Peter Lockyer and Mamie Parris Starred In The Reading Of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO At Tuacahn Center For The Arts

A reading of the new musical The Count of Monte Cristo was presented on October 11th at Tuacahn Center for the Arts. Scott S. Anderson directed the private presentation of the musical penned by the Tony Award nominated team of Frank Wildhorn, composer, and Jack Murphy, book and lyrics.

On the very day of his wedding to the beautiful Mercedes, young Edmond Dantes is framed by three men, arrested and thrown into the notorious prison Chateau d'If. Befriended by a fellow prisoner, he plots a daring escape, unearths a secret fortune and returns to Marseilles and Paris disguised as the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, determined to seek vengeance on the men who framed him.

Peter Lockyer portrayed Edmond Dantès. Lockyer's Broadway credits include leading roles in The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Chicago, and LES MISERABLES. Lockyer played Jean Valjean on the U.S. 25th anniversary tour and at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End. He was joined by Broadway's Mamie Parris as Mercédès. Parris's credits include Grizabella in the revival of CATS, Rosalie in School of Rock, On the Twentieth Century and Ragtime. Parris also starred as Elphaba on the Broadway national tour of Wicked.

The cast featured Jon Rose as Mondego, Dallyn Vail Bayles (Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera) as Prosecutor de Villefort, Ivan T. Hoffman as Fernand Danglars, Lindsay Roginski (Chicago) as Louisa Vampa, Garyon Judon as Jacopo, John Massey (Happy Days) as Abbé Faria/Louis Dantes, A.J. Sullivan (Annie) as Narrator/Monsieur Morrell, Brady Miller as Albert Mondego and Ellee Anderson as Valentine. The ensemble consisted of Heidi Anderson, Brooke Bang, Katie Gardner, Bradley Gibbins-Klein, Abe Hegewald, Mimi Knell, Sam Lutui, Matthew Marvin, Kelly Peterson, Helen Jane Planchet and Kailey Simmons.

Tuacahn also presented a reading of the new musical, FLY written by Taylor Hatch with music and lyrics by Jordan Kamalu and directed by Jeffry Denman.

FLY is about the Golden Age of Flight in 1929 and the world's most daring female flyers are taking off in the first ever National Women's Air Derby: a nine-day cross-country air race from Santa Monica, California to Cleveland, Ohio. Louise Thaden, a hot-shot pilot and world record holder, is determined to take home the golden cup. But when she and the other pilots discover that the race is set up for them to fail, they must decide whether or not to put their lives on the line for the future of women in flight.

This ensemble piece was led by Tony nominee Meg Bussert (Brigadoon) as Elizabeth McQueen and Jim J. Bullock (Too Close for Comfort and Hairspray) as Will Rogers. They were joined by Emily Grace Tucker (Elf) as Louise Thaden, Alicia Shumway (The King and I) as Marvel Crosson, Elisabeth Evans (Once) as Amelia Earhart, Nicole Athill as Ruth Elder, Becca Corbin as Blanche Noyes, Jessica Lee Coffman as Pancho Barnes, Emilie Renier as Bobbi Trout, Rachel Robertson Cox as Claire Fahy, Thomas Doelger as Wiley Post, AJ Lockhart as Herb von Thaden, Patrick Nowak as Lt. Fahy, and M. Scott McLean as Walter Beech/Cliff Henderson.

Music direction was by Christopher Babbage (Count) and Cameron Blake Kinnear (FLY) with assistance from Daniel Mollett. The stage management team consisted of Holley Housewright (Count), Jessica Browning (FLY), Monica Dickhens, and Hannah Morris.

Both works were presented as part of Tuacahn's New Works Program under the direction of Jeffry Denman and produced by Scott Anderson, Artistic Director, Kevin Smith, CEO, and Shari Jordan, Assistant Artistic Producer. The Count of Monte Cristo was produced in association with Jeff Martin with featured casting by Wojcik/ Seay Casting.

For more information about Tuacahn Center for the Arts, please visit Tuacahn.org.