First Wives Club: Ana Gasteyer, Carolee Carmello, Adriane Lenox and more to take part in reading of Broadway bound musical

An all-star cast of Ana Gasteyer (Wicked, �Saturday Night Live�), Carolee Carmello (Mamma, Mia!, Parade), Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt, Caroline, Or Change), Brad Oscar (The Producers, Jekyll & Hyde), Alton Fitzgerald White (The Lion King, Ragtime), John Dossett (The Constant Wife, Gypsy), Sam Harris (The Producers, The Life) and Sara Chase (Godspell at Paper Mill Playhouse) will star in a reading of the Broadway-bound musical First Wives Club on 2 Feb 2009 in New York City.

First Wives Club will have its premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego on 15 Jul through to 23 Aug 2009. The cast for the fully staged production will be announced soon.

First Wives Club marks the once-in-a-lifetime reunion of the famous Motown songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland (Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland), who created such monumental hits as �Where Did Our Love Go?,� �Baby Love� and �Stop! In The Name of Love� for The Supremes and �How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved By You)� for Marvin Gaye. These chart-topping legends, who had more airplay than the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Elvis combined, have reunited for this one production.

Based on the best-selling novel and Hollywood blockbuster of the same name, First Wives Club features an updated book by multiple Tony Award-winner Rupert Holmes (Curtains!, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Say Goodnight Gracie).

The production will be directed by award-winning opera and theatrical director Francesca Zambello (The Little Mermaid for Disney on Broadway, Little House on the Prairie for the Guthrie Theatre, Rebecca at the Vienna Raimund Theatre, Porgy and Bess at the Kennedy Center and the Wagner Ring Cycle at the San Francisco Opera).

The popular 1996 Paramount film "The First Wives Club" - about three divorced women who unite to turn their lives around for the better after being cast aside by their husbands for younger girlfriends - was based on Olivia Goldsmith's novel. The motion picture grossed over $130 million and boasted a star-studded cast comprising Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton.

Other members of the creative and design team for First Wives Club include Lisa Stevens (Choreographer), Ron Melrose (Music Director), Harold Wheeler (Orchestrations), Zane Mark (Dance Arrangements), Peter J. Davidson (Set Design), Catherine Zuber (Costume Design) and Mark McCullough (Lighting Design).

The musical will be produced on Broadway by Paul Lambert and Jonas Neilson, with a theater and dates to be announced.