Kassebaum replaces the previously announced Betsy Wolfe in the role of Katherine, according to the musical's website. The cast also features three-time Oscar nominee Diane Ladd as Wendy, Allie Trimm as Kat and Lilla Crawford as Katie. The invitation-only readings will be presented at noon and 3 PM.
Musical direction for the readings will be provided by Andy Einhorn (Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella); Bespoke Theatricals will serve as General Management.
About his newest project, director Arima previously told Playbill.com, "I had heard of Home over the years. I knew of it, but never had come in contact with the script. This past February, I was contacted by the authors and invited to read the new draft. I was immediately hooked. The musical has undergone some exciting changes since its previous exploration in the fall of 2011, and this upcoming developmental reading will give the authors and I a chance to explore the material even further.
"It will also give them an opportunity to hear their show read and sung by a cast of actresses who have never been involved with Home, including the incomparable actress, Ms. Diane Ladd. Having the opportunity of working with Ms. Ladd (who will play the role of the mother) is a gift and an honor. … What does remain intact within Home is its uninhibited journey about learning to love the outrageous humanity that lives within us all, and that it is possible to survive the wounds of one’s past."
Alan and Hall's musical is described as such: "Having moved away from her place of birth in a small Texas town, Katherine returns home, nine years later, to confront her childhood, her mother, and most importantly, herself. Home celebrates the complex bond between mother and daughter and reveals how a fragile past can be brought back to life with forgiveness and understanding." Diane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and author. Hailed by Time Magazine as "one of the top ten actresses, not only in this country, but in the world," Ladd has appeared in over 300 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," "Wild at Heart," "Rambling Rose," "Touched by an Angel" and "28 Days." She is the recipient of 38 awards, including a Golden Globe and a British Academy Award, and has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In theatre Ladd made her New York debut at the age of 17 in her cousin, Tennessee Williams’ play Orpheus Descending, for which she received rave reviews. She appeared again Off-Broadway opposite Robert De Niro in Shelley Winters’ play Noisy Passengers. Ladd made her Broadway debut in the play Carry Me Back to Morningside Heights, directed by Sidney Poitier, and also appeared on Broadway in Lu Ann Hampton Laverty Oberlande (part of Preston Jones' A Texas Trilogy), for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination. Ladd was most recently seen playing opposite real-life daughter, Laura Dern, on HBO's "Enlightened."
As an author, Ladd released the acclaimed "Spiraling Through the School of Life: A Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Discovery." Her recently released collection of short stories, also critically hailed, is titled "A Bad Afternoon for a Piece of Cake."
In 2010 Ladd received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to daughter Laura and ex-husband Bruce Dern.
For more information visit homethemusical.com.
