Who: Urban Cowboy director Lonny Price, stars Matt Cavenaugh and Jenn Colella, co-librettist Aaron Latham, choreographer Melinda Roy, as well as cast members Leo Burmester, Sally Mayes, Rozz Morehead and Marcus Chait.

What: Open Rehearsal for the Press

Where: 890 Broadway

When: February 13, 2003

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"There's a lot of hoopin' and hollerin' and makin' love. And ridin' a bull! You can't beat it." --Jenn Colella

"I'm from Louisville, Kentucky. There's a certain feeling about being from the South that is captured in this. It's the cowboy thing, I mean we're in real trouble right now, and I think this represents getting back to a root feeling of what the country is--where the men are guys and the women are sexy and love happens. There's fighting and all this chaos but in the end we all come together and hopefully love one another." --Leo Burmester

"There is a Texas mafia in New York City--that's what I call it because we all kind of watch out for each other. Phil Oesterman just called me up and said, 'Hey, whatcha doin?' and so I came in and sang for them and they cast me--God rest his soul. And now we've got Lonny, who's not a Texan but a Texan
at heart."--Sally Mayes

"I'm from North Carolina. It's finally like so good to not have to worry about how ya talk. I can use it! Lord have mercy. I can let it all out and not think about it." --Rozz Morehead on not having to hide her Southern accent

"Jason [Robert Brown] and I call this 'Irving Cowboy' for the New York Jews." --Director Lonny Price on being one of the only non-Southerners involved with the production.

"I hate to be gushy about it, but this is the best company I've ever worked for, and I don't hate to be gushy about it, I love to be gushy about it! This is the best company I've ever worked for and I'm every bit as excited about this as when I originated Thenardier in Les Miserables in 1987. And I'm not B.S.ing you here, this is the truth." --Leo Burmester

"In 1978 I was working for Esquire magazine, and I got a call from my editor who said, 'Rush to Houston and do a story about a place called Gilley's.' I walked into this honky-tonk which was four and a half acres of concrete prairie. One the one hand, I felt like all of these kids were my relatives, but on the other hand it was so weird that I felt like Margaret Meade stepping ashore Samoa for the first time." --Aaron Latham

You know, I think it's what jaded New Yorkers need. We may not change the world, but I hope that everybody leaves going, 'I'm having a good time. I need a Bud and a shot of tequila right now!'" --Rozz Morehead on bringing the show to New York audiences

"The cowboy is the American version of the Night Errand myth and he comes back in our culture whenever we seem to be confused and not know which way to turn. He's a guy who seemed to know where he was going and had a code and values. On the other hand, the mechanical bull is a big part of the enduring attraction of the show. It's really where the old frontier meets the new frontier, where the city meets the country." --Aaron Latham

"I came from the ballet world so this has definitely been a unique experience for me. It's a different style than what I came from, but we all worked together to create something different that has a lot of energy. I've taken line dancing and tried to stylize that for the Broadway stage." --Melinda Roy on choreographing her first Broadway show

"I'm hoping that just the story, which is just a simple love story is going to be what people want to see right now with the mood of the country and I'm hoping that they're going to really fall for that. So, keep your fingers crossed!" --Sally Mayes

"From the moment she walked into the room I thought 'oh that is Sissy. She ain't playin'." --Rozz Morehead on co-star Jenn Colella

"It started out very painful! But believe it or not, when I was like 10 years old, I used to go to rodeo camp, and I actually learned how to ride a bull back then. I used to have it on my resume! And honestly this was the first audition that I took it off my resume because I was like, 'Who the hell's ever going to care that I can ride a bull?' Then when they wanted to hire me, I was like, 'Oh just so you know, I ride a bull!' It's fun, you just kind of hold on and squeeze and hope you don't fall off." --Marcus Chait on riding the mechanical bull

"It's kind of cool, and I get calls just about every day from my friends saying, 'Oh my God, what is this!' And I got my first graffiti the other day in the 42nd Street subway station!" --Matt Cavenaugh on the posters featuring his image

"I'm mad for them. They're great--Jenn Colella and Matt Cavenaugh. It's great working with young people when it's their break. They're both highly skilled, so it's just fun to play with them because they can do anything. They sing great, they dance great, they act great. I'm boring, I have no dirt to tell you! I've had a great time." --Lonny Price

"We're totally in love with each other!" --Jenn Colella on co-star Matt Cavenaugh

"They're all pretty stunning looking, might you agree? I was looking for personality, charisma. The dancing's very high energy and that's what I needed from them…besides having incredible bodies and just being sexy!" --Melinda Roy on the dancers and their audition process

"I think people are going to be surprised actually. It's a very good time, I think it's a story intelligently told, I think the performers are amazing and I think we've discovered a new choreographer who's just extraordinary. It's rather disarming I think. I have a feeling that it'll win over some people." --Lonny Price on facing New York audiences