Liz Larsen to Star in Revised Platinum at 2010 Fringe Festival

A new developmental production of the 1978 Broadway musical Platinum starring Tony Award nominee Liz Larsen (The Most Happy Fella, A New Brain) and Sarah Litzsinger (Beauty and the Beast, Amour) will debut at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival. The show, to be presented in one act, features revisions and direction by Ben West. Theater, dates and additional casting will be announced shortly. The Fringe Festival is scheduled to run August 13-29 at various downtown venues.

Platinum features a book by Will Holt and Bruce Vilanch, lyrics by Holt and music by Gary William Friedman. The show follows Lila Halliday (Larsen), a dazzling Hollywood legend trying to make a comeback in the explosive music industry of the 1970s. Determined to reignite her career, she turns to rock star Dan Riley and finds herself falling for him as they both fight to stay in the game.

The original Broadway production of Platinum opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre (now a church) on November 12, 1978, starring Alexis Smith and directed by Joe Layton. The show played 33 performances and received Tony Award nominations for Smith and co-star Richard Cox. An earlier version (titled Sunset) was directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune at the Studio Arena Theatre in 1977. Holt and Friedman revisited Sunset in 1983 with a cabaret production at the Village Gate starring Tammy Grimes.

The Fringe production of Platinum will be performed by a cast of five and feature two new songs (“This One’s for Me,” “Moments”), one that was cut and the other written after the original run. Four musical numbers and eight characters have been eliminated.

Presented by UnsungMusicalsCo, Inc, the Fringe production of Platinum will be choreographed by Rommy Sandhu, with musical arrangements by Friedman and musical direction by Fran Minarik.