ARE YOU THERE, MORGAN FREEMAN? Song Cycle Comes to NYMF This Weekend

ARE YOU THERE, MORGAN FREEMAN?, a new song cycle extravaganza written and performed by Brittany Velotta, will be presented in the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

ARE YOU THERE, MORGAN FREEMAN? is the story of one woman's unexpected journey from 1920s serial killer burlesque dancer to 1970s hippie lesbian drummer chick. Accompanied by the dulcet tones of Morgan Freeman, her Jiminy Cricket-esque conscience, she explores the topic of reincarnation and the themes of self-love and acceptance. This unique musical features the songs of Fiona Apple, Judy Garland, John Lennon, Emeli Sande, Led Zeppelin and P!nk.

Velotta made her NYC stage debut at the Connelly Theatre in the short-lived 2012 revival of Moose Murders. She debuted her cabaret act Long Journey to the Middle for a multi-night engagement at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. ARE YOU THERE, MORGAN FREEMAN? made its debut in 2014 at the Cornelia Street Cafe to sold out audiences.

ARE YOU THERE, MORGAN FREEMAN? will be directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz, the assistant director of Broadway's Violet and associate director of A Christmas Story. Her other directing credits include the Tenth Anniversary performances of Reefer Madness at 54 Below and New World Stages, Juliet + Juliet at The York, and Lucky Stiff, Wanda's Visit and All My Sons. She has also worked as an assistant director with Second Stage, The Huntington Theatre and Keen Company.

Music Director Will Shuler's NYC credits include Lift, Bandstand, Role of a Lifetime, Flight, I Love You, Because, The Naked Side of Grace, Sidekicks!, The Crazy Ones and The Little Things.

ARE YOU THERE, MORGAN FREEMAN? features Michael Siktberg (guitar, bass and vocals), Shannon Ford (drums) and Anne Wentworth (vocals). Lighting design is by KJ Hardy, the resident lighting designer at 54 Below. Lindsay Bleile is the stage manager.

ARE YOU THERE, MORGAN FREEMAN? will be performed at The Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Café today, July 10 at 3pm and Sunday, July 12 at 9:30pm. Tickets ($27.50) and NYMF Passes are available by visiting www.nymf.org/morganfreeman. The Laurie Beechman Theatre at the West Bank Café is located at 407 West 42nd Street in New York City.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theatre.

Now in its twelfth year, the Festival is the premier musical theatre event in the world. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theatre fans. More than 90 Festival shows have gone on to productions on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters in all 50 states, and in more than 20 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theatre, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2015 is sponsored by Fuzzrocket, PRG, TheaterMania, Clear Channel Spectacolor, and The Village Voice, and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

The NYMF PASS is a great way to experience The New York Musical Theatre Festival. With a NYMF PASS, you can get into the theater before individual ticket holders. Passes also offer the exclusive ability to book tickets before they go on sale to the public. NYMF Passholder ticket booking begins June 1. Individual tickets go on sale June 15.

The 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival will take place July 7-27. For more information, visit www.nymf.org.