The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and Yasmine Lever present PUNK PRINCESS.
Part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival's Developmental Series.
When rebellious blue blood Venetia can't get accepted into the early ‘80s London post-punk music scene, she escapes to Manhattan with American hustler Andy. Together, they reinvent her past as a "Watford slumdog" and launch her into musical stardom. But as things spiral out of control, she risks losing everything.
The dynamic cast features Tony nominee Justin Bond (Kiki of "Kiki and Herb" fame), Chad Goodridge (PASSING STRANGE, LOVE/SAD), Rebecca Hart (Rebecca Hart and the Sexy Children), Laurel Holland (LOVE/STORIES), Frank Liotti (THE FRUGAL REPAST), Kelly J. McCreary (PASSING STRANGE), Our Lady J (singer/songwriter with Train-to-Kill Gospel Choir and Pink Champagne Orchestra), Debargo Sanyal (SITTA SINGS THE BLUES, ASHES), Lucas Steele (THREEPENNY OPERA), and Erin Buckley.
With music direction by Joe McGinty (The Psychedelic Furs, Loser's Lounge)
CREATIVE TEAM:
Stew (Music) Works include Passing Strange for which he received the 2008 Tony award for 'Best Book of a Musical.' Wrote lyrics and co-composed music for the same. Two-time Obie winner: 'Best New Theater Piece' and, as a member of the PS acting family, 'Best Ensemble.' A four-time Tony nominee, Stew leads, along with his collaborator Heidi Rodewald, two critically acclaimed bands: The Negro Problem and Stew. Works: Post Minstrel Syndrome (TNP 1997), Joys and Concerns (TNP 1999), Guest Host (S 2000), The Naked Dutch Painter (S 2002), Welcome Black (TNP 2002), Something Deeper Than These Changes (S 2003) and the cast album of Passing Strange (2008).
Heidi Rodewald (Music) Heidi Rodewald has spent more than a decade as a performer, arranger, producer and composer for both The Negro Problem and the multi-disciplinary ensemble known as Stew. Credits include Passing Strange, Berkeley Repertory Theatre/the Public Theater/the Belasco Theater (2006/2007/2008); composer, Karen Kandel's Portraits: Night and Day (2004); and co-writer with Stew of the screenplay We Can See Today, Sundance Screenwriters Lab/Directors Lab (2005). Heidi also wrote and performed with the seminal female punk band Wednesday Week.
Yasmine Lever (Book, Lyrics, Producer) A former actress Yasmine's young adult novel These Hours Belong to Me was a finalist for a Ray Bradbury Fellowship. She has won several short story competitions including the James Kirkwood prize, Zoetrope Short Fiction contest and The New Century Writing Awards[3 times] Her non-fiction has appeared in London's Daily Mail. She has done several workshops at The Flea and Primary Stages where her short plays I Never Thought I'd End Up As Good News, Little Monsters, The Hell of The Loyal Fan and her full length Status Anxiety were all birthed. Punk Princess is her first musical
Jackson Gay (Director) Recent: workshops of David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette for the Goodman Theater and the inaugural Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in Residence at the Public Theater; Made In Poland for the Play Company; 10 things to do before I die and Len and Asleep in Vinyl for Second Stage Uptown/Juilliard; 2008 collaboration with lighting designer Jennifer Tipton on The Glass Menagerie at the Guggenheim Museum (Works & Process Series); For the Atlantic Theater Company-Lucy Thurber's Scarcity, Kia Corthron's Master Disaster, and Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, which was selected as a 2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist. Founder of the film Production Company YARN. Current projects include: Tiny Dancer (Jayce Bartok) Keep Them From The Wolves (Ryan O'Nan), Make Me Happy (Courtney Baron) and the children's feature animation Going South (Sean Cunningham). MFA in Directing at the Yale School of Drama.
