COVID STILL SUX: The Musical Part 2 to be Presented at the Franco Center

NYC's Royal Family Productions, a theatre company known for its innovative productions and development of new original work, continues to bring quality family theatre to Maine. Following the sold-out success of COVID SUX: The Musical at Cumston Hall, Chris Henry, and Mark Falconer have written a new sequel to their previous original musical comedy about the pandemic featuring parodies of hit Broadway songs from shows like Hamilton, Les Miserables, Tick Tick Boom, West Side Story, Chicago, and Annie. This show is directed by Chris Henry with Danny Gay and features choreography by Emily Anne Davis. This production will take place at the Franco Center, located at 46 Cedar St, Lewiston, ME. Tickets are $20 for general admission with $100 for preferred seating and $250 for VIP tickets.

Henry is a native of Winthrop, Maine, and is thrilled that Royal Family is able to continue to produce top-quality theatre in her home state.

Following COVID Protection guidelines, the audience is required to provide proof of vaccination and remain masked throughout the performance.

Covid Still Sux: The Musical, Part 2 will star Danny Gay, Cade Parker, Maggie Langhorne, Glenn Atkins, Amy Griswold, Maria Groover, Julia Groover, and Graci Gillen with Emily Anne Davis and Caitlyn Morgan. The creative team includes music supervision by Lars Jacobsen and Mark Falconer and sound design by Noah Keneborus. The Maine Production Team includes Danny Gay, Ann Fairchild, Lily Webb, and Cade Parker.

ROYAL FAMILY's mission is to galvanize the Times Square community by cultivating raw talent, collaborating with seasoned artists, and inspiring audiences with a diversity of lion-hearted theatre. To us, everyone in the theatre community is not only royalty but family. Our programs and productions give artists space at all stages of their careers. We don't want to tell just any story: we want to best serve artists in telling their own stories. In today's political and social climate, it is also more important than ever to celebrate all voices-especially those underrepresented in the traditional theatre space. At Royal Family, we celebrate the work of female artists, playwrights of color, works with LGBTQIA themes, and artists of all ages and body types.

Royal Family has been a creative incubator of original, humanistic plays for over a decade. Bravery and fearlessness are imperative to our process. Artists and audiences alike are challenged in a creative safe space to explore the humor and the tangled truths of the human condition. As actor and first-time playwright Anthony Rapp (Rent, Dazed and Confused, Star Trek: Discovery) observes, "Royal Family is committed to truthful, heartfelt, alive, theatrical storytelling. It's vital to the human experience and hard to come by."

Royal Family was established in 2007 by Katie Avebe, Mary Bernardi, Chris Henry and Andy Theodorou as a home for artists wishing to challenge and transform the traditional theatre canon. Since its launch, Royal Family has developed lasting relationships with highly regarded theatre professionals such as Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America, Tony-Nominee Wit) and Anthony Rapp (Rent, If/Then, Dazed and Confused); and has partnered with artists including John Cariani (Tony Nominee Fiddler on the Roof, The Band's Visit, Something Rotten), Adriane Lenox (Tony Winner Doubt, Tony Nominee After Midnight), Mary Testa (Tony Nominee On the Town, Tony Nominee 42nd Street, Tony Nominee Oklahoma), Stephanie J. Block (Tony Winner The Cher Show, Tony Nominee The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Tony Nominee Falsettos), Andréa Burns (In The Heights, On Your Feet), Maddie Corman (Accidentally Brave, Some Kind of Wonderful, Next Fall), Adrienne C. Moore (Orange is the New Black, For Colored Girls...), Constance Shulman (Orange is the New Black, The Rose Tattoo), Penny Fuller (Tony Nominee Applause, Tony Nominee The Dinner Party), and Taye Diggs (Rent, Hedwig and the Angry Inch). Our productions have been reviewed by The New York Times, Time Out, The Village Voice, The Boston Globe, Time Out London, The London Times, and The Irish Times and featured three years in a row in the esteemed Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Recent highlights include the first annual Female+ Forward Festival, featuring new work by Queen Esther, Rosa Arredondo, and Iman Shuk, curated and directed by Lorna Ventura Women on Fire: Stories from the Frontlines and Women on Fire: Scorching the Dividing Lines which featured a rotating cast of more than 40 women, including Kathleen Chalfant, Maddie Corman, Catherine Curtin, Pamela Dunlap, Penny Fuller, Laura Gomez, Cady Huffman, Adriane Lenox, Cynthia Mace, Adrienne C. Moore, Laila Robins, Constance Shulman, Mary Testa, Tonye Patano, Maryann Plunkett, Alysia Reiner, Lianah Sta. Ana, Ashley Williams and more, the World Premiere of Anne of Green Gables: Part 1 starring Ali Ewoldt, a workshop of Anne of Green Gables: Part 2 starring Doreen Montalvo, and a world premiere workshop, Diary of a Tap Dancer Vol. 4 conceived and choreographed by Ayodele Casel and directed by Torya Beard that kicked off Royal Family's 10th anniversary season. In 2017, thoughts of a COLORED MAN on a day when the sun set too early by playwright Keenan Scott II was a collaboration between stage and television star-turned-choreographer Taye Diggs, choreographer Jenny Parsinen, and Royal Family's Emerging Artist Program. This play is making its Broadway debut next month. In 2016, Royal Family premiered Rock and Roll Refugee, a biographical musical about Genya Ravan, who also wrote the music and lyrics. The Polish World War II refugee and Holocaust survivor broke into the rock scene at a time when it was a predominantly male field, forming the first all-girl band and becoming the first female music producer. The New York Times' Laura Collins-Hughes praised the production as "exciting" and lauded its "strikingly female gaze." Other Royal Family highlights include premiering Tony Award nominee John Cariani's comedy LOVE / SICK, the darker cousin to his widely produced hit play Almost Maine as well as presenting co-productions of Anthony Rapp's Without You with The Menier Chocolate Factory and The New York Musical Theater Festival.

EMILY ANNE DAVIS (Choreographer) Emily Anne Davis started dancing at the age of four with local Southern California dance studios, studying and competing in multiple dance techniques while growing up, enabling her to continue dance training into college at the University of California, Irvine. Whilst in college, Emily performed for many dance troupes and choreographers throughout Southern California, both affiliated with her university and professionally. She also completed various teaching certifications during her studies, all whilst earning a BA in Psychology and a BFA in Dance Choreography. After graduating UCI in Summer 2017, Emily moved to New York City where she works as a private Pilates instructor and group fitness instructor in Pilates and Yoga, as well as continues to pursue her dance career as a performer and choreographer. Emily has performed with Royal Family since 2019 and hopes to continue performing and choreographing in New York for many years to come.

Chris Henry (Writer/Director) is an award-winning theatre director and writer based in New York City. WRITING/DIRECTING CREDITS WITH ROYAL FAMILY: Holy Hans, Ugly Duckling, Anne of Green Gables: Part 1 (based on the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery), Anne of Green Gables: Part 2 (based on the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery), WOMEN ON FIRE: Stories from the Frontlines, WOMEN ON FIRE: Scorching the Dividing Lines, Louie, Red, and the Jazzman (in collaboration with Wycliffe Gordon), Nobody Suspects a Butterfly (originally a feature film treatment Henry wrote for Ross Greenburg, Former President of HBO Sports), MM2000 (in collaboration with Shane W. Evans) and Opal Ann Meets the Fabulous Kit Katt, A Play with Musical Fantasies (in collaboration with Summer Hyde and Daniel A. Weiss). DIRECTING CREDITS WITH ROYAL FAMILY: Brass Heart the musical, thoughts of a COLORED MAN on a day when the sun set too early, LOVE/SICK, Four Last Things, Dedalus Lounge, Safe Home. NYC DIRECTING HIGHLIGHTS: Joe (Cherry Lane Mentor Project), Trans-Euro Express (Irish Arts Center), Art of War (Madison Square Garden), Sharpen Your Blade ("Time Out" Critic's Pick), Fishbowl (New York Magazine Critic's pick), Suicide Society (Winner Best Director). ACTORS THEATRE OF LOUISVILLE: The Actor's Nightmare, Grace of I, Dog Named Becky, One Hundred Women, Electric Roses, Sure Thing.

DANNY GAY: (Director/Actor) Danny is an avid theater practitioner from Central Maine. He received his BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Southern Maine with a focus in technical theatre. He also received his MA in Teaching and Learning and plays a fourth grade teacher by day. Danny is the current Artistic Director and Education Director for the Monmouth Community Players as well as a Creative Associate with Royal Family Productions. Education is a major focus of his work in the theater world. DIRECTING CREDITS WITH MCPKIDS! EDUCATION: Cinderella the Musical, High School Musical Jr, The Wizard of Oz Part 1 and 2 (staged reading), The Frog Prince (staged reading) The Magical Resort (original script by students), The Great American Talent Show. WITH MCP: The Mousetrap DIRECTING CREDITS WITH SCHOOLHOUSE ARTS CENTER EDUCATION: GTK Once Upon a Mattress, Mulan Jr., James and the Giant Peach Jr. WITH SCHOOLHOUSE ARTS CENTER: Dracula ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH COMMUNITY LITTLE THEATER: Love Letters.

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