Drama Book Shop To Host Nora Brigid Monahan And Alexander Sage Oyen To Talk DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL

The Drama Book Shop will present, in association with Jay Michaels Global Communications, an evening with Nora Brigid Monahan and Alexander Sage Oyen, the creators of DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL, on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at 7:30pm. Monahan and Oyen will be joined in conversation by moderator Charles Kirsch, host of the Backstage Babble Podcast, to discuss the release of the show's new London cast recording.

DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL tells the story of Desmond Channing, a dethroned high school Drama Club president, as he spirals into insanity and seeks revenge on his teen nemesis, Evan Harris. Set in the Seventh Circle, Hell's most squalid cabaret venue, Desmond must reenact the cursed events and play all the parts as his punishment. After premiering in New York in 2017 to critical acclaim, DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL was acquired by Broadway Licensing and Dramatists Play Service and has been subsequently performed around the world. The 2022 London production, which starred West End favorite Luke Bayer and was called "clever, snide, witty," and "unmissable" by The Guardian, went on to win London's Everything Theatre Award for Best Musical and Off-West End Award for Best Lead Performance in a Musical.

Nora Brigid Monahan and Alexander Sage Oyen are an award-winning musical theatre writing team. Earlier this year, their musical TYRANTS, about the life of Edwin Booth, debuted in a special concert performance at the United States National Archives in Washington D.C., starring A.J. Shively. Oyen is the recipient of the 2014 ASCAP Foundation's Lucille and Jack Yellen award for lyricists. His other musicals include OUTLAWS (Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals, book by James Presson), ARCHIE'S FINAL PROJECT (book by James Presson and David Lee Miller), and MOMENT BY MOMENT. Monahan's plays include AUNT JACK (New Conservatory Theatre Center), RODHAM/SADE (HERE Arts), and MAXIMILIEN ROBESPIERRE DID NOTHING WRONG (commissioned by 59E59/Less Than Rent Theatre).

Charles Kirsch is the 15-year-old host of the Broadway podcast Backstage Babble, which since August 2020 has presented over 150 in-depth interviews with leading figures in the theater industry such as Carol Burnett, Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera, and Joel Grey. In 2022 and 2023, Kirsch produced three Backstage Babble Live! concerts at 54 Below, one of which BroadwayWorld called "one of the starriest, most entertaining, and most important nights of the cabaret season this year." He has also hosted five game night benefits for the non-profit organization Dancers Over 40, and his YouTube reunions of FOLLIES, APPLAUSE, and ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY have garnered thousands of views. He has also participated in in-person events at BroadwayCon, The Actor's Temple and Theater Row. He is a voting member of the Drama Desk, and a contributor to Cast Album Reviews, Encore Magazine, and 50 Key Stage Musicals (Routledge Press).

Reservations for The Drama Book Shop event are free, with a purchase of the libretto to DIVA: LIVE FROM HELL required for entry.