Ciara Renée to Make Directorial Debut With MILLENNIALS ARE KILLING MUSICALS

Announced today is Millennials Are Killing Musicals, a new musical written by written by Drama League songwriting contest and NAMT Challenge winner Nico Juber, which will receive an industry reading on Thursday, March 31, 2022 at 11:00am and 2:00pm at Open Jar Studios (1601 Broadway), and will be presented in a public concert on Monday, April 4th at 9:30pm at Feinstein's/54 Below (254 West 54th Street).

Featuring direction by Ciara Renée (in her New York directorial debut), Millennials Are Killing Musicals includes an all-star cast: Klea Blackhurst (Hello, Dolly!, Everything the Traffic Will Allow), Alex Boniello (Dear Evan Hansen, Spring Awakening), Nicholas Edwards (Frozen, The Last Five Years), Lauren Marcus (Be More Chill), Olivia Puckett (Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton), Marissa Rosen (For The Girls), Nora Schell (Jagged Little Pill, Spamilton), and Nyla Watson (Waitress, Wicked).

Millennials Are Killing Musicals is an entirely original, irreverently funny, and heartfelt musical about the Millennial existential crisis, motherhood, and stereotypes that define a generation. Meet Brenda: a quirky, stressed-out, single mom who hates her job, longs to be a writer, and can't help but compare herself to the seemingly perfect "Jake's Mom" at school. Brenda is finally ready for love and creativity in her life when her #influencer sister Katrina shows up eight months pregnant, completely unprepared for motherhood. Torn between two men, juggling an opinionated mother and an increasingly unstable Katrina, Brenda must learn how to break her self-destructive patterns and live filter-free so she can achieve her dreams.

In addition to Juber and Renée, the creative team for Millennials Are Killing Musicals includes Music Supervisor & Arranger Ted Arthur (Diana, Moulin Rouge!) and Music Director Jane Cardona (Head Over Heels, To Kill A Mockingbird). General Management is by Evan Bernardin Productions and Casting is by Michael Cassara, CSA. Production Stage Manger is Rachel A. Zucker.

Millennials Are Killing Musicals has been in development for three years, songs have been selected for and performed at: A Little New Music, The Latest Draft Podcast, the ASTEP Art of Wellness Benefit, New York Theatre Barn's New Works Series, Feinstein's/Vitellos mostlyNEWmusicals, and The Green Room 42. Millennials Are Killing Musicals was a 2021 NAMT Festival & O'Neill NMTC Semifinalist and is a current 2022 O' Neill NMTC Semifinalist.

Millennials Are Killing Musicals is a fiscally sponsored project of New York Theatre Barn.

Tickets to the Feinstein's/54 Below public concert, priced $30-$65 with an additional $25 food and beverage minimum, can be purchased at 54Below.com.

For more information, please visit MillennialsAreKillingMusicals.com.

BIOGRAPHIES

Nico Juber (Book/Music/Lyrics) is an award-winning musical theatre composer, lyricist, bookwriter, Millennial mother of two, and 20-year cancer survivor. Her songs from Millennials Are Killing Musicals have been selected for and performed at the Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP) Art of Wellness Benefit, A Little New Music, The Latest Draft Podcast, New York Theatre Barn's New Works Series, McGuire & Simon Songwriter's Salon, Feinstein's/Vitellos mostlyNEWmusicals, The Green Room 42, and Feinstein's/54 Below. She is a member of Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, Maestra, and Ring of Keys. Her sci-fi short musical, Holo, won one of the top awards in the 2020 NAMT Challenge. Holo had its premiere at the Beck Center for the Arts (with Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre, directed by Ciara Renée) in Spring 2021 and was chosen for the 2021 Broadway OnDemand Short Film Festival. She recently won the Drama League Light the Lights Challenge for the song "Our Next Act" (with collaborator Selena Seballo), performed by André De Shields at their benefit in October 2021. Nico holds a B.A. from Tufts University and previously worked in high-tech marketing. She gives back through her small nonprofit for other cancer survivors called Thrive/Survive Los Angeles.

CIARA RENÉE (Director). Known for her Broadway roles as "Jenna" in Waitress, and "Elsa" in Frozen, and on TV as 'Hawkgirl' in "Legends of Tomorrow", Ciara Renée is grateful to be making her NYC directorial debut on her second collaboration with the wildly talented, Nico Juber. Previously, Ciara directed a short film of another musical by Nico Juber, entitled Holo for NAMT's 5x15 Festival, in collaboration with BW and Beck Center for the Arts. She also co-directed (with Michael Dallatorre) the short documentary, Beating the Odds - Children's Defense Fund of California. She is the writer, EP, and co-director of the short film Reddy Records. And though she is a millennial, she quite misses having a doorbell.

Klea Blackhurst (Actor) is an actress, singer and comedienne known for her award-winning tribute to Ethel Merman, Everything The Traffic Will Allow. Most recently she appeared Off-Broadway with Hayley Mills in the comedy, Party Face, at City Center Stage 2. She starred in Hazel during its world premiere production at Drury Lane in Chicago, as Dolly Levi in the highly acclaimed Fiftieth Anniversary production of Hello, Dolly! at The Goodspeed Opera House and as Miss Lemon in The Nutty Professor, which premiered in Nashville, directed by legendary comedian, Jerry Lewis and featuring a score by Marvin Hamlisch and Rupert Holmes. Klea also played Rose in Drury Lane Chicago's production of Gypsy, garnishing rave reviews in 2012. Other theatre credits include: in New York - A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Bingo, By Jupiter, Radio Gals, Oil City Symphony; Regionally - Ragtime, Call Me Madam, Chicago, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Red Hot and Blue and Anything Goes.

Alex Boniello (Actor) is an actor, musician, writer, and Tony Award winning producer. He most recently appeared on Broadway as Connor Murphy in Dear Evan Hansen, and will be seen in the upcoming Netflix feature Love & Gelato. Other Broadway: V/O Moritz in Deaf West Theatre's Tony nominated revival of Spring Awakening, Hadestown as co-producer. Other theatre: Lin-Manuel Miranda's 21 Chump Street (This American Life/BAM); Whisper House (59e59), Stilyagi (Vassar/NYSAF), Cruel Intentions the Musical (LPR), Brooklynite (Vineyard Theater); I Am Harvey Milk (Lincoln Center); and the national tour of Green Day's American Idiot. Select TV: "The Other Two," "The Bite," Marvel's "Jessica Jones," "Happyish," "Saturday Night Live." Film: Alt Space, Contest, Detachment. In 2022, Alex's first illustrated children's book, co-written with April Lavalle, A Case of the Zaps, will be released on Abrams Kids. His original songs are available wherever you stream music. fall of 2022, his debut children's book A Case of the Zaps, will be available wherever books are sold.

Nicholas Edwards (Actor) is known for his turn as Jamie in the Drama League nominated virtual production of The Last 5 Years with Out of the Box Theatrics. In the summer of 2020 Nicholas starred as Jesus in Berkshire Theatre Group's production of Godspell- the first AEA approved musical since the start of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The production received nationwide acclaim for pioneering the rebirth of American Theatre during the pandemic. Broadway: Frozen (u/s Kristoff and Pabbie), National Tour: Les Misérables (u/s Enjolras), Sister Act (Pablo). Off-Broadway: Spamilton. Select regional credits include the world premiere of Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at Paper Mill Playhouse, Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar (DC's Signature Theatre) and Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman (Triangle Productions). BFA Musical Theatre, Montclair State Univ.

Lauren Marcus (Actor). Broadway: Brooke Lohst in the original cast of Be More Chill (Lyceum Theatre). Other select credits: Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors (Pittsburgh Public), Brigid in The Humans (St. Louis Rep), Amy in Company (Barrington Stage). Lauren just made her feature film debut in tick, tick...Boom! She is also a singer-songwriter who held two sold-out residencies with her band at Rockwood Music Hall in 2019 and 2021. Lauren is a 2021 Jonathan Larson Grant Finalist, a recipient of Penn State's 2021 New Musical Theatre Initiative Commission, and will be developing her television pilot, "Honest Living", this coming year with New York Stage and Film. BM: NYU, MA: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Olivia Puckett (Actor). Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen (OBC), Motown The Musical. National Tours: Motown, American Idiot.

Marissa Rosen (Actor) Broadway: For the Girls w/ Kristin Chenoweth. Off-Broadway: R.R.R.E.D., The Marvelous Wonderettes, My Big Gay Italian Wedding, BedBugs the Musical, Tony & Tina's Wedding. Favorite regional/International/Tours: A Taste of Things to Come, Jawbreaker, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Bare, & Into the Woods & Grease. She can be seen dancing alongside Anne Hathaway on the Amazon Prime show "Modern Love". Marissa works as a recording artist and back-up singer for some of New York City and Nashville's finest! She has had the honor of singing backup for Kristin Chenoweth, Shoshana Bean, Patti LuPone, Jessica Vosk, Betty Buckley, Ariana DeBose, Krysta Rodriguez, Jason Gotay, Marty Thomas & Lillias White to name a few. Marissa has also released her debut album, The Award Winning Holiday Album with Marty Thomas which is available on all streaming platforms! She is proudly represented by The Talent House.

Nora Schell (Actor) graduated from The University of Michigan with a BFA in Musical Theatre and a minor in Gender, Race and Nation. They received Drama Desk, Drama League and Clive Barnes Award nominations for their performance and Off-Broadway debut in Spamilton. Nora made their Broadway debut in Jagged Little Pill. With their educational background, Nora continues to cultivate a career focused on the intersection of performing and social justice.

Nyla Watson (Actor). Giving all glory to God, Nyla Watson is a Cleveland-born NYC-based actor, concert artist, voice teacher and acting coach. She joins us after shining bright in the star-studded new musical Black No More off-Broadway and after making her Broadway debut in Waitress the Musical. Other notable performances include Gigantic (off-Broadway), touring with Wicked and The Color Purple revival and having the honor to play both Reno Sweeney and Mama Rose at NYU. She attributes her success to her faith, her parents, her education, the team at CGF Talent, and her professional and personal influences. Proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace and NYU - Steinhardt.