David Simpatico & Lisa DeSpain Will Discuss THAT HELL-BOUND TRAIN at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat

Join playwright David Simpatico and composer Lisa DeSpain as they discuss their new work, That Hell-Bound Train, on Saturday, July 23rd at 5pm as part of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat's "Meet the Writers" series. This special event will take place at Clinton Community Library at historic Clinton Town Hall in Rhinebeck, NY (1215 Centre Road) and will include a meet and greet reception, followed by a discussion and Q&A with David and Lisa about That Hell-Bound Train.

This event is free to the public, but you must send an RSVP to RSVP@rhinebeckwriters.org in order to attend. You can find more information on the "Meet the Writers" series here.

For more information, visit www.rhinebeckwriters.org.

About That Hell-Bound Train:

Martin, a young hobo, wanders the rails seeking happiness. One night, "The Conductor" arrives and offers Martin his heart's desire - in exchange for his soul. Armed with the power to stop time and live forever in a moment of perfect happiness, Martin begins his search. Is happiness found in a bottle of muscatel and a dry cot in a flophouse? In a series of one-night stands? The moment Martin meets his wife or holds his newborn son? Is happiness found in wealth, status, or the arms of a mistress? That Hell-Bound Train is a distinctively American take on the classic Faustian myth.

About Rhinebeck Writers Retreat:

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat serves a crucial role for writers, in the long developmental process for their musicals. We give a writing team a weeklong residency in a private home just outside of Rhinebeck, where they live together for one week and do nothing but write their new musical. We ask for no money from Rhinebeck writers, take no share of future royalties, give each writer a stipend, and cover all costs of the retreat. www.rhinebeckwriters.org.

About the Creators:

David Simpatico (Playwright, Librettist). David's work has been presented at major theatres around the globe, including London's Hammersmith Apollo, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and the New York Shakespeare Festival. Career highlights include: the stage adaptation of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (Disney Theatricals); the opera, THE LIFE AND DEATH(S) OF ALAN TURING (Justine F. Chen, composer); the music drama, THE SCREAMS OF KITTY GENOVESE (Will Todd, composer; Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Jonathan Larson award); and the libretto for Pulitzer Prize-winner Aaron Jay Kernis' GARDEN OF LIGHT (NY Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall, conducted by Kurt Masur). David earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the MountainView Writers at Southern New Hampshire University. David is an alumnus of the Composer Librettist Development Program at American Lyric Theater, and a graduate of Northwestern University.

Lisa DeSpain (Composer) is the recipient of an OPERA America Discovery Award for Female Composers and a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Award for THAT HELL-BOUND TRAIN (Libretto - David Simpatico.) She is the winner of the 2020 Zepick Modern Opera Commission (Opera Kansas) for STAGGERWING about the historic win of female pilots in the 1936 Bendix Trophy Air Race, NO LADIES IN THE LADY'S BOOK (Utah Opera) highlighting the hidden stories of women who built the Transcontinental Railroad, and MEN I'M NOT MARRIED TO (Cleveland Opera Theatre) based on a short story by Dorothy Parker (libretti by Rachel J. Peters). THE NIGHTINGALE (libretto - Melisa Tian, commissioned by On Site Opera) premieres in 2023 at the Winter Garden Atrium, NYC. She is the choral arranger of Broadway hits (HAMILTON, IN THE HEIGHTS, NEXT TO NORMAL) for Alfred Music and Professor of Music at LaGuardia Community College - CUNY.