About the Series

Readings From Asbury Park

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Join us for our monthly readings of New Plays & Musicals 2010

Our reading series READINGS FROM ASBURY PARK is a monthly presentation of a new plays and musicals in development. We select new works to present from hundreds that are submitted. Some are written by authors and composers we believe in and make available our reading series as a way for them to hear their work read out loud giving them an often much needed opportunity to see what works and what doesn't thereby greatly enhancing their development. Some are chosen also with an eye towards production at ReVision giving us the opportunity to hear new works under consideration as possibly fully staged productions.

All readings are FREE and take place at

You, the audience become a vital part of the creation and development process and we invite you to join in and offer your comments. Following each reading is an informal reception where you'll have a chance to mingle with the actors and writers.

Monday January 11

Readings From Asbury Park

In The Jersey City Moonlight

The story of Bob Burns, a twenty-nine year old guy trying to escape life behind the bar and join the local fire department.

JEFF HUGHES was the recipient of the 2009 Richard Rodgers Award for new musical theatre as the bookwriter/lyricist of Rosa Parks. He is the author of the plays Shore Points (Irish Arts Center, NJ Rep reading, 12 Miles West reading), A Good Tavern (Playwrights Theatre of NJ, 12 Miles West) and In the Jersey City Moonlight. He was excommunicated from the BMI Workshop and was a Dramatists Guild Fellow in 2005-2006. He has a worked administratively for Musical Theatre Works, the New York Musical Theatre Festival, the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway and the American Theatre Wing. He is the writer of DaBearsBlog.com, currently under the auspices of the Chicago Tribune. He is from Jersey.

Readings are FREE and take place at

You, the audience become a vital part of the creation and development process and we invite you to join in and offer your comments. Following each reading is an informal reception where you'll have a chance to mingle with the actors and writers.

Monday February 22

Readings From Asbury Park

Readings are FREE and take place at

You, the audience become a vital part of the creation and development process and we invite you to join in and offer your comments. Following each reading is an informal reception where you'll have a chance to mingle with the actors and writers.

Monday March 8

Readings From Asbury Park

ROBERT BARTLEY--With Danny Whitman, Robert created Broadway Backwards, for which he serves as Writer/Director/Choreographer and has featured dozens of performers including Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Florence Henderson, Cheyenne Jackson, Anthony Rapp, Len Cariou and “Ugly Betty” cast members Michael Urie and Becky Newton. Robert directed The Cuban and the Redhead in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival in New York, the Festival of New American Musicals in Los Angeles, a presentation at the York Theatre and most recently Village Originals, a festival of new musicals at Village Theatre. The York Theatre Company recently hosted Sailing Against the Current: the songs of Bartley and Whitman. Robert and Danny’s work has been featured in the York’s first NEO concert, The Music of Broadway: The Next Generation, SPF Composer Exposure concert, and Broadway’s Gypsy of the Year. As a Director, Robert was represented last season by The Family Fiorelli (NYMF), Hair in Peculiar Work’s Obie-winning sequel Off Stage: East Village Fragments and The Tales of Custard the Dragon off Broadway at DR2. Prior to writing, Robert was a performer for many years on and off Broadway, at Carnegie Hall, in national tours and with symphony orchestras worldwide. Robert is a member of The Dramatists Guild, SSDC, AEA, SAG, AGMA, AFTRA and AGVA.

DANNY WHITMAN--Musicals include: The Tales of Custard the Dragon (originally produced by The Kennedy Center, 2002; NYMF Festival, 2006; Tour, Light Keeper Productions, 2006; DR2, 2008; licensed by Samuel French); Only a Girl about Holocaust rescuer, Irene Opdyke, (tour), and The Cuban & the Redhead (Village Originals, Village Theatre, 2009; National Alliance for Musical Theatre, 2008; Festival of New American Musicals, 2008; 2008 finalist for Eugene O’Neill Music Theatre Conference; York Theatre Company development series, 2007). Danny is also the co-creator, producer and contributes special material for the annual event, Broadway Backwards. Danny’s songs have been featured in MAC/ASCAP Songwriters’ Showcase, 2008 SPF Composer Exposure concert, The Music of Broadway: The Next Generation, and the York Theatre Company with a concert Sailing Against the Current: the songs of Bartley & Whitman, and have been performed by Tonya Pinkins, Rachel York, Nancy Opel, Tony Yazbeck, Tituss Burgess, Jen Colella and Karen Mason among others. Danny served as vocal arranger for Charles Strouse and John Bucchino on original revues of their songs, and for concerts by Portland Symphony Orchestra. Danny is a member of The Dramatists Guild, ASCAP and Actors Equity Association.

Readings are FREE and take place at

You, the audience become a vital part of the creation and development process and we invite you to join in and offer your comments. Following each reading is an informal reception where you'll have a chance to mingle with the actors and writers.

Monday March 15

Readings From Asbury Park

Wildfire Season

a new play

by

Julie Marino

Committed political activist Janel Lofton saw the meaning drain out of her life and the life drain out of her marriage when her son Jordan – a relief worker in a war-torn African country – was murdered by rebel troops. Now it’s three years later and she’s trying to get her life back together, but it’s a path filled with obstacles. Her kitchen renovation stalls out when the builder vanishes halfway through the job. Hannah, her best friend and protègè, keeps trying to pull her back into the movement. And the now-former rebel leader responsible for Jordan’s death is back in the news again, this time as the newly-elected president of his country. The arrival of Travis, the replacement contractor, upsets the fragile equilibrium among Janel, Hannah and Hannah’s boyfriend Harte. Affections and loyalties are pulled and scrambled as Janel drifts closer to Travis but away from her friends and her past. Meanwhile as Harte and Hannah try to tackle the world’s problems, they’re feeling the friction at home. And as Janel tries to find her way through the tangle of sex, love, politics and the metaphysics of picking the right countertops, those infamous California wildfires keep cropping up closer and closer to her home and the threat of evacuation looms.

Readings are FREE and take place at

You, the audience become a vital part of the creation and development process and we invite you to join in and offer your comments. Following each reading is an informal reception where you'll have a chance to mingle with the actors and writers.

Monday April 19

Readings are FREE and take place at

You, the audience become a vital part of the creation and development process and we invite you to join in and offer your comments. Following each reading is an informal reception where you'll have a chance to mingle with the actors and writers.

Monday May 17

Readings From Asbury Park

Readings are FREE and take place at

You, the audience become a vital part of the creation and development process and we invite you to join in and offer your comments. Following each reading is an informal reception where you'll have a chance to mingle with the actors and writers.