Ella Grace's TROUBLE THE MUSICAL Set for NYMF 2012

Called "Intense", "Shocking" and "Profoundly Moving" during its London premiere, the new rock musical TROUBLE THE MUSICAL will be presented at the Signature Theatre's Griffin Theatre as part of the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

TROUBLE is a dark tale of modern survival that follows a group of teenagers through a period of 24 hours that changes their lives forever. It features a pulsating contemporary rock score by Ella Grace, front woman of the hit UK band Hitchcock Blonde, and a book by The Marilyn Monroe Show's Michael Alvarez.

The announcement was made today by producer Phillip Rudy, who previously toured with multi-platinum rock band The Killers.

"TROUBLE was born out of a need to express a feeling, a frustration, a connection, an expression of the music of the people," said composer Ella Grace. "Music we turn on when we've had a bad day, when we can't stop thinking about that boy we've just met – the kind of music that gives us a common reason for being."

Hip hop artist and Decadancetheatre Artistic Director Jennifer Weber will choreograph the production. Peter Hodgson (The Flitch, NYU/Playwrights Horizons) is the musical director. UK-based musician Joss Nightingale will provide musical orchestrations. Xiaopo Wang (DreamWorks' Kung-Fu Panda) is the scenic designer. Victor Zeiser is the lighting designer. Julian Evans (SyFy Network's The Mercury Men) is the sound designer. Eve Rybnick (Jerusalem Syndrome, Judas and Me) is the general manager.

The Signature Theatre's Griffin Theatre is located at 480 West 42nd Street. The performance schedule and cast will be announced soon.

Now in its ninth year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and their creators to ensure the continued vitality of one of America's greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2012 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group, and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by American Eagle Outfitters, Back Stage, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Clear Channel Spectacolor, Disney Store Times Square, Fox 5/ WNYW-TV, King Displays, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Queerty.com, Thomson Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The BWF Foundation, Con Edison, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer Phinney, The New Musical Development Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by funds from the New York City Theater Subdistrict Council, LDC, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events, are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org.

Photo courtesy John Capo Public Relations.

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