Date: Oct 15, 2010

Hofstra Alumni Return to Campus to Perform Staged Reading of Their New Musical: "Tangled"

October 19, 2010, 4 p.m.; Spiegel Theater, South Campus

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … Hofstra drama graduates Alexandra H. Rubin, Class of 2009, and Mark Sanderlin, Class of 2010, are returning to campus on Tuesday, October 19, 2010, to present a staged reading of their new musical, Tangled, for which they collaborated on the lyrics, Rubin wrote the book and Sanderlin composed the music.

The staged reading is taking place at 4 p.m. at the Spiegel Theater, located along the west side of California Avenue on Hofstra’s South Campus. The performance is being presented during Drama 14, a Freshman Year Connections class, taught by Adjunct Professor of English Maureen Connolly McFeely, but it is open to the rest of the campus and the general public.

The plot of Tangled focuses on Scott, who considers himself totally mediocre in every way, but when the shy new girl at Ford High, Kat, notices him in the hall, Scott musters up the courage to pursue her. But Kat has a secret: she is transgender. Born male, she has transferred schools to begin transitioning to female in anonymity. As Kat begins to let Scott into her world, his newfound courage is tested against the truth of who Kat really is.

The reading will feature performances by Andy Lott, Mark Sanderlin, Kate Mulberry, Brandon Morrissey, Andrea Dohs, Sarah Smith, Alyssa Libonati, Michael Enright, David Tomczak and Julien Touafek. Kevin Lawson is the musical director. Previous readings and performances of Tangled have included Hofstra alumni and students including Meg Lanzarone, Jillian Lawton, Missy Dowse, Travis Youssef, Ryan Smith, Gina Ventura, Lily Goodman, Ryan Zatcoff and Diana Curcuruto.

Tangled began in 2005 as a 15 minute short play by Rubin for The Spectrum Players, a Hofstra student theater group. In 2009 Rubin teamed up with Sanderlin to develop Tangled into a full length musical. The musical has enjoyed readings at the studios at Manhattan Theatre Club and Center Stage NY. Songs from Tangled have been featured at the closing concert for Play Me, I’m Yours and at The Fringe Festival’s Vaudeville Showstoppers. The music has found its way into the repertoire of rising performers such as Tom Hennes (The Last Goodbye, Williamstown Theatre Festival) and Renée Veronica Freedman (Morgan Street). In January 2011 Tangled will have a staged reading produced by Theatre for the New City.

Rubin graduated with high departmental honors from Hofstra for her original paratheatre event Only Human.  She is the recipient of the 2006 Francis Ford Coppola Award for Excellence in Theatre and 2009 Susan Sullivan Award. She is the associate producer of Frog and Peach Theatre Company where she assistant directs the main stage and children’s shows under Artistic Director Lynnea Benson.

Sanderlin’s works include two albums of original solo material, film scores, choral arrangements and incidental music for the stage. In 2007 his song "Rain" was a nominee for an IACmusic Golden Kayak Songwriting Award and it appears on his first solo EP, "Souvenirs." Several of his songs received Honorable Mention in the 2010 Billboard World Song Contest. He is also the jazz/classical editor for Arts America and a regular contributor to Amplifier Magazine.

For more information visit the Tangled, a new musical by Alexandra H. Rubin and Mark Sanderlin Facebook group.
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