THE LAST PHONE BOOTH IN MANHATTAN

After learning that her fiance is a criminal, an aspiring actress seeks to rediscover herself with the help of a magic phone booth.

Avery Lawrence has everything she ever wanted: a penthouse on Park Avenue, a Tiffany engagement ring, and a fiance, Adam, who's head over heels for her. Sure, she's pushed her Broadway dreams to the wayside, but personalized flash mobs and $800 bottles of wine soften the blow. So nothing could have prepared Avery for the startling discovery that Adam is a fraud. One moment, Avery is relishing her good fortune, and the next, Adam and Avery are being carted out of their apartment on Christmas Day in handcuffs. It turns out that her future groom is an imitation Bernie Madoff and the towering rock on her finger is little more than shiny plastic. When she's released from the Metropolitan Correctional Center, shocked and penniless, Avery stumbles into a phone booth—the last phone booth in Manhattan, according to the prison guard who directs her there—in hope of calling a cab. When she calls the number on a business card the guard gave her, instead of reaching a car service, she hears a voice rattling off an unfamiliar nearby address followed by the ominous warning, “No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused.” When Avery reaches the address, she's standing at the doorstep of her ex-boyfriend Gabe. Soon Avery finds herself in a flurry of flukey situations, scoring a gig at a singing diner and happening on an open-call audition that's perfect for her range. Could the most disastrous moment of her life actually be the second chance she always needed? Merlin and Modafferi deliver a supernatural spin to a typical do-over story, and Avery's journey through the phone booth of Christmas past is a colorful one. Broadway fans will enjoy the variety of show and song references.

A modern Dickens homage with Broadway flair.