Bush & Shaffer's New Musical TROUBADOUR Begins Tonight at Alliance Theatre

Atlanta's Tony Award winning ALLIANCE THEATRE presents the world premiere musical, Troubadour, by playwright Janece Shaffer (The Geller Girls, Broke) with original music by Grammy Award-winning recording artist Kristian Bush.

Set in 1950s Nashville, Troubadour is a romantic comedy about an unlikely group of friends whose unconventional style changes the course of country music. Troubadour is directed by the Alliance's Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Geller Girl) and runs on the Alliance Stage from tonight, January 18, through February 12, 2017.

"This is a deeply human story that will simply make people happy to witness," said Director Susan V. Booth. "I've been a fan of Janece's writing for years and smitten with Kristian's voice - literally and poetically - since back in his Billy Pilgrim days. The two of them together, with our gorgeous creative team and crazy talented cast, are creating something really special."

The cast includes Atlanta-based actor Andrew Benator (Disgraced, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest); Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sylvie Davidson; country music singer-songwriter, musician, and music producer Radney Foster; Atlanta-based actor and singer-songwriter Rob Lawhon (Songs to Grow On, Ghost Brothers of Darkland County); Atlanta-based actor Bethany Anne Lind (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Edward Foote), and Atlanta-based singer-songwriter and 5th place finalist of the NBC hit television series "The Voice," Zach Seabaugh.

"We were so patient in our casting process. We had an open call here in Atlanta and in Nashville. We held auditions in New York. We listened to hundreds of submissions and talked to so many people via Skype," said playwright Janece Shaffer. "What we were waiting for were those folks to come in the room and claim the role and everyone in this cast did just that. And the fact that we found several of our leads in our own backyard - including Zach who is a hometown boy with a big bright future - makes it even more exciting.

Troubadour will include approximately 16 original songs by Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Kristian Bush, whose career as a solo artist (2015's critically-acclaimed Southern Gravity) as well as one-half of beloved duos Billy Pilgrim and Sugarland has spanned more than two decades.

"I believe music is supposed to tell a story, but I'd never tried writing it as part of a story before," said Bush. "Janece created characters who seemed so real to me that it was easy to get inside their heads and write their stories into songs, even as I travelled 60 years back in time to find their authentic sound. Now that we have this amazing cast to bring the story and the songs to life, I can't wait to see what this becomes. Even though this was my first journey into understanding the fit between an actor and a role, I definitely understand the fit between a voice and a song... and these voices fit perfectly."

The creative team for Troubadour includes Music Director Brandon Bush, Sound Designer Clay Benning, Costume Designer Lex Liang, Tony Award-winning Set Designer Todd Rosenthal, and Lighting Designer Ken Yunker.

Performances of Troubadour are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., January 18 - February 12, 2017. Opening Night is January 25, 2017. There will be no 2:30 p.m. performance on Saturday, January 21.

Two special matinee performances for students will take place on Thursday, February 2, and Thursday, February 9, at 10:30 a.m. For ticket information, contact allianceschoolday@woodruffcenter.org or call 404.733.4661.

Tickets start at $20 and are available at the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office in person or by calling 404-733-5000. Tickets are also available online at www.alliancetheatre.org/troubadour. The ALLIANCE THEATRE is located at the Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, at the corner of Peachtree and 15th Street, in Midtown. Groups of 10+ receive discounts on the price of tickets and are not charged for box office fees. 404.733.4690

The Alliance thanks military families with 15% off regularly priced tickets to Alliance Stage and Hertz Stage productions. Military ID must be shown when picking up or ordering tickets at the Box Office. This offer is based on availability and cannot be combined with other offers.

Any middle school or high school student can attend any performance for just $10. Look for the "teen" price when selecting your seats online. A valid/current student ID must be presented when picking up tickets at will call. Not all seating sections are available with this offer. A maximum of 4 tickets per order may be purchased with this discount.

See all discounts and special offers here.

Troubadour is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

The ALLIANCE THEATRE is Atlanta's national theater, expanding hearts and minds on stage and off. Founded in 1968, the ALLIANCE THEATRE is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. Under the leadership of Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, the ALLIANCE THEATRE received the Regional Theatre Tony Award in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education, and community engagement.

Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 100 original productions including Tony Award winners The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice, and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The Alliance has developed and premiered important American musicals with a strong track record of Broadway, touring, and subsequent productions, including the world premieres of Sister Act: The Musical, Twyla Tharp's Come Fly Away, Bring It On: The Musical, Stephen King and John Mellencamp's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Harmony - A New Musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, and most recently the world premiere of the new musical Tuck Everlasting. The Alliance also creates and nurtures the careers of artists through the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, producing the world premiere for the competition winner as part of the regular season, and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, providing developmental support and production resources for three performing arts projects each year.

The Alliance's dedication to providing access to the arts is reflected in its commitment to creating new work for all ages, and to bringing that work into classrooms and communities across Atlanta and throughout the region. More than 50,000 students each year experience age-specific professional performances and participate in acting classes, drama camps, and in-school initiatives through the ALLIANCE THEATRE Acting Program and Education Department. The Alliance's groundbreaking Kathy and Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young performances offer professionally-produced, fully interactive theater for infants and toddlers; the Palefsky Collision Project invites high school artists to create and perform new civic-minded theater based on a classic text; and community acting classes and skill-building workshops engage professional artists, young actors, business leaders, and curious learners of all ages. Twice recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for leadership in arts education, the Alliance Arts for Learning Institute equips classroom teachers with theatrical techniques that link directly to school curriculum and have been empirically proven to improve student learning. These programs include Georgia Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts and Dramaturgy K-12, in which students create research material that informs Alliance productions and prepares peer audiences.

The work produced by the Alliance allows locally based artists the chance to create on a nationally watched stage, building and sustaining Atlanta's artistic community. The vision of the ALLIANCE THEATRE is to be a beacon of leadership for the national field, while remaining deeply rooted in and reflective of our local Atlanta community.