'Talk of the Town' at the Oak Room

The Peccadillo Theater Company have announced the return of their production of The Talk Of The Town, a musical about the Algonquin Round Table, fittingly re-opening at the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room, where it will play on Mondays' from the 23 May - 22 Aug 2005.

The Talk Of The Town tells the story of the ten-year friendship of the wittiest literary lights of the 1920's, including Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman and Alexander Woollcott. This period musical traces the legendary skirmishes (both romantic and otherwise) around the famed Algonquin Round Table.

The Talk Of The Town, originally opened at the Bank Street Theatre on the 8 Nov 2004, following previews from the 28 Oct, and played through to the 12 Dec 2004. Brian Siebert of The New Yorker wrote of the show, ��Ginny Redington and Tom Dawe�s well-crafted period-style songs are genuinely clever, and the classic quips, briskly deployed throughout, still crackle.�

Ginny Redington and Tom Dawes come from successful careers in the music business as singers, songwriters, musicians, arrangers and producers. Ms. Redington wrote songs for well-known artists such as Gladys Knight and Sarah Vaughan, as well as performing her own material. Mr. Dawes was a member of the rock group The Cyrkle (best known for their hits �Red Rubber Ball� and �Turn Down Day�); he also produced a number of records for other artists, including two gold albums for the British blues group Foghat.

The Talk Of The Town's cast, directed by Dan Wackerman, includes Chris Weikel, Caroline McMahon, Rob Seitelman, Donna Coney Island, Matthew Tweardy, Nicholas Benton, Kellie Drinkhahn, Jeffrey Biering and Marc Connelly.

The musical has choreography by Mercedes Ellington, set design by Chris Jones, costumes by Amy C. Bradshaw and musical direction by Jeffrey Biering.

The Peccadillo Theater Company was founded in 1994 with the goal of producing forgotten American classics � �forgotten� in the sense that most of the work the company does is rarely revived, and �classic� in the sense of enduring theatrical value. Peccadillo has produced the work of such Algonquin Round Table authors as George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly (Beggar on Horseback) and Dorothy Parker (The Ladies of the Corridor). It seems fitting therefore that they have decided to produce a musical about The Aloquin Round Table authors themsleves.

The company recently presented its widely praised production of 'Counsellor-At-Law', starring John Rubinstein, which won two 2005 Lucille Lortel Awards (Outstanding Revival and Outstanding Lead Actor). 'Counsellor-At-Law' was also nominated for three Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Drama League Award.