Composer/lyricist team Paul Leschen and Fred Sauter, known for the successful Bedbugs!!! at NYMF '08, are returning to the New York stage for a concert of their work at the Laurie Beechman Theater. ASTRONAUTS, BEDBUGS & OTHER KILLERS: The Songs of Leschen and Sauter will play for one night only, Wednesday, October 27 at 9:30pm.
Complete casting has been announced and includes Celina Carvajal (Toxic Avenger, MTV's Legally Blond reality show), Brian Charles Rooney (Three-Penny Opera, POP!), Molly Hager (Cloaked, Fat Camp) and Eric Anderson (South Pacific). Rounding out the cast are Ryan Bogner (Hey You Know What Movie...), Denise Estrada (Twist), Will Taylor (A Chorus Line) and Shannon Conley of the all-girl rock tribute band Lez Zeppelin. Special guest Ben Cameron (Wicked) will perform what lyricist Sauter calls, "a special homage to The Golden Age of Broadway."
The duo, known for their quirky topics, rock sensibility and dark comedy, have created a raft of singing characters that includes a German cannibal, a cloned pitbull, a crazed exterminator, a dangerously disgruntled actor, a Mormon-stalking beauty queen, and the diaper-donning astronaut. Those characters inhabit three shows created by the team: Bedbugs!!!, Astronaut Diaper and Other Tales of Modern Love, and Karma Kills. Marketing materials for the show invite the audience to, "hear Carvajal belt out 'Carly's M.O. (Genocide)' and 'Silent Spring' from Bedbugs!!! Delight to Hager's embodiment of an infamous female rapist in 'Marry me a Mormon' and 'One Wild Woman.' Soak up the 'lurve' as Rooney interprets Celine Dion and a certain American Idol. Rock out in your seat as Courtney Love is affectionately spoofed by Shannon Conley."
Drama Desk Nominated composer Paul Leschen is known for his piano and arrangement work on the Scissor Sisters albums, as well as accompaniment for Hedda Lettuce, Murray Hill and a slew of other drag performers. Bookwriter/lyricist Sauter is an alum of the Graduate Musical Theatre Program at NYU Tisch. He has a number of projects in development including the new, Baltimore-set musical Divine Terror and a one man show called Borderline. The duo describe themselves as, "tremendously excited" to share their "unique brand of dark humor, pop-culture commentary and rock/pop storytelling with the world."
ASTRONAUTS, BEDBUGS & OTHER KILLERS: The Songs of Leschen and Sauter will be presented Wednesday, October 27 at 9:30 PM in The Laurie Beechman Theater. The Laurie Beechman is located inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street at Ninth Avenue. It is accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2,3 trains at 42nd Street. Tickets are $20 with a $15 food/drink minimum per person and are available at 212-352-3101 or www.SpinCycleNYC.com. Ticket price includes complimentary Halloween candy, plus a free copy of the brand new 9-track demo of songs from Astronaut Diaper, featuring Anderson, Carvajal, Hager, Estrada, Taylor, Mark Montague, and Mark Rinzel (of the band, The Jupiter Deluxe)!
