4@15: 4 NEW 15-MINUTE MUSICALS Set for Friday - Shows Include WHO WANTS TO BE ADOPTED?

4@15: Four New Fifteen-Minute Musicals, performed in conjunction with University of California, Irvine, will commence performances Friday, April 20, for three performances only at Roy Arias Theatre Center. Tammy Holder serves as Music Director; Brian Blythe directs.

4@15 commissions musical theatre writing teams to write mini-musicals for musical theatre actors from UCI’s New York Satellite Program. The writers are given one week to write the new musicals tailored specifically for the talents of the actors, culminating in a staged concert performance.

Now in its sixth year, this cycle represents the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th show in the 4@15 catalog.

The four new musicals are:

WHO WANTS TO BE ADOPTED?
Book & Lyrics by Alana Jacoby, Music by Kevin Velez

Join us for another episode of TV’s hit game show, “Who Wants To Be Adopted?” Every week, three sad children compete to win a new set of parents. Tune in April 20th to see whether the next lucky kid will be a neglected teenager, a cute orphan, or an underappreciated circus performer!

with Katie Del Vecchio, Meaghan Gates, Jenna Gillespie, Samantha Hertz, Katie LaFace, Peter Leibold, Felix Omar, Hannah Schultheis-Gerry

DANCE MOMS: THE MUSICAL!
Music, Book & Lyrics by Caleb Hoyer & Kevin Michael Murphy

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: the competitive dance capital of the world! Dance teams from all around the country come here and go head to head, only to have their dreams crushed by the reigning National Champions, the Abby Lee Dance Company! The ABDC is threatened when Cathy, the dance teacher at the rival Candy Apples Dance Studio, devises a plan to take them down!

with Leah Bray, Kimberly Himelman, Meg Lewis, Jenna Locke, Shelby Monson, Joy Newbegin, Elizabeth Premer & Erin Suth

FORNI-COASTER
Music by Cody Wymore, Lyrics by Jamie Cowperthwait, Book by Jake Brandman

Ladies and Gentlemen and High-School seniors! You are now in line for the Forni-Coaster, the sexiest theme-park ride of all time. It’s up. It’s down. It’s hot. It’s dirty. Get ready for the sexual adventure of a lifetime… or should we say the first time?!?

with Madeleine Barker, Ben Gibson, Abbey Howe, Chaz Kao, Kevin Lim, Allison Meneley, Madeline Oberto & Megan Ruble

CAMP WISH-NO-MORE
By Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel

"Princess" Butterfly Bush is sent to Camp-Wish-No-More, a camp for girls who believe they are Disney Princesses. After she breaks the rules, Counselor McHiddinbotham is forced to take drastic measures to keep her campers in line—but Butterfly Bush has a haunting story to tell that will change the camp forever.

with Chris Bunyi, Kathryn Endo, Anaselia Galli, Natasha Roberts, Molly Samson, Amanda Shay & Marcus Silva

KATE ANDERSON is a lyricist/ performer currently living in Manhattan. Kate graduated from Gettysburg College in 2009 with a BA in Music and a minor in Writing. After moving to NYC, she joined the BMILehman EngelMusical Theater Workshop and is now working with fellow workshop memberElyssa Samsel. For more info, please visit www.samselanderson.com.

JAKE BRANDMAN This past May, Jake Brandman received an MFA in Musical Theater Writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where he had previously received his BFA in Dramatic Writing. His songs have been presented as part of the Lincoln Center Songbook Series, and at venues ranging from the Laurie Beechman Theater to Le Poisson Rouge. His play, Alec and Dave, was presented as part of the 2009 Tisch Festival of New Works. Jake’s professional theater experience includes literary internships at Manhattan Theater Club and the York Theatre, where he also served as a House Manager.

JAMIE COWPERTHWAIT is a playwright and composer working in theater, television and film. In May 2011, he graduated from Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program. While there, he co-wrote the twenty-minute King Gilbert, the full-length Huntington, and the full-length The Music of Erich Zann. He also wrote a ten-minute musical called Exit Rowwhich was performed as part of the 2010 Pace University Director’s Festival. He also writes commercial music in New York City. His clients include Coca Cola, Sears, the state of California and others. He is currently the Musical Theater Resident at Playwrights Horizons. He lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Caleb Hoyer is a composer/lyricist originally from Pittsburg, KS. He is currently developing an original musical fairy tale as composer/lyricist/librettist called Nightfall. He is the founding music director of the acclaimed concert series If It Only Even Runs A Minute. He is also the music director and co-host of The Village Gate’s Old-Fashioned Piano Party. He is on staff at New York University as an accompanist and vocal coach. He holds a degree in Music Theory and Composition from New York University, where he received the Alan Menken Award for his music theatre writing.

ALANA JACOBY is a lyricist, bookwriter, playwright and lighting designer. Her songs have been featured at the Barrington Stage Company, Ars Nova, the Laurie Beechman Theatre, and The Duplex. Her musical Mortality Play (written with composer Scotty Arnold) was part of ANTFest in 2011 and will be workshopped at the Yale Institute for Music Theatre this summer. She holds a BA in Playwriting from Brown University and an MFA in Musical Theater Writing from NYU. She is a teaching artist for the Roundabout Theatre Company.

KEVIN Michael Murphy Writing credits include: Craig Stevens Guide to Making it On Broadway (Laurie Beechman Theater), Crisis! (Of the Quarter Life Persuasion) (NYU), and is currently working on a musical about the TKTS booth entitled Flyer Boy. As a performer, credits include: The Book of Mormon (Upcoming 1st National Tour), The Awesome 80s Prom (Off Broadway), and Newsadoozies! (currenty running at UCB). Kevin is co-creator of both The Village Gates Old Fashioned Piano Party, and If It Only Even Runs a Minute, which received the 2012 BISTRO award for “Outstanding Musical Series.” Kevin is also a voice teacher, currently on faculty at NYU Steinhardt. @kmichaelmurphy

Elyssa Samsel was born in New York City. She began her classical training on the violin and piano at the age of six. Currently she resides in New York City as an actress, singer, violinist, pianist, and composer for Musical Theatre. She is currently a composer in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, working on projects inside and outside of the workshop with fellow workshop member, Kate Anderson. More info at www.elyssasamsel.com

KEVIN VÉLEZ earned his B.A. in Music from Middlebury College and his M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. His Master’s thesis culminated in the spring of 2011 with a workshop of a new musical, written with collaborator James Sasser, entitled Olympus. A former Artist-in-Residence at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, his music compositions have been performed at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, the Roy Arias Theatre, the New York Theatre Barn, and The American Repertory Theatre in Boston.

CODY WYMORE Hailing originally from Spokane, Washington, Cody Wymore grew up performing in his local community theater. He began composing original music at 14 and has since received a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU Tisch. As a musical director, recent projects include Maggie the Pirate, presented with Momentum Repertory Company, and Angelina Ballerina: the Very Merry Holiday Musical¸ presented by Vital Theatre Company Recent works include EROS, a multi-lingual celebration of culture and genre for choir and orchestra, and The Music of Erich Zann, with book by Jake Brandman and lyrics by Jamie Cowperthwait.

Performances: Friday, April 20, at 3:00, 6:30 and 9 PM. Tickets: $10 (general admission) available online at 4at15uci.eventbrite.com. Performances at Roy Arias Theatre Center at the Times Square Art Center, 300 W 43rd St, 5th Floor.