Off-Broadway on Valentine's Day.NEW YORK -- Jennifer Maloney, Fred M. Caruso, RobertCuillo and GFour Productions proudly present the world premiere of I LOVE YOU BECAUSE, a modern day musical love story, produced in association with Sharon Carr and Jana Robbins. This new musical features book & lyrics by Ryan Cunningham, music by Joshua Salzman, choreography by Christopher Gattelli and direction by Daniel Kutner. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE stars Farah Alvin, David A. Austin, Tony Award nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Avenue Q) and Colin Hanlon, and features Jordan Leeds and Courtney Balan. Performances began Off-Broadway at the Village Theatre (158 Bleecker Street, NYC NYC abbr. New York City NYC New York City ) on Thursday, January 19, 2006. Opening Night is Tuesday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m. Set in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , I LOVE YOU BECAUSE follows Austin Bennet (Colin Hanlon), a young greeting card writer whose life is turned upside down when he finds his long-term girlfriend Catherine in bed with another man. Forced back out into the treacherous New York dating scene, Austin meets Marcy Fitzwilliams (Farah Alvin), a flighty flight·y adj. flight·i·er, flight·i·est 1. a. Given to capricious or unstable behavior. b. Characterized by irresponsible or silly behavior. 2. Easily excited; skittish. photographer whose spontaneity is matched only by her ability to drive him insane. This new musical comedy explores the 'rules' and nuances of dating and learning how to love someone, not in spite of their differences, but because of them. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE also stars Stephanie D'Abruzzo as Marcy's best friend Diana Bingley and David A. Austin as Austin's brother, Jeff Bennet. Jordan Leeds and Courtney Balan round out the ensemble. A gender-reversed modern day musical retelling of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice, I LOVE YOU BECAUSE features orchestrations by Larry Hochman and songs such as "Another Saturday Night in New York," "Maybe We Just Made Love," "But I Don't Want to Talk About Her," and the titular track, "I Love You Because." Jana Zielonka serves as musical director. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE features choreography by Christopher Gattelli, scenic design by Beowulf Boritt and Jo Winiarski, costume design by Millie Hiibel, lighting design by Jeff Croiter and sound design by Tony Smolenski and Walter Trarbach. Brian Meister serves as the Production Stage Manager. I LOVE YOU BECAUSE was originally developed at NYU's Musical Theatre Writing program. It received its first staged reading in July 2005 at The East 13th Street Theatre. It was also one of eight official selections at the 17th Annual Festival of New Musicals industry reading event, presented by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, September 2005 at Dodger Stages. PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE, VENUE & TICKET INFORMATION The Village Theatre is located in the NYC's West Village (158 Bleecker Street), between Thompson and Sullivan Streets. Subway Directions: A, B, C, D, E, F, Q to West 4th Street station. Walk south on 6th Avenue to Bleecker Street, then head east to the theatre. Tickets for I LOVE YOU BECAUSE are $20-$65 (Special Late Night Pricing: All seats for Saturday 10 p.m. performances through April 1 are only $25). Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster.com at 212-307-4100, or in-person at the Village Theatre box office. Student Rush tickets are $20 and can be purchased in-person at the box office 30 minutes prior to curtain (subject to availability and a valid school ID is required). Regular performance schedule: - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday at 8:00 p.m. (Dark on Wednesday) - Saturday at 7:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. - Sunday at 3:00 p.m. matinee & 7:00 p.m. evening For more information, visit, www.ILoveYouBecauseTheMusical.com. CAST BIOGRAPHIES FARAH ALVIN (Marcy Fitzwilliams). Broadway: the revival of Nine, The Look of Love, Saturday Night Fever, Grease! (also first national), A Christmas Carol. Other New York: Jewish Rep's Kuni Leml and William Finn's Infinite Joy at Joe's Pub. Farah can be heard on many records including Varese Sarabande's Burt Bacharach Album. Her solo album, Someday blends the sounds of folk, jazz, pop and blues. DAVID A. AUSTIN (Jeff Bennet). Roles include Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Freddie in Chess, Marvin in Falsettos, Pippin in Pippin and Shawn in the international tour of The Wedding Banquet. David has toured extensively as well as performing at the 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre Founded in 1975, Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) is the second largest resident theatre for young audiences in North America. Performances are presented at Seattle Center in the Charlotte Martin and Eve Alvord Theatres from September through June. and The Village Theatre in Seattle. Celebrating his first year in New York City, David is a proud member of the BMI BMI body mass index. BMI abbr. body mass index Body mass index (BMI) A measurement that has replaced weight as the preferred determinant of obesity. Lehman Musical Theatre Writer's Workshop as a composer/lyricist. His award-winning musicals have been produced nationally and internationally and he is currently under commission with the Village Theatre. STEPHANIE D'ABRUZZO (Diana Bingley) made her Broadway debut as Kate Monster/Lucy T. Slut in Avenue Q (Tony nomination, Theatre World Award, Outer Critics Circle Special Ensemble Award). Off-Broadway: Avenue Q (Drama Desk nomination). Also: Skitch Henderson's New Faces of 2004 at Carnegie Hall, Carnival (Encores!), Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash, Chess (Actors' Fund). She has performed nearly 200 characters for TV/film, including "Sesame Street" (13 seasons), "Oobi" (Uma, Inka), "Sheep in the Big City Sheep in the Big City is an American animated television series which ran on Cartoon Network for two seasons, from November 2000 to April 2002. Created by Mo Willems, the bulk of the show follows a runaway sheep, Sheep, in its new life in the Big City with scenario similar ," "Book of Pooh," "Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss," the feature Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, commercials, promos, more. Played Kate and Lucy since Avenue Q's first reading (2000). COLIN HANLON (Austin Bennet). Broadway: Rent. George Street Playhouse George Street Playhouse is a theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey, one of the state's preeminent professional theatres committed to the production of new and established plays. : The Last Five Years; tick, tick...BOOM! Previously: Fredric, The Pirates of Penzance pirates of Penzance surrender only when charged by the police to yield in the name of their beloved Queen Victoria. [Br. Opera: Gilbert and Sullivan The Pirates of Penzance] See : Loyalty pirates of Penzance (Lucille Lortel nominated production). Regional: Syracuse Stage and Prince Music Theatre The Prince Music Theater is a non-profit theatrical producing organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and specializing in music theatre, including opera, music drama, musical comedy and experimental forms. . Workshops: Wicked, Taboo and Fanny Hill. BFA BFA abbr. Bachelor of Fine Arts BFA abbr BFA, B.F.A Bachelor of Fine Arts; first degree in Fine Arts. , Syracuse University. JORDAN LEEDS (Ensemble) has appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables (Orig. Co.), Sunset Boulevard and Falsettos. Nationally Toured in; Tommy and City of Angels. Off-Broadway: I Love You, You're Perfect...(Orig. Co.), The Times & Beau Jest. On TV: guested on "L&O," "L&O C.I." and "Ed." He is Artistic Director for The Roslyn Children's Theater Company on Long Island. COURTNEY BALAN (Ensemble). Broadway: In My Life (ensemble, u/s Jenny/Samantha). Off-Broadway: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is a comedic musical written by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts. It is presently off-Broadway's longest-running musical, second only to The Fantasticks among off-Broadway musicals. (Woman 1). Regional: Funny Girl, Fiddler, The Pajama Game (MTW MTW Mission to the World (Presbyterian Church in America international mission) MTW The Manitowoc Company, Inc (Stock Symbol) MTW Medieval: Total War (computer game) ) and Jekyll and Hyde Jekyll and Hyde 1. A slang term referring to the strengths and weaknesses of a company's financial statements. 2. An asset that suddenly increases or decreases in value. 3. (MGR Mgr 1. manager 2. monseigneur 3. monsignor Mgr abbr (= Monseigneur, Monsignor) → Mons Mgr abbr (= Monseigneur, Monsignor ). Jersey native, University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. graduate. CREATIVE TEAM BIOGRAPHIES RYAN CUNNINGHAM (Book & Lyrics). A native of Needham, Mass., Ryan Cunningham earned his BA in Theatre and Graphic Design at the University of Notre Dame. While there, he wrote the musical romantic comedy Chance at Love with Composer Thomas Curtin. Chance at Love received a production at Notre Dame and went on to tour 17 cities in July 2001. Ryan attended the Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU NYU New York University NYU New York Undercover (TV show) Tisch and earned his MFA See multifactor authentication. . During that time he wrote I Love You Because with composer Joshua Salzman. Ryan has most recently assistant directed The Cosmic Calamities of Henry Noodle for the New York Fringe Festival, and Love According to Luc under director Stephen Tomac. Ryan and Joshua are working on their second piece, a musical adaptation of the book of Esther Noun 1. Book of Esther - an Old Testament book telling of a beautiful Jewess who became queen of Persia and saved her people from massacre Esther Old Testament - the collection of books comprising the sacred scripture of the Hebrews and recording their , Queen Esther, commissioned by The Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts. Ryan is currently in his second year at the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. JOSHUA SALZMAN (Music) recently received the ASCAP ASCAP abbr. American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Foundation Frederick Loewe Award for musical theatre composition. His musical Beowulf, written with lyricist Ariel S. Winter, debuted as a concert reading in April 2001 on Princeton University's Stage. I Love You Because, written with Ryan Cunningham, was his graduate thesis musical at NYU. Joshua holds an MFA from Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and music degrees in composition and music education from Muhlenberg and Moravian Colleges. He has served in the music departments of Wicked and All Shook Up as a music department production assistant, and is currently on faculty at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, or AMDA, is a school for the performing arts located New York City, New York, with a satellite campus in Los Angeles, California. as a musical director / pianist. Joshua is a composer in BMI's musical theatre workshop. DANIEL KUTNER (Director) is assistant director to Broadway legend, Hal Prince. Upcoming projects with Mr. Prince: the musicals, Lovemusik by Alfred Uhry & Paradise Lost by Richard Nelson. Dan served as the Robert Moss Directing Resident at Playwrights Horizons, assisting Richard Nelson on the world premiere musical, My Life with Albertine. Directing: I Love You Because (NAMT NAMT National Association for Music Therapy (now American Music Therapy Association, AMTA) NAMT National Advanced Manufacturing Testbed NAMT Naval Air Maintenance Trainer NAMT Network Activity Monitoring Tool ), My Life with Albertine (Guggenheim, W&P). CHRISTOPHER GATTELLI (Choreographer). Off-B'way: Altar Boyz (Lucille Lortel Award, Joe Callaway Award, Drama Desk Nom.), Bat Boy: The Musical! (Lucille Lortel Award), tick, tick...BOOM! Sunday in the Park With George (London), Chess (Broadway concert w/ Josh Groban), Hair (Broadway concert - Grammy nom.) "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" (three seasons). Upcoming: Martin Short's Fame Becomes Me, High Fidelity, and directing Silence! The Musical! (Best Musical Fringe Festival 2005). JENNIFER MALONEY (Producer) Broadway: Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life. Upcoming Broadway: Secret Order. Coordinating producer and part of the Emmy Award-winning producing team at "As the World Turns." With her partner Scott Prisand, Jennifer is in development for the following films: Lonely Street, Harlem, Tension Ring. FRED M. CARUSO (Producer/General Manager). Fred is the producer and general manager of the Drama Desk nominated Off-Broadway musical Newsical. He is the producer and general manager of One Way Ticket to Hell, scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2006. The first show he produced in NYC was the Off-Broadway production of Bitter and Jaded at 25, which he starred in and also wrote the book, music and lyrics. He is a graduate of the Commercial Theater Institute The Commercial Theater Institute (CTI) is an organization founded by Frederic B. Vogel in 1981 in New York City. A project of Theater Development Fund (TDF) and the League of American Theatres and Producers dedicated to training the next generation of theatrical producers in the . ROBERT CUILLO (Producer). Broadway: La Cage Aux Folles (2004 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Revival), So Long On Lonely Street, Dream, Jackie: An American Life, More To Love, Epic Proportions. London's West End: Hedwig And The Angry Inch, The Betrayal Of Nora Blanke. Off-Broadway: Dinner With Friends, Menopause The Musical. Regional: Respect. Upcoming: Ring Of Fire. GFOUR PRODUCTIONS (Producer). Sandra & Kenneth Greenblatt, Kathi & Alan Glist, Seth Greenleaf and Taryn Glist Rioseco. Broadway: Nine (1982 Tony Award for Best Musical), My One and Only, Zorba, Baby, The Rink, Grand Hotel, Grind, Big, Catskills on Broadway, La Cage Aux Folles (1983 Tony Award for Best Musical & 2004 Tony Award for Best Revival The Tony Award for Best Revival was presented from 1977 until 1994, when it was split up into the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. ). Off-Broadway: True West, Wrong Turn at Lungfish lungfish, common name for any of a group of fish belonging to the families Ceratodontidae and Lepidosirenidae, found in the rivers of South America, Africa, and Australia. Like the lobefins, the lungfishes are ancestrally related to the four-footed land animals. , Diamonds, Joys of Sex. Regional: Menopause The Musical, I Love You You're Perfect Now Change, Shear Madness, Men, Perfect Harmony. Upcoming: Ring of Fire. |
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