| Tony Winner BETH LEAVEL to Star in Industry Reading of BLOODY BLOODY JESSICA FLETCHER | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 03:36 pm EDT 04/06/18 | |
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| BLOODY BLOODY JESSICA FLETCHER: A Musical Parody With as Much Authorization As a Novelist at a Crime Scene TO HOLD INDUSTRY READING ON TUESDAY, APRIL 24 Tony Award Winner Beth Leavel to Star The creators of BLOODY BLOODY JESSICA FLETCHER: A Musical Parody With as Much Authorization As a Novelist at a Crime Scene have announced an industry reading to be held Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 1.00pm and 3.30pm at The Green Room 42 (570 10th Avenue). Tony Award winner Beth Leavel (the upcoming The Prom, The Drowsy Chaperone) will star as the title character, joined by co-creators Josh Lamon (the upcoming The Prom, Groundhog Day) and Phillip Taratula (Empire Travel Agency, The World is Round), as well as Leslie Kritzer (the upcoming The Honeymooners, Something Rotten), Randy Blair (Amelie, The Black Crook ), Emily Walton (Peter and the Starcatcher, August: Osage County ), and Gretchen Wylder (Avenue Q, Rent). The show features a book by Kevin Zak (Clinton The Musical, Silence! The Musical), Lamon, and Taratula, with music and lyrics by Keith Varney (I Got Fired, Elway: The Musical), additional music and lyrics by Lamon, choreography by Jesse Robb (Miss Saigon, Zumanity), and direction by Dan Knetchges (Lysistrata Jones, Xanadu). Daniel Kuney of KGM Theatrical serves as the general manager. Welcome back to Cabot Cove, the upper-middle class murder capital of the world. Join mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher (Leavel) as she solves another gruesome murder the only way she knows how – performing musical theatre! BLOODY BLOODY JESSICA FLETCHER is a crazy murder-packed original musical parody letting the great Jessica Fletcher solve crimes once more! “Bloody Bloody Jessica Fletcher is a campy, raunchy, and musical spin on a beloved, classic tv show,” said director Knetchges. “It’s Sweeney Todd meets Book of Mormon. Kevin, Josh, and Phillip are three uniquely clever voices in the New York City theatre scene, and Keith has written some of the funniest tunes around to go with it. With Beth Leavel as our amateur detective, I’m thrilled to work on this nostalgic and hilarious spoof.” BloodyBloodyJessicaFletcher.com BETH LEAVEL (Jessica Fletcher) received Tony, Drama Desk, New York Outer Critics Circle and L.A. Drama Critics Awards for her performance as the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone. She also received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her role as Florence Greenberg in Baby It's You. She recently performed the roles of Sally Adams in Call Me Madame at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, M'Lynn in Steel Magnolias at the North Carolina Theatre, and the much put-upon maid Berthe in Boeing-Boeing at Paper Mill Playhouse. Other Broadway roles include Mrs. Adams in Bandstand, Emily in Elf, Donna in Mamma Mia!, Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein, Dorothy Brock in the revival of 42nd Street, Tess in the original company of Crazy For You, Mrs. Bixby in The Civil War, Ellie in Hal Prince's Showboat and Anytime Annie (her Broadway debut) in 42nd Street. Ms. Leavel was also seen in New York City Center Encores! production of No, No, Nanette as Lucille. She has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway shows, regional theater, commercials and TV, including the final episode of “ER.” Ms. Leavel will next be seen on Broadway in the new musical, The Prom. LESLIE KRITZER (Mr. Drake/Bev/Frank Fletcher) was most recently in the Broadway production of Something Rotten and will soon be seen in The Honeymooners. Broadway credits include: Legally Blonde, A Catered Affair, Sondheim on Sondheim, ELF, and Hairspray. Leslie won a Time Out New York Award for her solo show Leslie Kritzer Is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches, a re-creation of Patti LuPone’s famed nightclub act. The show had a sold-out run at Joe’s Pub, followed by performances at The Plush Room in San Francisco. TV credits include: “VINYL” (HBO), “Difficult People” (Hulu), “Younger” (TV Land), “Kevin Can Wait” (CBS), and “Law and Order: SVU” (NBC). As a comedian she performs around the city and was featured on Entertainment Weekly for her musical comedy parody “Taco Truck Invasion.” RANDY BLAIR (Dr. Seth Hazlitt) is a Broadway actor, Off-Broadway and television writer/director, and father to a semi-famous pug. He escaped from a small town in Appalachia at the age of 18 and has been gracing stages and screens across the country ever since. Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Amelie, The Black Crook, Gigantic, Adding Machine, Haute Mess, and Perez Hilton Saves the Universe. Regional theatre credits include Center Theatre Group, Berkeley Rep, Woolly Mammoth, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Fulton Theatre, and Weston Playhouse. Film and television credits include “Law & Order,” “The Naked Brothers Band,” “Strangers with Candy,” Across the Universe, and Afterwards with John Malkovich. He has also served as creative consultant on “Billy on the Street.” Training: NYU/Tisch. EMILY WALTON (Victoria Fletcher). Broadway: Peter and the Starcatcher and August: Osage County. Off-Broadway: Ride the Cyclone (MCC), Drama Desk-nominated Women Without Men (The Mint), Eager to Lose: A Burlesque Farce in Rhyming Verse (Ars Nova), The Shaggs and Saved (both at Playwrights Horizons), Cactus Flower (West Side Theatre), and The Deepest Play Ever (New Ohio Theatre). Most recently appeared regionally in Daniel Zaitchik’s Darling Grenadine at Goodspeed and The Secret Garden at the Denver Center. Film/TV: Submission, 5 Doctors, “Search Party,” and “Hack My Life.” Emily is also a singer-songwriter and will be releasing her debut album, Little Longings, this year. GRETCHEN WYLDER (Lulu/Ensemble) is an actor, writer, singer, and producer who has been performing professionally for over a decade, originating roles in Off-Broadway comedies and making people laugh all over the world! She has studied and performed sketch and improv at UCB, Second City, the PIT, and the Magnet comedy theatres. Favorite credits: Avenue Q, Rent, and Bedbugs The Musical. Gretchen is an advocate for the Queer community and in 2016, organized a float in NYC's Gay Pride parade to raise funds for the Ellie Conant memorial fund, benefiting Astraea Lesbian Foundation. @gretchenwylder CREATIVE TEAM KEVIN ZAK (Creator/Book Writer) is a New York City based actor, singer, and comedian originally from Buffalo, NY. After graduating from SUNY Buffalo, Kevin interned on Season 7 of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. While living in Los Angeles, Kevin trained in and performed improv comedy at the famed Groundlings Improv Theatre. He has continued his studies at the Upright Citizen's Brigade in NYC. As a performer Kevin was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in the Off-Broadway hit comedy Clinton The Musical . The original cast album is available on iTunes. Other Off-Broadway credits include Silence! The Musical and Darling Grenadine at NAMT. NYC workshops include Intermission! (written and directed by acclaimed film director/screenwriter Jerry Zucker), Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Citizen Ruth, and My Life Is a Musical. Regionally, Kevin has performed at Goodspeed Musicals, The MUNY, Forestburgh Playhouse, and the Blumenthal PAC. To learn more and keep up, please visit Kevin's website at www.kevin-zak.com. JOSH LAMON (Book Writer/Additional Music and Lyrics/Sheriff Tom Bosley) recently completed his run in the Tony Award nominated musical Groundhog Day, where he originated the role of ‘Buster’, the town mayor and keeper of the groundhog Phil. He is most known for his other scene stealing work on and off Broadway in such hits as Finding Neverland (original cast), Hair (both the original revival cast and the 2011 ‘Summer Of Love’ company), Into the Woods (opposite Amy Adams, Donna Murphy and Denis O’Hare), Little Miss Sunshine (with James Lapine and Bill Finn), and his acclaimed performance of “Richard” (aka the Fat Nurse) in City Center’s revival of A New Brain starring opposite Jonathan Groff and Ana Gastayer. Ben Brantley of The New York TImes called Josh’s work a “breakthrough performance.” Josh has also been seen on such hit shows as “30 Rock,” “Inside Amy Schumer” and as Craigory on Hulu’s “Deadbeat.” KEITH VARNEY (Music and Lyrics) has written book, music and lyrics in various combinations for I Got Fired (Dir. Steve Bebout; NYMF, DIMF – Best American Musical), Bloody Bloody Jessica Fletcher (Dir. Dan Knechtges), Elway: The Musical, The Other Sex, Joshua: The Musical, and Pie Eater. Screenplays include Unsolicited and I Got Fired. Short musicals include Scooby Doosical and Dumping Grounds. He has written songs for “Submissions Only,” Hot Mess in Manhattan, Stranger Things: The Musical, See You Lighter, My Mother is a Sex Therapist, and Dystopia Gardens. As an acto,r he has performed professionally in musicals including Les Miserables, The Producers, The Full Monty, Titanic, Take One, and I Got Fired (Best Actor in a Musical – DIMF). He has a degree in classical voice from the Eastman School of Music. He is also a horror novelist (The Dead Circle and Beneath the Snow). www.keithvarneywriter.com . PHILLIP TARATULA (Book Writer/The Suspects) recently appeared in Scarpino, Leading Ladies and Hound of the Baskervilles at Gulfshore Playhouse. New York theatre credits: Empire Travel Agency (Woodshed Collective); The World is Round (Ripe Time); The Deepest Play Ever (Collaboration Town); Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge (HERE Arts Center). Regional: Humana Festival, O’Neill Playwrights Conference, North Shore Music Theatre, Huntington, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Portland Stage Company, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, ArtFarm. Opera: Die Fledermaus (Metropolitan Opera, Frosch u/s); The Soldier’s Tale (Castleton Festival, Lorin Maazel, conductor). TV: “The Outs” (Vimeo Original Programming); “Whatever This Is.” BFA, Boston University School of Theatre. Follow him on Instagram @ptaratula DAN KNETCHGES (Director) is a Tony nominated director and choreographer working in theater, opera, concert dance, television, film and music videos. Dan’s Broadway credits include Lysistrata Jones (direction and choreography), Xanadu (directed by Chris Ashley, Tony nomination, Drama Desk nomination), Sondheim on Sondheim (directed by James Lapine), 110 in The Shade (starring Audra McDonald), and The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee (directed by James Lapine). Dan is so excited to announce his new role as Artistic Director for TUTS (Theater Under the Stars). Dan also choreographed the Off-Broadway incarnation of The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee at Second Stage, which earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination. Off-Broadway credits include directing the play Tail! Spin! (starring Rachel Dratch), Clinton the Musical (starring Kerry Butler and Judy Gold), Merrily We Roll Along for Encores! at City Center (directed by James Lapine), Vanities at Second Stage, and directing and choreographing Lysistrata Jones for the Transport Group. He has many regional and international credits as well. Dan’s choreography can be seen in the Todd Solondz's films Palindromes and Dark Horse, as well as “White Collar” on USA, The 2011 TV Land Awards with Liza Minnelli, and Fatboy Slim's music video "It's a Wonderful Night," which reached #1 in the U.K. He has also taught acting and dance at numerous institutions and often does master classes all over the country. Dan holds a BFA in musical theatre from Otterbein College in Westerville, OH and hails from Cleveland, OH. He is also a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and The Stage Directors & Choreographers Society. JESSE ROBB (Choreographer). An honors graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Jesse Robb has worked continuously in theatre and dance companies internationally since he was seventeen. Jesse recently choreographed a sold-out production of Ragtime for the Ogunquit Playhouse that Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal called "a first-rate piece of work." The production earned 12 IRNE nominations, including one for best choreography. Jesse served as the associate choreographer for the Tony nominated 2017 revival of Miss Saigon. For Saigon, he staged the performance on the Tony Awards broadcast and will remount the show for the subsequent North American tour in the fall of 2018. Jesse has choreographed production numbers for the Turner Classic Movie channel based on the classic films The Bandwagon, Anything Goes, and An American in Paris. He has also created original production numbers for EDANZA in Montreal and for Disney Cruise Line. As an associate, Jesse has worked with Lisa Shriver on Beauty and the Beast at North Shore Playhouse, Cabaret at Cape Playhouse, and Disney's The Golden Mickeys. As a resident choreographer and performer, Jesse worked on Cirque Du Soleil's Zumanity, the original North American companies of We Will Rock You, Dirty Dancing, and The Lord of the Rings. He can also be seen on film/tv in the Bravo! film “Nureyev,” CBC's Canticum Canticorum, 2007's Hairspray, and the CW's “Reign.” www.jesserobb.com |
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