Will Chase and Malcolm Gets
Star In World Premiere of
"The Story Of My Life"

Opening In October At Norris Terris Theatre

Goodspeed Musicals has announced that "The Story of My Life" will be the fall production at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Connecticut. Broadway's Will Chase and Malcolm Gets will star in the world premiere, featuring music and lyrics by Neil Bartram with a book by Brian Hill. Performance dates are October 10 - November 2. Tickets go on public sale September 5.

This new musical tells of two childhood friends and how their relationship profoundly defined their lives. In the story, Thomas Weaver is a best selling, award-winning author. Alvin Kelby was his best friend for thirty years. However, time tests the bonds of their friendship. And when it does, Thomas calls on the only resource he has – his stories of Alvin – to learn where things went wrong.

Tony Award nominated Malcolm Gets (at left), whose Broadway credits include "Passion," "Amour" and Dreamgirls," will play Alvin. Gets may be best known to audiences as Richard on the television comedy "Caroline in the City" and was seen the recent feature film "Sex and the City."

Thomas will be played by Will Chase (at left), whose Broadway credits include "High Fidelity" (which played its world premiere, pre-Broadway try-out at Boston's Colonial Theatre), "Aida," "The Full Monty," "Rent," and "Miss Saigon."

Composer Neil Bartram is the recipient of a Dramatists Guild Jonathan Larson Fellowship, a Jonathan Larson Foundation Award, and was a finalist for the 2007 Fred Ebb Award. He wrote the music and lyrics for "The Nightingale and the Rose" and "Somewhere In The World, " which ran for five seasons at the Charlottetown Festival (Canada’s third largest theatre festival).

Writer Brian Hill is currently Associate Director of "Disney’s The Little Mermaid " and served as Resident Director of "The Lion King " for six years. For the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, he directed Gilbert and Sullivan’s "Patience" and was Associate Director of Susan H. Schulman’s acclaimed productions of "Man of La Mancha "and "Fiddler on the Roof." He was also Resident Director of the Toronto, Vancouver and national companies of "Forever Plaid" and served as Associate Director to Susan H. Schulman for the U.S. national tour of "Sunset Boulevard " and the first national tour of "The Sound of Music."

"The Story of My Life" will be directed by Richard Maltby, Jr., who returns to The Norma Terris Theatre where he previously directed Goodspeed Musicals’ production of "The 60’s Project." On Broadway, he directed "Fosse," "Song and Dance," "Ring of Fire," and won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for "Ain’t Misbehavin’."

Among the many Broadway talents working on the show are: David Holcenberg (musical director), Jonathan Tunick (orchestrations), Robert Brill (set design), Wade Laboissonniere (costumes), Ken Billington (lighting) and Carl Casella (sound). "The Story of My Life" is produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price.

For information call 860-873-8668 or visit www.goodspeed.org.

Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., with additional musicals at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new works.

-- OnStage Boston