University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television alum Tony Moreno (BFA, ’21) has been cast as the lead in the brand-new original musical Sensation, which will present its first industry reading on Thursday June 9, 2022 in New York City.
The musical follows seventeen-year-old Blane Parker (Moreno). who is as talented and terrified as it gets. He’s got the soul, the voice, the songwriter’s sensibility, but he can’t muster the courage to step into the spotlight. So when his best friend, Mandy, posts a video of his original song behind his back and it goes viral the very next day, Blane is forced to make an impossible decision. Does he capitalize on the momentum he claimed not to want? Or does he reject all the virtual attention and go back into hiding, left to forever wonder what could have been? This is the story of what happens when fame finds you. This is Sensation.
Sensation features book, music, and lyrics by Ayden Skye (Anderson Lena and the Things That Don’t Matter). Rounding out the team are Director Will Nunziata (Little Black Book), Music Director Rich Mercurio (Waitress), Casting Director Jenna Gelenberg (Ryan Murphy’s The Prom), Music Producer Russ DeSalvo (Celine Dion, Lionel Richie), and multiple award-winning Producer Cory Rosenberg of CRee8 Productions.
The cast of the reading includes Tony Moreno as Blane Parker, Ayden Skye as Mandy Simon, Nikki MacCallum as Diane Parker, Jesse Swimm as Alan Parker, Ashley LaLonde as Jackie Donohue, Douglas Goodhart as Steffen Brew, and Chase Peacock as Ryan Shanty.