The Zipper Factory Presents Concert Version Of 'ALLIES' 1/26

ALLIES, a new rock musical featuring the songs of the legendary band Heart, will be presented in concert version at The Zipper Factory Theater (336 West 37th Street) on Monday, January 26th at 9:00 p.m. Industry and the general public are invited to make reservations on the show's official website at www.alliesthemusical.com.

ALLIES features a book by Celina Carvajal and Maggie F. Levin. The staged concert will be directed by Sam Buggein. Paul Leschen is the music director. The cast features Ms. Carvajal, Brian Charles Rooney (Threepenny Opera), Chris Hall (Bedbugs!!!, Twist). Ryan Bogner (Bedbugs!!!, Hey, You Know What Movie Would Make A Good Musical?) will read the stage directions.

In the tradition of Hedwig & the Angry Inch, ALLIES is a raw, concert-style musical about a love triangle that rocks the lives of a brother & sister. Gabby & Chris Ford are as close as struggling twenty-something siblings can be, when their bond is blown apart by the seductive - and secretive - Matt Rhode. Part live rock show - complete with roadies changing the set and a kickass lead axe - and part heartstring-plucking drama, ALLIES features the songs of the legendary band Heart, including hits like "Barracuda," "These Dreams," and "Alone."

Celina Carvajal (Gabby/Co-Book Writer). Born and raised in San Francisco, Celina received her first big break singing for Pope John Paul II at Candlestick Stadium for over 50,000 people at the young age of 7. Carvajal was a member of the Young People's Teen Musical Theatre Company in San Francisco and the age of 17, left home to join the national tour of Cats. Celina went on to appear in the films Sex and the City, The Stepford Wives and The Graduates as well the television shows "All My Children" and "Legally Blonde, The Search for the Next Elle Woods" on MTV. Broadway credits include Tarzan (Original Cast), Dracula (Original Cast), 42nd Street (Anytime Annie) and Cats (Demeter). Off-Broadway shows include starring roles in Bedbugs!!! at NYMF, Green Eyes at the NYC Fringe Festival and Radiant Baby at The Public Theater. Carvajal also played Pinky Tuscaderro in the workshop of Happy Days directed by Garry Marshall. Celina's favorite thing is being a rock star as the lead singer in her band, Cocaine (www.cocaineband.com).

Brian Charles Rooney (Chris). Broadway: Lucy Brown in The Threepenny Opera (Roundabout Theatre Co.); Camelot in Concert w/ NY Philharmonic (2008 Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: Piers Gaveston in Edward the King; The Dodger in the Drama Desk nominated Twist!; Dionne Salon in Bedbugs!!!; Avery Brundage in Warrior (NYMF); Deacon Jones in The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde (NYMF). Tours: Tony in West Side Story (Europe); Featured Soloist in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with Petula Clark (North America). Regional: Tennessee Williams in Becoming Tennessee (Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center); Homer in Floyd Collins (Carbonell Award Nom. / Actors' Playhouse, Miami); Jinx in Forever Plaid (Metro-Carolina Award Nom. / PCLO & Blumenthal P.A.C.); Younger Brother in Ragtime (White Plains P.A.C.); title role in Batboy, The Musical! (Charleston Stage Co.); The Student Prince (Paper Mill Playhouse). Brian was awarded The Kurt Weill Foundation's Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Dramatic Talent in 2007, and made his solo concert debut at The Zipper Factory the same year. He has appeared as a featured soloist at Symphony Space in NYC, as well as with the Seattle and Oregon Symphony Orchestras.

Chris Hall (Matt) is from Santa Barbara, some of Chris' favorite roles are Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Show and Dick Dockstrap in Pinafore! (NY Fringe best overall production, the year of the blackout) and he recently won an Indy Award as Bat Boy in Bat Boy, The Musical!. Chris was lucky to meet composer Paul Leschen when he starred as tranny dominatrix, Fagin in Paul's Twist!, and was recently seen in his musical Bedbugs!!!

Ryan Bogner (Reader - Stage Directions). Originally from Long Island, by way of Wichita, KS, Ryan is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theatre. He has been seen at The Zipper previously in Hey, You Know What Movie Would Make a God Musical? NYC readings/workshops: Mouth in Goonies: the Musical Parody (Fringe), Hurricane (directed by Scott Schwartz, music by Michael Holland). Tours/Regional: Jojo in Seussical, Jane Eyre (World premiere dir. by John Caird), Doody in Grease, Linus in Charlie Brown and several seasons at Music Theatre of Wichita.

Maggie F. Levin (Co-Book Writer) is the Artistic Director of The Real Theatre Company, whose past productions include Alice Through the Subway System and Hair (Acorn Theatre).

Heart (Music). Ann Wilson and her younger sister, Nancy, first showed the world that women can rock when their band, Heart, stormed the charts in the '70s with hits like "Crazy on You," "Magic Man," "Barracuda," "Straight On," "Even It Up," and "Kick It Out." They continued topping the charts through the ‘80s and into the ‘90s with hits like "These Dreams," "Alone," "What About Love," "If Looks Could Kill," "Never," all of which showcased the sisters' enormous talents as both musicians and singers. Along the way, Heart sold more than 30 million records, had 21 top 40 hits, sold out arenas worldwide, and had a profound influence on rock music. After taking a break in the late 1990's to start families and pursue individual projects (Nancy scored five films for her husband, Cameron Crowe, including the Academy Award winning Jerry Maguire and Grammy winner Almost Famous, while Ann toured and also appeared in several theatrical productions), the Wilson sisters came back together as Heart in 2002, recorded and released a highly acclaimed album of 15 new original recordings in 2004 (Jupiter's Darling, produced by Nancy) and have been touring steadily since. Visit www.heart-music.com.

Samuel Buggeln (Director). Off-Broadway: Rum & Vodka (Off-Broadway première) by Conor McPherson at the Ohio Theatre, where he is an Artistic Associate with Soho Think Tank. Other Ohio Theatre: Cressida Among the Greeks (Drama Desk nominated), plus The Flight of Icarus, Blue Eyes Black Hair, and The Last Days of MadaLyn Murray O'Hair. Other NYC: Go-Go Kitty, Go! (FringeNYC Firsts: Outstanding Play, Outstanding Sound Design) at the Lucille Lortel; Bedbugs!!! (NYMF), plus productions at HERE, Expanded Arts, Theatre for the New City, and one-offs at NYTW, Hypothetical, Rattlestick, adobe, Clubbed Thumb, etc. Regional: Indoor/Outdoor, Noises Off, Sleuth, and Wait Until Dark (Portland Stage, where he is an Artistic Associate); The Food Chain, As Bees in Honey Drown (Mason Street Warehouse, Saugatuck, MI); Friend of a Friend, A Christmas Carol (Capital Repertory Theatre); Rites of Passage, Play by Play and Dirty Blonde (StageWorks/Hudson). Lincoln Center Directors' Lab alum; 2001 Artist-in-Residence with New York Theatre Workshop at Dartmouth College, faculty guest artist at SUNY Albany and the Stella Adler Conservatory/Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

Paul Leschen (Music Director/ Keyboardist). Brooklyn-based pianist and composer Paul Leschen was nominated for a Drama Desk for Outstanding Music for his first musical, Twist: Please Sir, May I Have Some More. He is a frequent collaborator and pianist for the international superstars Scissor Sisters- his co-arrangement of "Comfortably Numb" still receives copious airplay at gay bars from Greensboro to Gdansk. Paul is also the pianist and house composer for drag queen Hedda Lettuce, and has done similar work in the past for Murray Hill and other drag superstars whose names are too filthy (or forgotten) to mention.

 

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