Jeannette Bayardelle, Fred Inkley & More to Star in METRA Concert Reading

New climate justice musical, Metra: A Climate Revolution with Songs will receive two concert reading performances on May 22 and 23 at Judson Memorial Church. The “brash, impactful fantasia” is written by Emily and Ned Hartford with songs by Ned Hartford, directed by Emily Hartford. Music direction by Adam J. Rineer. The performances will feature Jeannette Bayardelle (Tony nominee, Girl From the North Country), Darilyn Castillo (Hamilton, AndPeggy and Philipp Companies), Fred Inkley (Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway), Corinna Schulenburg (Flux Theatre Ensemble), Alia Munsch (Motown the Musical national tour), Cristina Obando Sanchez (DOT DOT DOT, first national tour), and Sierra Rein (Fleishman is in Trouble), with stage directions read by Sabrina Carlier (Atlantic Acting School, recent grad).

The year is 2043. Despite lip service to climate action, the fossil fuel industry continues to thrive. Shit's bad. The rich continue to ignore it, isolated in air-conditioned Bubble communities and reaping the benefits of disaster capitalism. But in a roadside bar on the Outside, a movement of collective power is brewing. A group of revolutionaries–a journalist, a former hedge fund manager, and an ancient tree nymph–are tapping into a mythic and elemental magic that will demand that the powerful break the cycle of destruction, or face its consequences.

Performances will take place on Wednesday, May 22nd at 7:30pm and Thursday, May 23rd at 2pm. The performance will run approximately 2 hours, with an intermission. 

Emily Hartford

(Co-Writer/Director | she/her) is a New York City-based director, creator, and artistic leader. She is a Drama League Directing Fellow and a Creative Partner with the award-winning Flux Theatre Ensemble. Recent projects include Jordan Tannahill's Concord Floral at the Linda Gross Theater with Atlantic Acting School; Antigonick at the Hangar Theatre (Ithaca, NY); the second production of Hannah Benitez's Dike, at Hofstra University; and the remount national tour of Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School with TheaterWorksUSA. With Corey Allen and Will Lowry, Emily co-created the interactive audio project, Our Options Have Changed (Flux Theatre Ensemble). Her first short film, Type A, has appeared in festivals across the country and was nominated for Best Comedy at the Bridgeport Film Festival. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and her work has been supported by the Orchard Project, the Puffin Foundation, and the SDCF Observership Program. Emily is on faculty at Playwrights Horizons Theater School / New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Associate Member, SDC. www.emilyhartford.com

Ned Hartford

(Co-Writer/Lyrics & Music | he/him) Ned Hartford is an award-winning songwriter and performer (including runner-up in Billboard Magazine's Best Unsigned Band Competition, and winner of the International Songwriting Competition for his song “In The Park”), and has played his music to audiences as large as 80,000 people. As a writer of musicals, Ned's work has been produced at The Gym at Judson, Theater Row, and The Barrow Group. After Ned's last record deal ended (with a rock label out of Nashville), Ned moved back to NYC with the goal of writing musicals. Over the course of the next 20 years, he worked diligently to gather the abilities needed to achieve that goal. He was accepted to the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop and attended many CTI theatre-producing workshops and classes. Over the years, Ned has accrued a deep skillset as a songwriter, musician, actor, performer, writer of musicals, music producer, arranger, and recording engineer. www.nedhartford.com

Adam J. Rineer

(Music Director | they/xe/he) is a New York City composer, writer, music director, and artistic leader. Adam's musicals include THIRD SEX: 1930s transvestite lieder (HERE Arts Center, Live EP), Obscene…Filthy! (NAMT 15-minute Winner), and A Trip To The Moon (The Maas Building, CAP21). Their works in early development include Public Dominance (Roundabout), BrandedTM! (Polyphone Finalist), and Bitchfest: LIVE! (DGF Fellowship Finalist, commissioned by Prima Theatre). They've worked as a music director at institutions including MCC, Goodspeed, TheatreWorks Hartford, Joe's Pub. Adam is a founding Co-Artistic Director of UNTITLED Musical Project and holds an M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Collaboration from Temple University. @adamjrineer

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