Bush Directs Hummon's 'The Piper' at NYMF 9/19-29

The New York Musical Theatre Festival will present the New York premiere of The Piper, a new musical by Grammy Award-winner Marcus Hummon, directed by Michael Bush. Performances will run September 19 - 29 only.

"The Piper is a musical Victorian melodrama, told in the tradition of Irish pub storytelling. It tells the tale of Jordan, a woman who runs a boarding house for prostitutes in late 19th century Scully Square Boston, and her crippled daughter Wilder, who posses a magical ability to play the penny whistle.  Amidst hookers, thugs, and pubs, they struggle against a corrupt political machine and a mysterious "strangler" who may just have moved into their midst," describe press notes.

This is the third collaboration between Hummon and Bush that includes last season's festival production of Warrior, which was directed by Bush, and the recent presentation of American Duet, which Bush produced as part of his 2007 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's Cabaret and Performance Conference.

Michael Bush directs a cast that includes Nancy Anderson, Sean Attebury, Cole Burden, Daren de Paul, Jillian Louis, T. J. Mannix, Christiane Noll, Catherine LaVelle, Patrick Ryan Sullivan, Debra Walton and Jeff Williams.  The Piper will have musical staging by Janet Watson (Big River) with set design by Anna Louizos, costume design by Karen Ledger, and lighting design by Traci Klainer. Michael Morris will serve as Musical Director.

Performances will be Tuesday, September 18 at 8PM; Friday, September 21 at 9PM; Saturday, September 22 at 1PM; Sunday, September 23 at 4:30PM; Thursday, September 27 at 9PM; and Saturday, September 29 at 5PM at The Theater at St. Clements (423 West 46th Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues).

Single tickets to The Piper go on sale to the general public on September 1, through Theatermania.com at 212-352-3101 or (toll free) 866-811-4111. For additional information, visit NYMF's web site at www.nymf.org