FACING EAST Gets Preview Reading This Spring

Facing East, a new musical based on the play of the same name by Carol Lynn Pearson, will have a special preview reading this spring in Chicago. The showʼs book and lyrics are by Mark Garcia, and David Rigano will provide the score.

The reading will be directed by Andrew Hobgood (NY Fringeʼs award winning Love is Dead), who will also direct the showʼs world premier next year. The reading will be held for invited guests, but a limited number of tickets willbe made available to the general public.

Carol Lynn Pearsonʼs play, Facing East opened in Salt Lake City in 2007 to enthusiastic reviews, and packed houses. That production moved on to performances Off-Broadway at New Yorkʼs Atlantic Theatre Company, and then on to San Franciscoʼs Theatre Rhinoceros.

It was at the San Francisco engagement that producer Nathan Gardner saw the piece, and it was a meremonth thereafter that the rights to turn the play into a musical were in hand. "I canʼt recall ever being moved by a play as much as I was at Facing East," Gardner says.

"The emotions run wild in the show. It really digs deep and makes you think. I thought it would be fantastic material for a musical, and am delighted that Ms. Pearson has given us her blessing. Iʼm thrilled with our creative team, and canʼt wait to put it in front of an audience."

Facing East follows an upstanding Mormon couple dealing with the suicide of their gay son. When they unexpectedly meet their sonʼs lover, they must face a reality that until then has been ignored, and reconcile their feelings and beliefs.

The reading will be produced in association with Chicagoʼs New Colony Theatre Company, who will also co-produce the showʼs World Premier in their next season prior to a run in New York. Exact dates, and casting for the reading will be announced shortly.

You can follow Facing East through it's development at http://www.facingeastmusical.com.