Hunter Foster, Arielle Jacobs and Alexandra Silber to Lead INNER VOICES, 11/10

Premieres Artistic Director Paulette Haupt has announced that the company will present Inner Voices, an evening of three one-act solo musicals beginning Saturday, November 10 at 8pm, at 30th Street Theater, 259 West 30th Street. The opening is scheduled for Sunday, November 18 at 3pm.

The musicals are:

Arlington
Book and Lyrics by Victor Lodato; music by Polly Pen
Directed by Jack Cummings III
Starring Alexandra Silber (Master Class, Hello Again)
Music direction by Kenneth Gartman

Alone at home, sweet Sara Jane waits for her soldier husband to return from war—where he may have committed a stunning atrocity. After a few too many bourbons, she begins to pose some dangerous questions, as well as reveal some nasty secrets. Arlington tracks one woman’s examination of her conflicted psyche and the slow dawning of a new political consciousness.

Borrowed Dust
Book and lyrics by Martin Moran; music by Joseph Thalken
Directed by Jonathan Butterell
Starring Hunter Foster (Urinetown, Million Dollar Quartet)
Music direction by Paul Masse

In Borrowed Dust, George Richardson has just returned from a trip to his childhood home to claim and bury the body of his younger brother. As he recalls the experience and grapples with the sudden loss, the emotional landmines, the blood ties, and the secrets revealed, we bear witness to his story and his effort to find sense and acceptance.

Farhad or The Secret of Being
Book and Lyrics by Nilo Cruz; music by Jim Bauer
Directed by Saheem Ali
Starring Arielle Jacobs (In the Heights, Disney's High School Musical national tour)
Music Direction by Matt Hinkley

In Farhad or The Secret of Being, an Afghan girl who was raised as a boy reaches puberty and faces the abrupt changes of womanhood when she is plunged into an arranged marriage. She struggles to adapt to the difficult world women confront in this part of the world as she tries to find ways to surpass limitations and the bondage of her reality.

Jim Bauer’s credits include The Blue Flower (book, music, lyrics): American Repertory Theater, Cambridge MA, 2010, Off-Broadway production Second Stage Theater 2011; Dagmar The Band 2005-10 (songwriter, vocal, guitar, keys); The Weimarband 2000-2004 (songwriter, vocal, guitar, piano); film scores: Claire Dolan (writer/director Lodge Kerrigan); TV scores: MTV/VH1 “Behind The Music,” Biography Channel, History Channel, Discovery Channel.

Nilo Cruz won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize and the American Theatre Critics Association/Steinberg Award for Best New Play for Anna in the Tropics (Tony nomination). His plays have been produced in the U.S. and internationally. He is currently writing a libretto for the Lyric Opera in Chicago. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists.

Joseph Thalken is the composer of Was (book and lyrics: Barry Kleinbort); Harold and Maude (book and lyrics: Tom Jones); And The Curtain Rises (book: Michael Slade, lyrics: Mark Campbell). Awards: The American Musical Voices Project, Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Commendation Award, Constance Klinsky Award, Meet the Composer, National Endowment for the Arts. Broadway conductor for Victor/Victoria (Julie Andrews and Liza Minnelli), Gypsy (Patti LuPone).

Victor Lodato is a Guggenheim Fellow, as well as the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Camargo Foundation (France), and The Bogliasco Foundation (Italy). For his plays, he has received numerous honors, including the Helen Merrill Award. His first novel, Mathilda Savitch, winner of the PEN USA Award for Fiction, has been published in thirteen countries.

Martin Moran received an OBIE and two Drama Desk nominations for his play, The Tricky Part, based upon his memoir of the same title. Broadway/Off-Broadway performances include: Spamalot, Cabaret, Titanic, Bells Are Ringing, Floyd Collins. His recent writing has been published in Ploughshares and Pushcart. His new one-man play, All The Rage, will open Off-Broadway this January.

Polly Pen is an Obie Award winner for Bed and Sofa (Vineyard Theatre,
NYC/Finborough Theatre, London). Other works include Goblin Market (Vineyard Theatre, five drama desk nominations), The Night Governess (McCarter Theatre), The Dumb Cake (NPR), and Embarrassments (Wilma Theater). She has received the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Award and the Flora Roberts Award for a distinguished body of work.

Premieres (Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director) was established in 2001 with the mission of bringing new music theater to light by exceptional playwrights, lyricists, and composers. Premieres presents staged readings and workshops of works in progress as well as creating new partnerships through commissions, development and full productions in their Inner Voices series. The inaugural season of Inner Voices in 2008 included works by Ellen Fitzhugh and Michael John LaChiusa; Laura Harrington and Jenny Giering; and Michele Lowe and Scott Davenport Richards. Inner Voices in 2010 featured works by Cheri Steinkellner and Georgia Stitt, and David Simpatico and Josh Schmidt.

Inner Voices plays Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm and Saturday and Sunday at 3pm at the 30th Street Theater, 259 West 30th Street. There is an added performance on Sunday, November 11 at 8pm and a special matinee on Wednesday, November 21 at 3pm. There is no performance on Thanksgiving Day. Inner Voices is scheduled to close on Sunday, December 2. Tickets are $25-30 and may be purchased at SmartTix by phoning 212 868 4444 or visiting www.smarttix.com. For more information about Inner Voices or Premieres, visit www.premieresnyc.org.