The Full Cast of Bury the Dead!

Jeremy Beck


Fred Berman


Mandell Butler


Donna Lynne Champlin


Jake Hart


Jeff Pucillo


Matt Sincell

Casting announcement soon!

We had an incredible weekend of final callbacks for Bury the Dead this past weekend. What an amazing group of actors to choose from.
I'm beyond thrilled with the cast.
Stay tuned for the official announcement!

Bury the Dead

I can't say how excited I am about directing this play. We're in the middle of casting now. That process has been amazing. I've seen an army of brilliant actors. It's an embarrassment of riches. I don't think I've ever done a play where there are so many great guys that I'm not going to cast.

And then there's this....

I'm directing and writing the annual Westport Country Playhouse Gala with a star studded cast. I'm working with the wonder known as Mary Mitchell Campbell who is music directing and Tim Federle who is choreographing.

Exciting stuff!

Where has the last month go?

Time does fly as they say....

The reading of In Transit at the York went spectacularly well. I love the piece and that cast is just a dream.

I was in Washington D.C. over Labor Day weekend to do a partial reading of The Last Days of Cleopatra for The Kennedy Center's Page to Stage reading festival. Charlie Barneet (the composer/lyricist) and I learned a ton. We only did about thirty five minutes of the first act. It was literally the first time anybody (including Charlie and I) heard any of it, and the response was really encouraging including this nice little mention from DCTheatreScene:

"A musical about the making of Cleopatra, the big-budget 1963 film that almost bankrupted Twentieth Century Fox, is a terrific concept. Based upon the excerpt performed, it has vivid characters and some interesting themes. The audience saw Elizabeth Taylor expressing her doubts about performing the role of Cleopatra (talking with imaginary famous friends and singing with the song I Can’t Do This), heard a group of reporters determined to get a gossipy story about Taylor with the group number I Ain’t Gonna Let Nothin’ Happen, and then saw the beginning of the sparks between Taylor and Richard Burton as they quarreled and sang You Are Right with the film’s director, Joseph Mankiewicz. Joe Calarco’s book has sharp dialogue and the music of Charlie Bennett is sophisticated and entertaining. This musical has great potential."

We had a great cast with Gia Mora as Liz Taylor and Nathan Drost as Richard Burton and including Chris Bloch, Stephen Schmidt, Michael Grew, Matthew Bowerman, John Robert Keena, and Mick Tinder.

And I've been in the midst of casting and design meetings for Bury the Dead.

Great month!