Broadway Dreams, an organization that puts disadvantaged youth together with entertainment industry mentors, is presenting a workshop and June 9–10 staged reading of a new musical, Mary & Max, based on the 2009 Australian animated film about two unlikely pen pals.

Mary & Max features a book by Crystal Skillman and music and lyrics by Bobby Cronin. The presentation will be directed by the Theatre Calgary’s newly appointed artistic director, Stafford Arima (Allegiance), with musical direction by Anna Ebbesen.

An industry-only presentation of Mary & Max is scheduled for 4 PM June 9 at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. On June 10 at 9 AM, Broadway Dreams will offer a second performance for students and community members at the Buford Fine Arts Center, also in Atlanta.

Producers said that the show is about “two people from two different worlds who remind us that, even when we feel most afraid and alone, friendship can be found in the unlikeliest of places. Set in the1970s, it comes to life through pen pal exchanges between Mary Dinkle, a chubby ten-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne [Australia], and Max Horovitz, a severely obese, 44-year-old Jewish man with Asperger’s Syndrome living in the chaos of New York. As they take us on their respective journeys, we learn that sometimes perfect strangers make the best of friends.”

Leading the cast are Bella Fraker as Mary and Anthony Galde (Wicked) as Max, along with Lauren Elder (Side Show), Nick Adams (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert), Anne Brummel (Wicked), Alex Newell (Glee), and Broadway Dreams students/alumni, Chase Crandell, Leigh Ellen Jones, Hugh Entrekin, Vincent Ford, Greg Kamp, Chloe McSwain, and Sarah Stipe.

For more information, visit BroadwayDreams.org.

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