The Boys from Oz Take Flight in Angels
By Marcus Cheong (Producer, Book and Lyrics)
It takes a step of faith to quit your job, travel around the world from Sydney and put together the finances and 50+ team or people working on
Angels. It takes a whole new level of belief to open the show to the public for free!
It might seem strange, even crazy to spend a considerable fortune to stage a musical for free on 42nd St, but that's exactly what I'm doing with
Angels. Angels is an epic work, sweeping in scope and score. There is no easy or cheap way to demonstrate the potential of this musical. It was clear that if I wanted to show New York what
Angels had to offer, I was going to have to spend some serious money. By my calculation, I would have to charge $400 a ticket to recoup this showcase. Rather than charge some token amount, this is my gift to the theatre lovers of the city!
But how does an Australian produce such an ambitious undertaking from the other side of the world? Surely that's impossible? Since May this year, I have spent a total of 2 week in the New York working on
Angels. Yet in this short time, an impressive team of designers, managers and performers have been assembled, many with impressive Broadway credits. It is a modern day miracle to see how quickly the production has come together. My lawyer keeps telling me that there must be
Angels looking over us – I'm starting to believe it too.
Angels tells the epic story of the ancient war between the angels and Lucifer's fallen minions. The conflict is told through the eyes of Serra, the Angel of Light. Though she is gifted with the power to control light with spectacular effect, she aspires for a more heroic role. Her ambition is manipulated by Lucifer, which results in tragic consequences to the angels and the humans they protect. Serra must decide how far she is willing to go and what she must sacrifice to turn the tide in this celestial battle.
Angels is a tale of inspiration, hope and courage, ideal for families and the young at heart.
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Angels features music by Ken Lai, and book and lyrics by Marcus Cheong and Ken Lai
Angels is produced by Angels the Musical LP, in association with the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Playing at the Duke Theater, 229 W. 42nd St (between Broadway and 8th Ave), performing Sept 20 – 22, 3PM and 8PM. Free admission. Reservations essential. 646 223 3039 or dukebox@new42.org For further information, visit
www.angelsthemusical.com or
www.nymf.org.
