KABOB DREK MANU, TERRANS!

ANCIENT ALIENS THREATEN THE SURVIVAL OF EARTH IN GARY MORGENSTEIN'S NEW COMEDY MAD MEL AND THE MARRADIANS, PREMIERING MONDAY, JULY 11 AT 12TH ANNUAL MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

DIRECTED BY AWARD-WINNING CARLO FIORLETTA

New York, NY – May 10, 2011 – Angry aliens. Doomed Earth. Another day in New York. In Gary Morgenstein's (Ponzi Man, A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx) sci-fi political romp Mad Mel and the Marradians -- premiering Monday, July 11, opening night of the 12th Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival -- the fate of the human race depends upon an egotistical author whose phony scholarship has stumbled upon a deadly plot by the ancient alien race, the Marradians.

A Co-Production of the Midtown International Theatre Festival, Mad Mel and the Marradians will be directed by the award-winning Carlo Fiorletta. It will star Jordan Auslander (Phlegm), William Beckwith (Larynx), Rachel Caccese (Joan), Rob Gaines (Mel) and Mary Riley (Anita). The play will be performed at the Abingdon Theatre, 312 West 36th Street in New York on Monday, July 11 at 6PM; Saturday, July 16, at 2:30PM; Tuesday, July 19, at 8:30PM; Sunday, July 24, at 6PM; and Thursday, July 28, at 8PM. Tickets are $18-$15 and are available at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/834935 or by phone at 866-811-4111.

In Mad Mel and the Marradians, the ambitions of Imperial Chancellor Larynx of Marradia -- a planet very far away -- to become High Priest Dubya are threatened by writer Melvin Worthington. In his best-selling "scholarly" books about the Marradians and their visit to Earth 30,000 years ago (which he thinks he has totally made up), Worthington stumbles upon a secret that threatens the existence of the human race – bringing the aliens to Manhattan to stop him.

As the Marradians would say: Kabob drek manu, Terrans!

MAD MEL AND THE MARRADIANS

GARY MORGENSTEIN/PLAYWRIGHT
Gary Morgenstein's previous plays are A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx and Ponzi Man. His novels include Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman, Jesse's Girl, Take Me Out to the Ballgame and The Man Who Wanted to Play Center Field for the New York Yankees as well as the dating book How to Find a Woman...Or Not. Morgenstein is co-host of the popular Sunday night MediaBlvd Purple Haze radio show. Morgenstein is Director, Communications, Syfy.

CARLO FIORLETTA/DIRECTOR
The award-winning director Carlo Fiorletta is associate producer of the upcoming feature film Surviving Family. Fiorletta directed Mara Lesemann's plays Fertility Factor and A Temporary Cat, and Gary Morgenstein's A Tomato Can't Grow in the Bronx. He also wrote and directed two award-winning short movies, Nipple Nazis and Calamity 666, along with The Last Supper and All About Audition. He is President, Guild of Italian-American Actors (GIAA).

JORDAN AUSLANDER/PHLEGM
Jordan Auslander (Phlegm) has starred in numerous theatre productions such as La Salon, Tall, Sex Without Pliers, Dear Whore, Getting In, Female Bonding, Lady Windermere's Fan, Institutions, Godfather's Meshuggener Wedding, The Stolen Child and Venom! He also appeared in the films Defending the King and Sunday with Albert and Mandy

WILLIAM BECKWITH/LARYNX
William Beckwith has starred on stage in Svetlovidov, Thomas More, Richard III, Anthony, Salieri, Macbeth and Claudius. His screen credits include Screen, The Ragman, Bittersweet Life, Scent of a Woman and Dr. Ambedkar along with an upcoming project for South Korea's MBC TV

RACHEL CACCESE/JOAN
Caccese's film credits include Fan, 17 to Midnight, An Internet World, and The 7 Day Diary. On stage, she has appeared in Sophistry, The Skriker, Spike Heels, and All's Well That Ends Well. Rachel is a graduate of American Musical and Dramatic Academy Studio Program in New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from The New School University. She is an active member of the Guild of Italian American Actors and Actors Equity Association.

ROB GAINES/MEL
Gaines' major stage credits include York Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice, Jew of Malta) and Peculiar Works Project (Off Project: East- and West-Village Fragments), with films ranging from The Tickets (3+4 Productions) and Betserai (Angela Gunn). He has playmastered and acted in countless performances with the Instant Shakespeare Company, where his favorite role was Sir Andrew Aguecheek. He is a founding member /sometime lecturer at the Killington, Vermont, Shakespeare retreat.

MARY RILEY/ANITA
Founding Artistic Director of the American Bard Theater Company, Riley has appeared in A Perfect Analysis Given by a Parrot, Much Ado About Nothing, Comedy of Errors, A Midsommer Night's Dreame, Twelfth Night and The Winter's Tale with the American Globe Theatre, Southwest Shakespeare Festival,?New England Shakespeare Festival, and Virginia Stage Company, among others. She will portray Anna Nicole in Anna Nicole:Blond Ambition at Theatre for the New City. Please visit her at MaryRiley.net.