Gaten Matarazzo, Will Roland and More Join Andrew Barth Feldman's SW: A NEW(SICAL) HOPE

 

Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen) and Adrian Dickson's Star Wars musical parody fundraiser for NEXT for Autism now has added Gaten Matarazzo ("Stranger Things"), Will Roland (Dear Evan Hansen, Be More Chill) and Kyle Selig (Mean Girls) to its star-studded cast! "It's super unfortunate that my friends Wesley Taylor, Jason Gotay, and Antonio Cipriano won't be able to join us," shared Andrew Barth Feldman. "But Gaten, Kyle and Will were all on my original list of people that I wanted to be a part of this crazy night, but I was terrified to ask them. But here we are anyway, and they're so excited to be part of it. Gaten Matarazzo as Luke Skywalker, Kyle Selig as Han Solo, and Will Roland as C-3PO. It just doesn't get better than that."

Also joining the concert is Jared Goldsmith (Dear Evan Hansen) as R2-D2. "The trio in our show is C-3PO, R2-D2, and Mickey Mouse - don't ask questions - and they'll be played by Will Roland, Jared Goldsmith, and Sky Lakota-Lynch. Three Jared Kleinmans. The Force works in mysterious ways." Also joining the concert is Talia Simone Robinson (Dear Evan Hansen), Kaitlyn Santa Juana (Dear Evan Hansen), and Nathan Levy (Dear Evan Hansen). In addition, the concert will now play two more shows on March 1st, 2020 at 7PM and 9:30PM (with Antonio Cipriano returning as Luke).

The rest of the cast will still include Drew Gehling (Waitress, Almost Famous) as Darth Vader, Natalie Walker (Alice By Heart) as Princess Leia, Alex Boniello (Dear Evan Hansen, Spring Awakening) as Grand Moff Tarkin, Heath Saunders (Great Comet, Alice By Heart) as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sky Lakota-Lynch (Dear Evan Hansen) as Uncle Owen and Mickey Mouse, Gabrielle Carrubba (Dear Evan Hansen) as Chewbacca, Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen) as The Voice of Space God, Josh Strobl (Dear Evan Hansen), Dan Macke (Dear Evan Hansen), Diamond Essence-White (Dear Evan Hansen), and Nathan Fosbinder ("d3@r ev@n OH NO" on YouTube)

"SW: A New(sical) Hope" plays Feinstein's/54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on February 9th, 2020 and March 1st, 2020 at 7 PM and 9:30 PM. There is a $35-$110 cover charge at the 7PM performance and a $35-$75 cover charge at the 9:30PM performance and $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.

MORE ABOUT SW: A NEW(SICAL) HOPE

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (eighth grade, to be exact), Andrew Barth Feldman (Dear Evan Hansen) and Adrian Dickson wrote and produced a musical parody of Star Wars: A New Hope with their friends. In time, they have come to realize that the musical...needs some work. Now, that musical is being performed not by fellow eighth-graders, but by Broadway stars who will try their best to pull it off without changing a word of the material! Join us on the planet of Feinstein's/54 Below for an evening that will combine Star Wars, musical theatre, and dumb, middle school humor! The concert will feature new orchestrations by Michael Janover. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from this evening of magic sci-fi stupidity will go to NEXT for Autism.

MORE ABOUT Andrew Barth Feldman AND ADRIAN DICKSON

Andrew Barth Feldman and Adrian Dickson met in first grade. There was a model dinosaur in the classroom that was not supposed to be touched. Adrian and Andrew were admiring it together when Adrian whispered, "I'm going to touch it." After he did, Andrew told the teacher. From that moment on, they were best friends.

Andrew Barth Feldman is best known for his turn as Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. He was cast at sixteen immediately after his win at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (Jimmy Awards), making him the youngest person ever cast to play the notoriously difficult role. Andrew has also run a theatre company from the age of twelve, Zneefrock Productions, which raises money for NEXT for Autism. This is where "SW: A New(sical) Hope" was initially produced in 2016, raising over $3,000 for NEXT for Autism. When Adrian and Andrew first began to write "SW," they planned to write musicals based on all of the Star Wars films. This is still their plan.

Zneefrock Productions is also producing the upcoming "Celebration! For the Barbra Barth Feldman Performing Arts Center" in honor of Andrew Barth Feldman's late mother, raising money for the soon-to-be renovated and renamed theatrical facilities at Andrew Barth Feldman's alma mater, Lawrence Woodmere Academy. More information and tickets can be found at zneefrockproductions.com.