The Green Room 42 Presents Michael Friedman's THE STATE OF THE UNION SONGBOOK

THE GREEN ROOM 42 in association with The Civilians, presents Michael Friedman's The State of The Union Songbook to benefit The Civilians "Michael Friedman Legacy Fund" on Election Night, Tuesday, November 6, for two shows at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM.

During the 2016 election campaigns, composer Michael Friedman went around America and interviewed a cross-section of citizens. He set these word-for-word interviews to music in what he deemed The State of The Union Songbook. Friedman died in September 2017, making these works some of his final projects. On Election Day of 2018, The Songbook in its entirety will be premiered along with more unheard Friedman works.

All proceeds go to "Michael Friedman Legacy Fund" founded by The Civilians, the collective of artists Mr. Friedman worked closely with. The fund aims to put on record all of the composer's works, including a live recording of The State of The Union Songbook. Join us in a historic evening of music, politics, and understanding the Nation through its own words.

Michael Friedman's The State of The Union Songbook is directed by Steve Cosson, with musical direction by Wiley Deweese. The evening is produced by Daniel Dunlow and The Civilians. Casting will be announced at a later date.

In an effort to promote voter activism in the community, The Green Room 42 is offering a free glass of wine to anyone who wears an "I Voted" sticker to the show.

Michael Friedman was an Obie Award winning composer/lyricist. He was most well-known as the co-creator of the critically-acclaimed musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which premiered in New York at The Public Theater and subsequently transferred to Broadway. Other credits include the musical Fortress of Solitude, based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Lethem; Unknown Soldier, which premiered at The Williamstown Theatre Festival; and Love's Labour's Lost, which premiered at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. Michael was a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians, the acclaimed investigative theater company. His work with The Civilians included Gone Missing, In the Footprint, The Great Immensity, Paris Commune (co-written with Steve Cosson), (I Am) Nobody's Lunch and This Beautiful City, as well as the score for Anne Washburn's critically-acclaimed Mr. Burns. His latest collaboration with Civilians' Artistic Director Cosson, The Abominables, opened at Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis in September. Michael received a MacDowell Fellowship, a Princeton Hodder Fellowship, a Meet The Composer Fellowship and was a Barron Visiting Professor at The Princeton Environmental Institute in 2009. At the time of his death, he was the Artist in Residence and Director of the Public Forum at The Public Theater and was also the Artistic Director of City Center Encores! Off-Center.

The Civilians is a theater company dedicated to creating and producing work that dynamically engages our broader social and political environment. We support artists' efforts to interrogate our lived experience, question and test the stories that shape our world, and awaken new thinking and perceptions through their creations. Our work is led by founder Steve Cosson, and is rooted in a multi-disciplinary community of artists that includes long-term company members, project-specific collaborators, and participants in its ongoing programming. Drawing on core values of innovation and experimentation, we create and produce in a variety of formats and aesthetics, tailored to the needs of each project: work may be driven by an individual artist, a collaborative team, or be company-devised. Many of our projects take the form of investigative theater, a term we coined to describe our artistic and journalistic process of creative inquiry, research, and interaction with communities and individuals. We sustain an active R & D Program, including an investigative theater cabaret series and podcast, an annual readings series from our multi-disciplinary incubator the R & D Group, developmental workshops, and an online journal. www.thecivilians.org

The Michael Friedman Legacy Fund was created by The Civilians in honor of their founding Associate Artist and board member, working in close partnership with his estate. The majority share of the Fund is dedicated to archiving and creating cast albums of his previously unrecorded music, serving to preserve Michael's work, and to share it with the public and future generations. A portion of the Fund supports The Civilians as we undertake these legacy projects, and as we continue the work that Michael began, making adventurous new works of theater and supporting new generations of artists.

Michael Friedman's The State of The Union Songbook will be performed Tuesday, November 6 at 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM at The Green Room 42 (570 Tenth Avenue at 42nd Street, on the 4th Floor of Yotel). The cover charge ranges from $35 to $150. There is no food and drink minimum. For tickets, please visit www.TheGreenRoom42.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos