Josh Young presents Cutting-Edge Composers, A New Generation of Musical Theater Songwriters
Directed by Laura Pietropinto with Music Direction by Julie McBride, Cutting-Edge Composers will take place on Monday, July 27th at 9:30pm at the West Bank Cafe's Laurie Beechman Theater (407 W. 42nd street).
With music by Brad Alexander and Adam Mathias, Eli Bolin and Sam Forman, Bobby Cronin, Adam Gwon, Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler, Rick Hip-Flores, Peter Lerman, Brian Lowdermilk and Kait Kerrigan, J. Oconer Navarro and Joel B. New, and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. See Bios Below.
Scheduled to perform are Josh Young (Les Miserables), Krysta Rodriguez (The Addam's Family), Phoebe Strole (Spring Awakening), Gemma-Ashley Kaplan (The Hatpin), Marty Thomas (Xanadu), Pearl Sun (Happiness), Kate Pazakis (Jerry Springer the Opera), Zachary Prince (Jersey Boys), Allison Posner (Factory Girls), Kerry O'Malley (Into the Woods), Steven Booth (Ave Q, Glory Days), and Lilli Cooper (Spring Awakening).
All seats for Cutting-Edge Composers are $15. Tickets are available at the door. For reservations call (212) 695-6909. For more information, check out www.cuttingedgecomposers.com.
Brad Alexander's music has been featured on VH1, Showtime, Sony Records and at theaters across the country. He wrote the music for TheatreworksUSA's Just So Stories, Lilly's Big Day (from If You Give A Pig A Pancake), the upcoming I Have To Go, and Click, Clack, Moo, coming soon to the Lucille Lortel Theater and directed by John Rando. Brad and collaborator Adam Mathias won the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award and 2007 Jerry Bock Award for See Rock City & Other Destinations, which premiered at Barrington Stage Company and was recently workshopped with Transport Group Theatre Company. Brad is a member of The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, National Academy of Popular Music, National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and The Dramatists Guild of America. www.bradalexander.com
Eli Bolin is the music director, songwriter, and a founding member of the Striking Viking Story Pirates, a NYC-based Arts-Education group that turns stories written by kids into songs and sketches. In the last year, the Story Pirates have taught and performed in L.A., Boston, Houston, Florida & the Kennedy Center for President Obama's inauguration. Eli graduated from Northwestern University, where he composed the off-Broadway and international hit I Sing! with Sam Forman. Their children's musical Schmoozy Togetherness just premiered in July at the Williamstown Theatre Festival as the festival's first-ever original children's musical. Eli also recently released his first solo album, Lemonade and wrote music for Kristen Schaal's special on Comedy Central. http://elibolin.net, http://storypirates.org
Bobby Cronin is the composer/writer of Bratt Camp, which was recently produced at Chicago's LaRed Music Theatre. He is also the composer/lyricist for ‘Til Death Do Us Part and an untitled Kate Pazakis vehicle with book by Harry McEwan. His musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol written with Angelyn Benson has had five regional productions and a mini-tour. He also wrote a new book for the Ergo Theatre Company revival of Personals and co-wrote the musical That's Andy. A member of ASCAP and graduate of Yale University, Cronin's music has been performed in various venues from NYC to Japan, including Symphony Space, Lincoln Center and The Minskoff Theatre. http://bobbycronin.com
Sam Forman co-wrote (with composer Eli Bolin) the musical I Sing! (A cast recording of the York Theatre Production is available in stores worldwide from Jay Records). Other plays and musicals include: The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall (The Lion Theatre, dir. Sam Gold ; Theater J, Washington DC dir. Shirley Serotsky) ; Schmoozy Togetherness (Williamstown Theatre Festival, dir. Johanna McKeon) The Grille Room (Cherry Lane Mentor Project dir. Thomas Kail), Quarterlife (workshop dir. Mark Brokaw) Please Stop Talking (Cherry Lane Theatre, dir. Erwin Maas), Fringical! (Ars Nova, dir. Thomas Kail) The Quiet Game (Hangar Theatre, Ithaca NY, dir. Daniel Kramer). Upcoming: Broadway's Next Season (dir. Alex Timbers)
Adam Gwon is a MacDowell Colony fellow, a musical theater fellow at the Dramatists Guild, and received the 2008 Fred Ebb Award for excellence in musical theater writing. A member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild, his works have been produced at the Kennedy Center, NAMT, NYMF and The Johnny Mercer Foundation. His song "Running" was nominated for a 2009 MAC Award. Gwon's musical Ordinary Days will be produced in the 2009-2010 season at the Roundabout Theatre Company, and he's currently at work on several new musical commissions. http://www.adamgwon.com
