Caitlin Houlahan, Chris McCarrell and Karen Ziemba lead the prelude to a Kiss musical

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Caitlin Houlahan, Chris McCarrell and Karen Ziemba lead Prelude to a kiss musical

The new musical will be performed at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater this fall after its world premiere at the South Coast Repertory in April.

Casting is complete for Prelude to a Kiss, a musical –the musical version of Craig Lucas’ 1990 Tony-nominated romantic comedy – which will be performed at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater this fall after its recent world premiere at South Coast Repertory.

Kenneth Ferrone (The hiker) will direct the production, with directing contributions from South Coast Rep artistic director David Ivers. Performances are scheduled for September 10 through October 19 at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts.

The cast is led by Andrew Montgomery Coleman as Taylor, Jonathan Gillard Daly as Julius, Julie Garnyé (Come from afar national tour) as Leah, Caitlin Houlahan (Girls from the North) as Rita, Chris McCarrell (The Misérables) as Peter, James Moye (Million Dollar Quartet) as Rita’s father and Tony winner Karen Ziemba (Contact) as Rita’s mother with ensemble members Bella Hicks (Waitress), Robert Zelaya (Kinky boots) and Caroline Pernick.

With lyrics by Sean Hartley and Daniel Messé, music by Messé and a book by original playwright Lucas, the new musical follows a mysterious guest who asks for a kiss at Peter and Rita’s wedding. The boundaries of true love are explored and the couple embark on a fantastical journey of self-discovery.

The upcoming production will be musically directed by Wiley DeWeese, choreographed by Julia Rhoads, set designed by Scott Davis, costumes by Linda Cho and Herin Kaputkin, lighting designed by Marcus Doshi, sound designed by Andrea Allmond, projection designed by Yee Eun Nam, orchestrated by Greg Pliska, vocal arranged by Wiley DeWeese and Daniel Messé, dramatized by Andy Knight, and produced by Mark Johnson.

Casting was done by Geoff Josselson and Katja Zarolinski of JZ Casting, with additional casting done by Joanne DeNaut and Jonathan Hetler.

Prelude to a kissthe basis for the upcoming musical, premiered at the South Coast Rep in 1988.

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