New York, NY -- (SBWire) -- 04/22/2013 --They’ve been called the “hottest thing with a bow since Jennifer Lawrence in 'The Hunger Games'” by the New York Daily News, and even the Huffington Post admitted that "It’s difficult not to fall for Well-Strung’s undeniable charms." On May 5, Well-Strung: The Singing String Quartet, will return to New York for one show only at The Highline Ballroom (431 West 16th Street). Tickets are $25 - $50 (packages and discounts are available for groups of 10 or more) and may be purchased online at www.well-strung.com, or in person at the box office (open 2 hours before the performance).
Well-Strung has been described as a ‘mash-up of string quartet and boy band,’ that features classical musicians who sing, putting their own spin on the music of Mozart, Vivaldi, Ke$ha, Pink, Adele, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and more. They are Edmund Bagnell (first violin), Christopher Marchant (second violin), Daniel Shevlin (cello) and Trevor Wadleigh (viola). Music arrangements are by David Levinson with additional arrangements by Daniel Shevlin. The show was directed by Donna Drake, conceived by Christopher Marchant & Mark Cortale and written by Ms. Drake & Mr. Cortale, with additional material contributed by Jeffery Roberson.
The group first began performing together in a workshop production of the show directed by Donna Drake at Ars Nova in NYC on Feb. 28th, 2012. Musical arrangements were by David Levinson with additional arrangements by Daniel Shevlin. That same show sold out at Joe’s Pub in May of 2012 before having an extended run last summer at The Art House in Provincetown, MA and playing Off-Broadway at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater last fall. The group returned to Off-Broadway for the first three weeks of March, 2013. Next up: immediately after their just-announced summer-long return run in Provincetown this coming June 30 – September 7, they will be making their European debut in September of 2013 with an engagement at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on the West End.
The foursome’s debut album was released on Twist Records on February 28, and was produced by Matt Farber (Founder of LOGO Network) and Mark Cortale, the CD will be available for sale at the Highline Ballroom on May 5.
Edmund Bagnell (First Violinist) played Tobias in the 1st National Tour of "Sweeney Todd" directed by John Doyle. He was most recently seen this fall in Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Medium” playing the role of Toby opposite Varla Jean Merman. Recent regional theater credits include Charlie Brown in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" (Summer Theater of New Canaan), Charlie in "The Big Holiday Broadcast of 1959" written by Joanna Gleason (Fairfield Theater Company), and Oramel Howland in "The Great Unknown" written by Jim Wann ("Pump Boys and Dinettes") and Bill Hauptman ("Big River") as a part of NYMF.
Donna Drake (Director) has appeared in the original Broadway casts of "A Chorus Line," "Sophisticated Ladies," "Woman of the Year," "The Wind in the Willows," "5678-Dance," "It’s so nice to be Civilized" and the original production of "The 1940s Radio Hour." She was an Emmy nominee for "Dear Alex and Annie," and received 4 Drama Desk Nominations, a Mac Award Nomination and a Theatre World Award. She also directed John Tartaglia’s "Imaginocean," which ran Off Broadway at New World Stages.
David Levinson (Arrangements) collaborated with Stacey Weingarten and Donna Drake on "Les Enfants de Paris" (world premiere NYMF 2011). David is also currently working on music and lyrics for "Boys Lost," "The Elliot's," and "Who Is Prester John?" which are in development.
Chris Marchant (Second Violinist) grew up singing and playing violin, but was not involved with theater until the end of his studies at Malone University in Canton, OH. Since then, he has been involved in numerous productions utilizing his multi-talents as a vocalist, actor, and musician. Career highlights include Tobias ("Sweeney Todd," National Tour), violinist ("Spring Awakening" National Tour), Dennis ("Sanders Family Christmas"), and "Naked Boys Singing."
Daniel Shevlin (Cellist/Arrangements) appeared off-Broadway in "The Sandbox" written and directed by Edward Albee, toured the U.S. and Asia in productions of "Rent" and "Cabaret" (Studio 54 version), and has worked regionally as both an actor and cellist in many theaters including the Arvada Center (CO), The Maltz-Jupiter Theatre (FL), Riverside Theatre (FL), and Mason Street Warehouse (MI), to name a few.
Trevor Wadleigh (Violist) is from Seattle and currently a member of The String Collective of New York. He has taught viola at the University of Puget Sound Community Music Community and is also a co-founder of the Puget Sound Animal Rescue.
Mark Cortale is the Producing Artistic Director of The Art House in Provincetown. In his inaugural season there in 2011, he founded the Broadway @ The Art House series with Seth Rudetsky, which this coming summer of 2013 will present Patti LuPone, Chita Rivera, Sutton Foster, Audra McDonald, Megan Hilty of TV’s “Smash”, Christine Ebersole, Joanna Gleason, Sam Harris and Marilyn Maye in addition to other national-level music and comedy programming. He is currently producing Seth Rudetsky’s new reality series that can be seen at www.SethTV.com. He also co-wrote and produced Well-Strung’s runs this past winter and fall at the Marjorie S. Deane Theater. Mark produced the feature film "Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads," which played the 2012 festival circuit with a screening at Frameline in San Francisco. Mark also premiered the Broadway @ series this season in New Orleans, with upcoming launches in London with Patti LuPone at Leister Square Theater, and in Santa Monica, CA in fall of 2013.
Listing information
Well-Strung – The Singing String Quartet
Sunday, May 5
Showtime 8:00 PM (Doors Open 6:00 PM)
All Ages
$25 Advance / $30 Day of Show General Admission
$50 VIP Reserved Floor Seating
Tickets and information at http://highlineballroom.com
Packages & Discounts for Large Groups of 10 or more
Dinner menu available, General Admission, Seating available first come, first served, $10 min/person at tables
Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011 (between 9th and 10th Avenues)
(212) 414-5994
A, C, E, or L Trains to 14th Street, Walk West on 16th st. http://highlineballroom.com/directions/
www.well-strung.com
www.facebook.com/wellstrungnyc
www.twitter.com/wellstrungnyc
