The Tutor

Join us (and Spring Awakening's Jennifer Damiano) at Prospect's 10th Anniversary concert

Hey! Our pals at NYMF and Prospect Theater Company are joining forces to throw a swell concert in honor of Prospect's 10th anniversary  on Sunday, Sept 21st at 9 PM.

Stephen Bogardus will host, and many wonderful songs will be sung! Including "One More Thing" from THE TUTOR, roof to be raised by the fabulous Jennifer Damiano from the original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening.

All details below - hope to see you there!

The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Prospect Theater Company present
Prospect Theater's 10th Anniversary Concert
Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008 at 9:00 p.m.
at 37 Arts (450 W. 37th St. between 9th & 10th Avenues)

Featuring one song from each of the 14 new music-theater works Prospect has presented over the past decade: 
The Blue Flower (Jim Bauer), The Book of the Dun Cow (Randy Courts & Mark St. Germain), DIDO & Aeneas (Rick Hip-Flores), Iron Curtain (Peter Mills & Stephen Weiner), Tock Tick (Gihieh Lee & Tim Nevits), The Tutor (Maryrose Wood & Andrew Gerle), and The Taxi Cabaret, The Flood, Illyria, The Alchemists, Lonely Rhymes, The Pursuit of Persephone, The Rockae, and Honor (Peter Mills)

• currently scheduled to appear •
David Abeles, Jim Bauer, Jennifer Blood, Matt Cavenaugh, Gavin Creel,
Jennifer Damiano, Malcolm Gets, Piper Goodeve, Victoria Huston-Elem, Adam Jacobs, Jose Llana, Jaygee Macapugay, Jeff McCarthy, Meghan McGeary, Mark Mozingo, Brian Munn, Liz Power, Simone Zamore
as well as members of the current cast of the upcoming Illyria:
Dan Sharkey, Ryan Dietz, Jim Poulos and Tina Stafford
hosted by Stephen Bogardus

GENERAL ADMISSION $25
FOR TIX: www.nymf.org / 212-352-3101

Check out the article on Playbill.com!

THE TUTOR has Spirit!

Andrew and Maryrose want to say a big "Yay!" to the fantastic cast, crew, band and staff at the Spirit of Broadway Theater in Norwich, Connecticut. We had an awesome time at the black-tie opening night gala (what a feast!) on Saturday night, and loved meeting the audience at the post-matinee audience talkback on Sunday. A fabulous weekend was had by all, and we are truly overwhelmed by the care and warmth exhibited by everyone involved with this very special theatre.

Special shout-out to the rockin' cast! Kudos to Ethan Paulini as Edmund, Norwich's own 15-year-old star-to-be Marissa Ruiz as Sweetie, Jessica Farraday as Esther, Frank Calamaro as Richard, Kate Hubbard as Hildegarde/Pippi, and Matthew Dyer as Sean/Bo. The exceptionally good-looking band is ably led by musical director Eric Ouellette, and the whole swell party has been thrown with verve and aplomb by director Brett Bernardini.

This delightful production of THE TUTOR runs through April 8 (click here for tickets, seating chart and performance schedule). Please come see it!

Dubose, Hayward, and now — Gerle?

Fasten your seatbelts and take a ride over to Andrew's MacDowell Blog — he's in residence at the famed MacDowell Colony till January working on some cool-sounding projects. He's also making some very, very impressive friends (and no doubt whupping their asses at Scrabble). Seriously, you will plotz to read about it. Congratulations, Andrew!

THE TUTOR bows at Spirit of Broadway!

We are delighted to announce that THE TUTOR makes its regional premiere in February '07 at the remarkable Spirit of Broadway Theatre in Norwich, Connecticut, as part of the theatre's 10th anniversary season. The show runs February 28th through April 8th. Many thanks to SBT's founder and artistic director Brett Bernardini for including our show in what promises to be a truly fabulous season.

The casting notice is up at the SBT website, so click here for audition dates, character breakdowns, and to find out how to get an appointment. Costume designers, MDs, percussionists and stage managers can click here for info on how to submit your resumes.

In the meantime, check out Andrew's Meet John Doe blog for the latest news of his adventures at Goodspeed, where he and collaborator Eddie Sugarman are currently workshopping up a storm in preparation for a production at Ford's Theatre that opens in March '07. Also drop by Maryrose's website for news of her next novel, Why I Let My Hair Grow Out (also a March '07 release—yes, it'll be a busy month!), the madcap maneuverings of Floridian book-banners and more.

See you in Norwich!

Creative Team Keeps Busy

THE TUTOR's creative team is having a busy year so far, and it's only March! Andrew Gerle is one of this year's Larson Award winners. And Maryrose Wood's first novel, SEX KITTENS AND HORN DAWGS FALL IN LOVE, has garnered rave reviews and is in stores now. Congrats all around!

Another rave review for a “Delightfully Unique Musical”

Prospect Theater Company's production of THE TUTOR was "Pick of the Week" at off off online. Why? Because it's 

“a delightfully unique musical... the actors have an infectious energy that makes you want to follow their story wherever it may lead... There are catchy original songs by the team of Maryrose Wood and Andrew Gerle... This production is fun enough for all ages to enjoy...”

Click here to read the whole review of this award-winning new musical that is “not afraid to try something new and has a good time doing it.”

"Hilariously Poignant"

THE TUTOR is "nothing short of hilariously poignant," says Show Business Weekly.

American Theater Web calls it "musical theater of the...most enjoyable kind." and goes on to say:

"Eric Ankrim imbues Edmund with a delightful blend of narcissism and entitlement but, most important, sweetness, allowing the audience to care about this man even initially when he's at his most self-serving.  Gayton Scott makes Sweetie's eccentric mom a mass of wide-eyed tics and loving neuroses while Richard Pruitt delivers with compassionate stalwartness as the girl's father. As the girl herself, Meredith Bull proves to be something of an unexpected powerhouse.  From underneath what seem to be five layers of heavy black-eyeliner, audiences will find that she has exceedingly expressive eyes and her voice, sometimes so casual when speaking, can deliver powerfully when Sweetie bursts into song.

Supporting these four principals are terrific tongue-in-cheek performances from Lucy Sorensen and Raphael Fetta, who not only bring Edmund's time-traveling romantic duo to life (in Naomi Wolff's grand costumes they emerge as everything from Scarlet and Rhett-inspired antebellum gentry to unlikely lovers straight out of a film noir).  Sorensen and Fetta display equal versatility with roles that are integral to the story as well."

We give both essays an A plus. Class dismissed!