(Please note: photo by Rich Seidelman)
I was not one of the fortunate few who were physically present at this reading of the new musical, "The Dreamer And The Devil" - but I was certainly there in spirit! Here's the report from the website of Jenny Seidelman:
May 23, 2012
Reading of The Dreamer and the Devil a Success
An enthusiastic audience of supporters and theater-industry professionals attended a reading of the new, full-length musical The Dreamer and the Devil on May 21, 2012 at Stage 773 in Chicago. The show features book and additional lyrics by Jenny Seidelman and music, lyrics and additional book by Jonathan Wagner. Richard Shavzin served as director and Claire Shavzin was stage manager/assistant director.
The cast featured an outstanding array of talent including: Larry Adams (Daniel Burnham); Michael Mahler (H.H. Holmes); George Keating (John Root); Doug Pawlik (Sol Bloom); Kevin Gudahl (Carter Harrison); Marc Pera (Patrick Prendergast); Charissa Armon (Julia Conner); Karl Hamilton (Detective Geyer); Erin Myover-Piotrowski (Annie Howard); Andrew Roy Ritter (Ned Conner); Dave Nadolski (Ben Pietzel); Sharriese Hamilton (ensemble); Mandy Modic (ensemble); Jeny Wasilewski (ensemble); Chris Gorton (ensemble); Dave Carmona (ensemble); Ed Rutherford (ensemble).
The reading of The Dreamer and the Devil was supported through a major fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, which also helped to pay for a forthcoming cast recording.
The Dreamer and the Devil's artistic team are currently determining the next steps for the show.
Wow!!!
And here's the news from that artistic team:
Update #6
May 23 2012
"The Dreamer and the Devil" Reading is a Smashing Success!
We’re so excited to tell you that we finally had the official reading of The Dreamer and the Devil this past Monday and it was quite a success!
Approximately 100 supporters and theater industry professionals joined us at Stage 773 (1225 W. Belmont Ave.) in Chicago for this amazing event. The audience response was incredibly positive and we’re very excited for what the future holds for The Dreamer and the Devil.
Thanks to the support of our Kickstarter donors, we were able to have the show professionally recorded so that we can send c.d.s. to investors/producers/artistic directors in the Chicago area who were unable to attend the reading. (Donors of $25 and above will also receive a c.d. in a month or two.)
We were also able to hire a top-notch stage manager/assistant director, Claire Shavzin, and a truly outstanding cast of both Equity and non-Equity professionals, including: Larry Adams (Daniel Burnham); Michael Mahler (H.H. Holmes); George Keating (John Root); Doug Pawlik (Sol Bloom); Kevin Gudahl (Carter Harrison); Marc Pera (Patrick Prendergast); Charissa Armon (Julia Conner); Karl Hamilton (Detective Geyer); Erin Myover-Piotrowski (Annie Howard); Andrew Roy Ritter (Ned Conner); Dave Nadolski (Ben Pietzel); Sharriese Hamilton (Miss Halifax); Mandy Modic (Myrta Holmes); Jeny Wasilewski (Minnie Williams); Chris Gorton (O'Hara); Dave Carmona (Lyman Gage); Ed Rutherford (Angry Republican).
And, of course, the Kickstarter campaign helped us pay for the all-important copies of scripts and music, programs for the event, water and coffee for the cast, and rental of Stage 773 for rehearsals and the performance.
Now that the big event is over, we are taking a much-needed “breather” for a week or two – but we look forward to reconvening to discuss audience feedback, responses from potential producers/investors, and figuring out the next steps to take in pursuit of a full production.
As a generous Kickstarter donor, we will keep you apprised of major developments with the show – future readings, productions, etc.
Thank you again for your truly generous support. We couldn’t have done it without you!
~ Jenny Seidelman, Jonathan Wagner and Richard Shavzin ~
Wowzie wow WOW!!! I am so excited about this - just in time for my birthday, too.
Thanks, y'all!
5 comments:
fliss on May 24, 2012
Woohoo! And a big BRAVO! as well!
Thanks for the update and keep up the great work!
Faustina "Fliss" Smith
Creator Jenny Seidelman and Jonathan Wagner on May 25, 2012
Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and support!!
V. V. Kidd on May 27, 2012
I was one of the lucky ones to see the show. It was wonderful! I loved the music. The show was very moving, even without action or scenery. Imagine it complete!
Creator Jenny Seidelman and Jonathan Wagner on May 29, 2012
So glad to hear that you enjoyed it, V! If you have any additional feedback, we'd love to hear it. We'll be reviewing all the responses we received in a week or two, then we'll figure out our next steps with the show. Feedback can be sent to Jenny Seidelman at dreamerandthedevil@gmail.com. Thanks!
~ Jenny, Jon and Richard ~
Update #7
Jun 13 2012
Feedback Reviewed!
Just a quick update - Today we had our first meeting to review the feedback we received from the May 20th reading, and to collectively listen to the sound recording that was made. We're very excited about taking the next steps towards both revising the show and putting together a c.d. for producers/investors/artistic directors (and Kickstarter donors of $25+!)
We'll continue to keep you updated as major events related to The Dreamer and the Devil occur.
Please do be patient with us, though. The t.v. show Smash makes it look deceptively easy to create and mount a full-scale musical - in the real world, it's a little more time-intensive!)
Thanks again for your wonderful support.
~ Jenny Seidelman, Jonathan Wagner and Richard Shavzin ~
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