New York Musical Theater Festival will present the World Premiere of BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE. With book and lyrics by Tony and Lucille Lortel Award nominee Hunter Foster (Urinetown, Little Shop of Horrors) and music by Drama Desk Award nominee Rick Crom, the production is directed by Mark Waldrop. Performances begin September 16 at The American Theatre of Actors.
America's most romantic gangsters outwit and outrun a relentless (yet always ladylike) J. Edgar Hoover to the delight of the poor and downtrodden, as their relationship changes from "strictly business" to reluctant love. Funny, tuneful, and historically dubious, BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE is a good ol' musical about the bad ol' days.
The production stars
Diane Davis (
Old Acquaintance, Festen) as Bonnie Parker and
Jason Wooten (The Times They Are A-Changin', Dance of the Vampires, Rocky Horror Show) as Clyde Barrow. The cast also includes Melissa Rain Anderson,
Kevin Cahoon (The Wedding Singer, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang),
Kevin Carolan (The Ritz, Chicago),
Rachel Coloff (Lestat, Fiddler on the Roof, Urinetown),
Dennis Holland (The Music Man),
Julie Johnson (Candide, Das Barbecu), Dana Steer (Zanna, Don't),
Julius Thomas III,
Stephanie Umoh, Darryl Winslow (
Avenue Q, Evil Dead).
Hunter Foster's Broadway acting credits include Urinetown (Outer Critic and Lucille Lortel Award Nominations), Little Shop of Horrors (Tony Award Nomination), The Producers,
Grease, Footloose, Les Miserables and
Alan Menken's King David. He toured nationally as Rum Tum Tugger in Cats and understudied and performed the title role in Cameron Macintosh's Martin Guerre. He also appeared in the New York premiere of Children of Eden (Abel) by
Stephen Schwartz at Paper Mill Playhouse. As a writer, he has penned books to the off-Broadway Summer of '42 and the upcoming Fearless.
Rick Crom is the composer/ lyricist for several off-Broadway and cabaret revues: Oh Fine, RSVP, The Subject Was Neurosis, Absolutely Rude, Our Life and Times, What in the World and NEWSical (Drama Desk nominations for Best Lyrics and Best Revue). His topical material is featured at the Crystal Palace Theater in Aspen, Colorado. Recently the Crystal Palace honored him by releasing a recording of his material; Who Writes This Stuff? The Songs of
Rick Crom. As an actor he's appeared on Broadway in Urinetown, The Goodbye Girl and Footloose.
Mark Waldrop most recently directed Little Shop of Horrors at Paper Mill Playhouse, where he also directed Romeo and Bernadette and
Gypsy starring
Betty Buckley and
Deborah Gibson. He served as production supervisor and contributed special material for
Bette Midler: The Divine Miss Millennium Tour. Other credits include direction and special material for
Bea Arthur, Just Between Friends (Tony Award nomination) and direction, book, and lyrics for When Pigs Fly (Drama Desk, Outer Critic's Circle and Obie Awards).
BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE will feature choreography by
Josh Rhodes, lighting and sound by
Matt Berman, costumes by Matthew Hemesath, set by
Adam Koch, casting by Cindi Rush Casting, stage management by Joshua Pilote, and music direction, orchestrations and additional arrangements by Ed Goldschneider. It is produced by Derrick Chua and Ian Samuels.
Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize one of America's greatest art forms by discovering, supporting and promoting new musical theater artists, producers, and projects, and by introducing a diverse audience to the vibrancy of contemporary musical theater. Since its inception in 2004, the three-week annual festival has premiered more than 130 new musicals - many of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters and on tour internationally. Widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery, NYMF is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and 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.
BONNIE & CLYDE: A FOLKTALE runs Tues. Sept. 16 at 8pm; Fri. Sept. 19 at 7pm; Sun. Sept. 21 at 5pm & 9pm; Sat. Sept. 27 at 4:30pm; and Sun. Sept. 28 at 5pm. American Theatre of Actors is located at 314 W. 54th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are $18, available at 212-352-3101 or
www.nymf.org beginning September 1.
