Hothouse at the Playhouse reading series ends June 25

The Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director and Elizabeth Doran, Executive Director) announced the final presentation of its 2012 – 2013 HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse series, THE FUTURE PERFECT.  Book by Jonathan Caren, music & lyrics by Emmy Award-winning composer and songwriter Ben Decter, directed by Tony Award nominated (for Rock of Ages) Kristin Hanggi with musical direction by Kyle Puccia. The staged reading will take place Tuesday, June 25, and Wednesday, June 26, 2013, at 8:00 p.m. in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre at The Pasadena Playhouse.

“This project is a labor of love for us…and something we’ve enjoyed developing from the ground up,” said director Kristin Hanggi. “I’ve always thought of this musical as John Lennon’s quote – ‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.’ I’m really interested in exploring all the optimism of youth & our dreams, and how life grows us by the events that happen along the way.”

Added composer and lyricist Ben Decter, “After several aborted attempts at exploring the early years of being a Dad through words alone, I finally turned to songwriting. It just so happened that Kristin Hanggi was given a CD, and thus began the deep development process. Kristin promised on day one that this would be a long, challenging journey. Yet, we keep moving forward, onward, and upward and that’s actually what this story is about. It’s amazing how our show, and all of us, have grown through the process – especially the little girl who was the original inspiration for this story.”

THE FUTURE PERFECT is a story about a singer and his band on the verge of their dreams, but behind the scenes his family is falling apart. While the band deals with their newfound fame, Daniel is dealing with his newfound daughter and her ensuing medical crisis, which will require more love than he ever imagined. In THE FUTURE PERFECT, we follow a young man’s struggle to accept a different vision of himself, his daughter and the future. It's a musical about going for your dreams, and being surprised by what you find along the way...

The cast for THE FUTURE PERFECT has yet to be announced. Casting director, Michael Donovan, CSA (Michael Donovan Casting) will facilitate the process. Please contact his office for any casting inquiries.

"With Sleepless in Seattle – The Musical, a HOTHOUSE grown World Premiere musical closing a smashingly successful 2012-13 Season on our Mainstage and proving we are truly “Better Than Ever!” at The Pasadena Playhouse, what better finale for our 2012-13 HOTHOUSE Season than another original musical with THE FUTURE PERFECT? Like Sleepless in Seattle – The Musical, THE FUTURE PERFECT finds its roots in a love story we think we all know, and we expect to play out in a certain way. However, nothing is ever the way one expects when it comes to love – or art.” said HOTHOUSE producer and Playhouse Artistic Associate, Courtney Harper. “This 2012-13 season of HOTHOUSE has been more than exciting. We've seen fantastic authors and actors returning to us with new work after previous pieces grown in HOTHOUSE have moved forward. Much of their work has had life on our Mainstage, gone on to Tony-nominated Broadway productions, and on national tour. For example, we’ll be seeing our June 2012 HOTHOUSE grown play Above the Fold by Bernard Weinraub, Directed by Steven Robman, on our Mainstage as part of our 2013-2014 Mainstage Season in January/February of 2014. The journey of pieces like Above the Fold show our HOTHOUSE series continues to sustain the pattern of successfully growing new work and subsequently producing a very high percentage on our Mainstage and beyond. We could not be more thrilled with the progress and continued development of this vital program."

Reservations for HOTHOUSE at The Playhouse staged readings may be made online at http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/outreach-and-education/hothouse.html or by calling The Pasadena Playhouse box office at 626-356-7529.