Alison Fraser & Stephen Bogardus to Lead Reading of New Musical INTO THE WILD

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is presenting a reading of the new musical, INTO THE WILD, book and lyrics by Janet Allard and music and lyrics by Niko Tsakalakos, on June 13 in New York City for an invited industry audience. INTO THE WILD is based on the acclaimed best selling book by Jon Krakauer and "Back to the Wild" by the Christopher J. McCandless Foundation.

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat has a unique program to support the development of a new musical by one of their alumni writing teams: "Triple R", for 2 readings and a residency, and INTO THE WILD is this year's recipient. Writers Janet and Niko heard the latest draft of their musical at a table read with actors. Next, they went to Rhinebeck, New York for a five-day residency to do revisions. Finally, after a week of rehearsals, they will have a staged reading on Monday, June 13th to present their new version for an invited audience. The program is fully funded by Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, made possible through a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, lead underwriting support from Rick Farrar and Jeff Zadroga, and additional support from Michael A. Jenkins.

The creative team includes actors Alison Fraser (Signature Plays), Stephen Bogardus (Bright Star), Annie Golden (Orange is the New Black), Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening), Bryan Welnicki (Peter and the Starcatcher), Andrew Call (Grease Live!) Daniel Cooney (Mamma Mia!), and Jake Katzman (Kinky Boots). The director Lila Neugebaeur is currently represented off-Broadway with Signature Plays at Signature Theatre. The music director Brian Usifer is the music director of Kinky Boots.

Created in 2011, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide a sanctuary for musical theatre writers to develop their musicals in the heart of the Hudson Valley. Past Rhinebeck Writers include Kirsten Childs, Michael Friedman, Adam Gwon, Joe Iconis, Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk, Itamar Moses, Duncan Sheik, Kyle Jarrow, Nathan Tysen, Stew and Heidi Rodewald. Musicals developed in Rhinebeck have been seen at The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in The Park, Barrington Stage, Second Stage Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, NAMT's Festival of New Musicals, and The Eugene O'Neill National Music Theater Conference. All costs are covered by contributions, including The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, The Frederick Loewe Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, and The Noël Coward Foundation. We thank our major individual and corporate supporters: Liz Armstrong, Rick Farrar and Jeff Zadroga, Amy Faxon, Michael A. Jenkins, Cornelia Ravenal, Stacey Mindich Productions, Peter Risafi and Steven Wheeler; Harry, Cathy, Gabriella, and James Rubin Foundation; and Alec Stais and Elissa Burke. www.rhinebeckwriters.org

INTO THE WILD synopsis: In 1992 the body of a young man was found in the Denali Wilderness of Alaska. Who he was and how he ended up there came to light through Jon Krakauer's book Into the Wild, which follows the journey of Christopher McCandless, a twentysomethingyear old from a well-to-do East Coast family. Chris, calling himself Alexander Supertramp, rejects his upper-middle class upbringing, donates all his money to Oxfam, and sets out on an Odyssey across the country, ultimately headed for Alaska. When he heads out into the Alaska bush, he entertains no illusions that he's trekking into the land of milk and honey; peril and adversity are exactly what he is seeking and what he finds.