Deadly StagesNew York, N.Y. (January 8, 2024) – Emerging Artists Theatre in association with No Anita No Productions presents Deadly Stages, a gender-bending homage to the backstage murder mystery movies of the '40s and '50s written by Marc Castle and Mark Finley. Finley will direct a cast of six including Marc Castle* (1st Nat.: Camelot), Tom Gilantich* (Broadway: The Lehman Trilogy, War Paint), David Leeper (Internat’l: At The Flash), Dani Marcus* (1st Nat.: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) and Ellen Reilly* (Off-Bway: Penny Penniworth), with understudies Jonas Cohen* and Sarah Ellis*, and additional casting to be announced. Thirty-one performances will be staged at Theatre 5 at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 from February 16-March 16, 2024. Opening night is Sunday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m.

Deadly Stages tells the tale of Broadway legend Veronica Traymore as she takes a desperate stab at securing her next smash hit. She thinks she found it in Anthony Arlo's new show, until murder makes its entrance! Will her new show arrive to the Great White Way for her coveted Opening Night, or will it be curtains for her? Paying homage to the classic (and not so classic) backstage films of the 40's and 50's when Hollywood was looking to Broadway for inspiration, the timeless whodunit genre is reimagined and turned on its side in a fast paced, fun and funny tribute to this golden age in entertainment. Each playing multiple roles, who in our cast of six will kick the bucket, and who will carry on? Join us to find out, as all will be answered for those who survive Deadly Stages!

The runtime is 90 minutes with no intermission.

Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Plus, Wednesday, March 13 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $67.50 (plus $5.00 online fee) and can be purchased by visiting BFANY.org. Direct ticketing link: https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/deadly-stages/

Deadly Stages is produced by E.A.T. (Paul Adams, Artistic Director) in association with No Anita No Productions (Tom Keegan, Executive Producer); Set and Costume Designer: Court Watson; Lighting Designer: Zach Pizza; Original Music and Sound Designer: Morry Campbell; Video Design and Direction: David Leeper; Production Stage Manager: Ruth E. Kramer*; Casting Director: Karie Koppel, Koppel Casting; General Manager: Rebecca Nichols; Design & Photography: Stephen Webster; Press Representative: Paul Siebold/Off Off PR.

*Member, Actors’ Equity Association.

Emerging Artists Theatre was founded in 1993 by Paul Adams, who continues to this day as Artistic Director. E.A.T. has showcased hundreds of new works for Off- and Off-Off Broadway. Among their most recent shows have been Anne Being Frank, Doris Day: My Secret Love, and Sex Work/Sex Play. E.A.T.'s biannual Spark Festival presented the first public reading of Deadly Stages. www.emergingartiststheatre.org

No Anita No Productions is the producing arm for "jack-of-many-trades" Tom Keegan. A professional animator (“Blue’s Clues”), puppeteer (National Marionette Theatre), real estate agent (Douglas Elliman) and published artist, Tom got his first Broadway credit on Little Women The Musical. Deadly Stages is Tom’s second time as Executive Producer, and his proudest professional achievement. 

Marc Castle* (playwright/Veronica Traymore) is an actor, director and playwright. He received a 2017 Jerry Kaufman Award Citation for Excellence in Playwriting for his first collection of short plays. Productions of his work have been seen at E.A.T., the Neighborhood Playhouse and La MaMa, among many others. He was the Literary Manager for Emerging Artists Theatre where he has had eight short plays and his one man show produced. Other recent works include Mr. Company (American Globe Theatre; Winner: Audience Favorite Award); book, music and lyrics for Love, Incorporated (Roper Center in Norfolk VA, Midtown Fest; Winner: Outstanding Production of a Musical); Friends and Relations (June Havoc Theater); and book and lyrics for Young King Arthur (Vital Theatre Company, Actor’s Playhouse, Florida; Winner: National Children’s Theater Award). He started acting professionally at the age of 10, touring in the 1st national company of Camelot and appearing off-Broadway in Plays for Bleecker Street (Circle in the Square), My Great Dead Sister (The Production Co.), and Romance Language (Playwrights Horizons). Regionally: The Foreigner, Crazy for You and A Lion in Winter. Film and TV: “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” “Urbania,” and “As the World Turns.” He is a proud member of Emerging Artists Theatre, ARTC, Equity, SAG/AFTRA, ASCAP, the Dramatist Guild, and an alumnus of the BMI Workshop. www.marccastle.com

Mark Finley* (playwright/director) has been the Artistic Director of The Other Side of Silence (TOSOS) since 2001 when he and Barry Childs revived Doric Wilson’s historic theatre company.  (TOSOS was founded as NYC’s first professional LGBT theatre company in 1974.)  Mark has directed many of TOSOS’ award-winning and acclaimed productions - including Jewelle Gomez’ Audelco-winning plays Leaving the Blues and Waiting for Giovanni and most recently the world premiere of Robert Macke’s House of Chavis and the revival of Kathleen Warnock’s Rock the Line. He is a co-creator of the “OUT LINES” podcast which examines lesser-known titles in the LGBTQIA+ theatrical canon and puts them in a historical / sociological context (www.outlinespod.com). He is a playwright, actor and producer.  He has directed Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. He is on the acting faculty of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Veronica Traymore* (herself) - is still considered one of the greatest actresses who ever performed on the English speaking stage. Born Velka Schulze, she started her career as a child touring the country with her sister Rosamund. She met her first husband, Reginald Traymore, in her first Broadway play, Beyond the Hills, where he rechristened her "Veronica" after the character she played in it. It was only a few years later, after the Traymores had some success in London performing in repertory, that she achieved stardom playing 'Little Minnie' in Tender Silences on Broadway. The decades that followed saw her create iconic performances in such plays as The Wild Duck, The Merchant of Venice, Sitting in the Middle With A Hat On, and A Question of Morality, among many others. She retired in 1962 after a triumphant run as 'Miranda' in Five Feet Below. She died in 1978, outliving all three of her husbands. It is fitting that today's audiences get to rediscover a moment of theatre history and the legend that was Veronica Traymore, in Deadly Stages.

Tom Galantich* (Marvin/Fritz/Collucci) - Broadway: The Lehman Trilogy, War Paint, Don’t Dress for Dinner, Boeing Boeing, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Mamma Mia, The Boys From Syracuse, City of Angels and Into the Woods. Off Broadway: Rock of Ages, Clinton The Musical, Tail! Spin!, The Preacher and the Shrink, Distracted (Roundabout), Ghosts and Biography (Pearl Theatre), A Doll’s Life and On the 20th Century (The York Theatre). Film: “Julie and Julia,” “Radium Girls,” “The Lennon Report,” “Love After Love.” TV: “Fosse/Verdon,” “The Plot Against America,” “WU TANG: An American Saga,” “Madame Secretary,” “The Good Fight,” “Chicago Fire,” “The Affair,” “Master of None,” “House of Cards” (Thomas Larkin), “Person of Interest,” “Elementary,” “Smash,” “Made in Jersey,” “Royal Pains,” “Law and Order” (Joe Chapelle), “L&O Criminal Intent,” “Ed,” “Chappelle’s Show,” “The Cosby Mysteries,” “One Life To Live” (Mark Casey), “All My Children,” “Another World.” National Tours: Bob Wallace in White Christmas, Bobby in Company, Walter Hobbes in ELF The Musical, and Harker in Dracula. Tom has appeared at many regional theatres across the country, including The Denver Center, The Old Globe, Michigan Opera, North Carolina Theater, Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, Drury Lane, and Marriott’s Lincolnshire, among others, and his is a veteran of numerous commercials and voice overs.

David Leeper (Anthony Arlo/Others) is a NY/LA bi-coastal, multi-award-winning actor and writer. He has performed his one-actor play At The Flash co-written with his husband Sean Chandler in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dublin, Philadelphia, Vermont and New York. Of his many stage roles, his favorite theater credits include Secret Identity, Oleanna, Fifth of July and Stupid F*cking Bird. David is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA and The Dramatist Guild. @thatactordavid

Dani Marcus* (Phoebe/Connie) played Miss Barley (and others) in the First National Tour of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. She is particularly proud of appearing in Paula Vogel’s Indecent and originating the role of Harriet Smith in Emma by Paul Gordon. Along with co-creator and director, Tim Werenko, she co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the award-winning web series “Running Lines,” now streaming on YouTube. Her poetry has been rejected by The New Yorker at least three times. www.danimarcus.net

Ellen Reilly* (Dooney/Barbara/Rita) is an actress, improviser, and voiceover performer. Ellen’s Off-Broadway credits include Penny Penniworth, and The Play About the Naked Guy. Other New York theater: Fifth of July; Sister Cities; Bernadette and the Butcher of Broadway; Tonylust; Peas and Carrots. TV: “The Daily Show;” “Law & Order;” “Law & Order SVU;” “Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon;” “As the World Turns;” “Rescue 911.” Web: Onion News Network.

Jonas Cohen* (understudy) - New York: Strings Attached (Pulse Theater) Duet For Three (Amas Music Theater), 2 shows for NYMF (Best Ensemble Award) Regional: Northern Stage, Riverside Theater, Walnut Street Theatre, Portland Stage Company, Barrington Stage, Stamford Theatreworks, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, The Hangar Theater, Flat Rock Playhouse, The Arvada, Arkansas Rep, New Harmony Theatre, Capital Repertory Theater, Ivoryton Playhouse, and The Fulton Theater. TV: “The Good Fight,” “The Equalizer,” “The Flight Attendant,” “Mr Robot,” “The Deuce,” “Succession,” “Law & Order SVU,” “The Tap,” “Power,” “Blue Bloods,” and “All My Children.” Film: “The Pixie Fighters,” “Forgetting Sandy Glass.”

Sarah Ellis* (understudy) is a NYC-based actor, concert artist, and producer, with credits spanning across the country in theatre, film, commercial, and symphony work, including the First Nat’l of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Select regional: The Rev, Riverside Theatre, Stages STL, KC Starlight, Geva Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Arrow Rock Lyceum, Pittsburgh CLO, Northshore MT, Florida Studio, The Gateway, Farmer’s Alley, WV Public, Westchester Bway & The Engeman. OHLQ Spokesperson. Co-Creator/Producer of award-winning MT SHORTS. BFA Penn State. www.meetsarahellis.com @iamsarahellis 

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Deadly Stages 

A Gender-Bending Homage to the Backstage Murder Mystery Movies of the '40s and '50s 

Written by Marc Castle and Mark Finley

Directed by Mark Finley

February 16 - March 16, 2024 (31 performances)

Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.

Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. / Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

Additional matinee: Wednesday, March 13 at 2:00 p.m. 

Opening Night: Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. 

Theatre 5 at Theatre Row

410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036

 Tickets are $67.50 (plus $5.00 online fee). Visit: bfany.org

Direct ticketing link: https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/deadly-stages/

Runtime: 90 minutes with no intermission

www.DeadlyStages.com / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

​Click here for high-resolution publicity photos, show artwork, and headshots. Design and Photography by Stephen Webster.

Press and Industry may request one or two comps to all performances from February 16th onward. Opening night is Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 3pm.

Press Contact: Paul Siebold, 917-626-3014, paul@offoffpr.com