Merton of the Movies: The Musical—featuring music by Gary William Friedman, lyrics by Stevie Holland and Robert Lorick, and a book by Holland, Lorick, and Mel Shapiro—will have private industry readings in New York December 4 as part of The York Theatre Company’s Developmental Reading Series, in association with Lyle Saunders.

Directed by Joseph Hayward with music direction by Griffin Strout, the cast will feature Oliver Prose (New York, New York) as Merton, Lauren Molina (Rock of Ages, The Skivvies) as Beulah Baxter, Hana Culbreath (Annie national tour) as Sarah, Nina Hennessey (Dreamgirls) as Helen Montague, John Hillner (Mamma Mia!) as Henry Montague, Alan M-L Wager (Beauty and the Beast) as Amos Gashwiler and Henny Henshaw, Courtney Dease as Jeff Baird, Ariana Valdes as Tessie Kearns, Trevor Martin as Harold Parmalee, Blair Alexis Brown as Fione, and Drew Tanabe as Tommy Tilbert and Ziggy Rosenblatt.

Drawn from the comic novel by Harry Leon Wilson and subsequent Broadway hit by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, Merton of the Movies: The Musical tells the story of a small-town lad who fantasizes about making it big in Tinseltown during the silent film era.

Megan Meschino is the stage manager.

For more information email [email protected].