1:30pm | A staged reading of Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella begins the second season of the Reiner Reading Series on September 25th at 7:00 p.m.
The Most Happy Fella was first produced at the Imperial Theatre on May 3, 1956 and ran for a total of 676 performances, with Robert Weede as “Tony”, Jo Sullivan (later Joe Sullivan Loesser) as “Rosabella,” popular singer Art Lund as “Joe,” and country personality Shorty Long as Herman. Even in a season that included “My Fair Lady”, “Candide” and “Bells Are Ringing”, The Most Happy Fella was hailed as an extraordinary musical drama and a missing link between Broadway and opera. Composer/Writer Frank Loesser called the show a musical comedy – “with a lotta music”.
Musical Theatre West’s Reiner Reading Series is produced by Michael Betts and Daniel Thomas and focuses on staged readings of classic musicals and “forgotten gems”. According to MTW, the Reiner Reading Series is part of their commitment to celebrate and preserve musical theater as an art form, by exposing audiences to works of that might not otherwise be produced on a larger scale.
Through the minimalism of the staged reading format, the audience is invited to use their imagination to explore and enjoy the diverse range of musical theatre, both in style and era, including lesser-known shows by noted composers as well as notable shows by lesser-known composers.
The staged reading will be held on Sunday, September 25th at 7:00 p.m. at the University Theater on the CSU Long Beach campus at the 7th Street entrance. This special event is underwritten by long-time Long Beach residents and Musical Theatre West donors Ken and Dottie Reiner, as well as the Ackerman Family/Evalyn M. Bauer Foundation. Pre-purchased general admission tickets are $25.00 ($30 at the door) and are available now through the MTW box office at 562-856-1999, x4 or at www.musical.org.
The Reiner Reading Series will continue with Fiorello on March, 11, 2012, Bells are Ringing on May 20, 2012 and the series will close with a yet to be announced musical on July 22, 2012.