Justin Guarini, Zak Resnick, Jason Tam & More Set for BRAVE NEW WORLD Musical Lab

The Sheryl Kaller helmed musical adaption of the Aldous Huxley classic BRAVE NEW WORLD will present two presentations on February 23rd at 3PM and February 24th at noon following the culmination of a two week experimental AEA Lab.

BRAVE NEW WORLD: A BRAND NEW MUSICAL has a book by Ben Andron, Music by Jonnie Rockwell and Grammy & Emmy Award Winner John McDaniel and lyrics by Tony Nominee Bill Russell. Andy Einhorn is the Music Director for the AEA lab. Srda Vasiljevic is the Associate Director for the AEA lab.

The cast will feature famed American Idol Justin Guarini as Director Thomas Mond, Zak Resnick as John, Jason Tam as Bernard, Alison Luff as Lenina, Leah Hocking as Linda and also includes Michael Tacconi, Max Crumm, Michael Lowney, Tyler Hardwick, Corey Mosello, Jonathan David, Kayla Foster, Katie Klaus, Jessie Hooker Marissa McGowan, Lizzie Klemperer and Jade Eshete in the ensemble.

BRAVE NEW WORLD: A BRAND NEW MUSICAL tells the story of a future in which everybody is happy... because anything that could cause pain has been eliminated. True love (and its inevitable heartbreak) has been replaced with free sex; religion and artistic expression have been replaced with mindless sport & distraction, & citizens are brainwashed & drugged into a perpetual state of happiness. Humans don't even reproduce anymore; they are hatched in test tubes to avoid the dangers of family. But there are reservations where savages still live according to the "old" ways. They are fenced in & know nothing of this perfect new world... until one such savage - John - is given special permission to leave & experience the wonders of civilization. Two worlds collide in Huxley's provocative story about love, humanity & loss, set against the backdrop of a world where the most dangerous thing you can do, is to have an original thought.

Book Writer, Ben Andron's first play White's Lies was produced Off-Broadway in 2010. Other plays include The Broken Snow (drama) & Breaking Bobby Stone (comedy). Ben worked closely with Disney TV Animation developing the animated series "Hunachi" for Jetix/ABC Family & wrote numerous episodes for the BBC animated series "Friends & Heroes." As a writer/producer of motion picture marketing, Ben has been creatively involved in the releases of major Hollywood films, including Inherent Vice (named Best Trailer of 2014), the Harry Potter films, and recently received the Grand Key Art for his work on The Lego Movie. He has produced additional behind-the-scenes content for several films, including Rango, It's Complicated & Point Break: Pure Adrenaline Edition, during which he spent a most unusual afternoon with Gary Busey.

Jonnie Rockwell (Co-Composer) is the spiritual grandchild of renowned early 20th Century Czech opera composer & folklorist, Leoš Janá?ek. Jonnie Rockwell studied music & art at Skidmore, is a classically trained pianist and a preeminent synthesizer programmer. She toured for ten years with several progressive orchestras & rock bands, prior to conceiving the musical adaptation of BRAVE NEW WORLD. She received critical acclaim for composing the music for off-Broadway's 2014 The Anthem. She is also a successful & well-respected physician on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

John McDaniel (Co-Composer) served as the Music Director or Supervisor on Broadway for Bonnie & Clyde (Drama Desk Nominated Orchestrator), Catch Me If You Can, Brooklyn (Producer & Orchestrator), Annie Get Your Gun, Taboo, Chicago, Grease, Patti LuPone on Broadway & Company - Original Cast in Concert at Lincoln Center. Television: "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" (2 Emmy Awards), "Friar's Roasts" '99-'02, "Tony Awards" '97-'00 as arranger, "A Rosie Christmas" (ABC), "A Family is a Family" (HBO). Recordings as Producer includeAnnie Get Your Gun (Grammy Award), The Maury Yeston Songbook, Bonnie & Clyde, Brooklyn, Taboo, The Journey Home(Malcolm Gets), John McDaniel at the Piano (Broadway, Christmas, Compositions & Live at Joe's Pub). Recently, Daughter of the Regiment (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Happy Days (National Tour), Bonnie & Clyde (La Jolla Playhouse & Asolo Theatre), Pirates! (Goodspeed Opera House, Paper Mill Playhouse, Huntington Theatre, Boston, St. Louis Muny). Music director/arranger for Tyne Daly in NYC & LA, as well as concert appearances with Cab Calloway, Shirley MacLaine, George Burns, Al Jarreau, Joel Grey, Carol Burnett, Frederica von Stade, Betty Buckley & most recently, Bette Midler. Guest Conductor at Symphony Orchestras in San Francisco, Indianapolis, Utah, Buffalo, Colorado, Baltimore & his hometown, St. Louis Symphony.

The works of Bill Russell (Lyricist) include Side Show (book and lyrics; music by Henry Krieger), Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (book and lyrics; music by Janet Hood), Pageant (book and lyrics, with Frank Kelly; music by Albert Evans; conception by Robert Longbottom), Lucky Duck (lyrics, book with Jeffrey Hatcher; music by Henry Krieger), Up in the Air (book and lyrics, music by Henry Krieger, conceived and directed by Amon Miyamoto) and The Last Smoker in America (book and lyrics; music by Peter Melnick). Mr. Russell received a Tony nomination for Side Show for book and shared a nomination with composer Henry Krieger for score. Everything's Ducky received the Will Glickman Award for Best New Play (in the San Francisco Bay Area) in 2000 and Garland Awards (presented by "Backstage West") for Best Score, Set and Costumes. He has also received two Commendation Awards from the Gilman-Gonzalez/Falla Foundation and was given an honorary degree by Morningside College in May 2003 and by the Boston Conservatory in May 2007.

Srda Vasiljevic (Associate Director) was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia a few months before the Bosnian War broke out and spent a great deal of his childhood living in refugee camps across Europe. Srda has had the privilege to work off and on Broadway developing new works with artists such as Terrence McNally, Sheryl Kaller, Moisés Kaufman, AnnMarie Milazzo, Daniel Beaty, Billy Porter, Nick Blaemire, Ryan Scott Oliver, Davind Henry Hwang, Christopher Durang, and Tectonic Theater Project. In 2015, Srda was named "WHO'S NEXT" by NEXT Magazine and described as "a theater wunderkind already making his mark on Broadway." Srda is also a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, ENCORES! Off-Center Artist's Board, and was named an Up & Coming Theatre Artist by SpeakEasy Stage Company.

Andy Einhorn (Music Director) boasts Broadway credits for Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (OBCR), Evita (OBCR), Brief Encounter, The Light in the Piazza, and Sondheim on Sondheim (OBCR, Grammy nom.) He most recently served as the music director and conductor for the Broadway production of Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway (OBCR).His tour work includes Sweeney Todd, The Light in the Piazza, Mamma Mia!, and The Lion King. Einhorn has worked at Goodspeed Opera House, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and PaperMill Playhouse. He was principal vocal coach and pianist for Houston Grand Opera's An Evening with Audra McDonald, a double-bill of Poulenc's La voix humaine and LaChiusa's Send. Einhorn has served as music director and pianist for McDonald since fall of 2011, performing with her at many venues including the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Avery Fisher Hall, and Carnegie Hall. Highlights of his 2014 - 2015 season engagements with Ms. McDonald include concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Teatro Real in Madrid. He has also music directed for Barbara Cook at Feinstein's and Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. Other cast albums include Stage Door Canteen and McDonald's newest release, Go Back Home. He served as the music director for HBO's Peabody Award winning documentary Six by Sondheimand music supervisor for Great Performances Peabody Award winning special "Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy" on PBS. Andy Einhorn is an honors graduate of Rice University.

Sheryl Kaller's (Director) direction was seen this past season on the world premiere of WHILE I YET LIVE by Billy Porter. She directed the Broadway production of Terence McNally's Tony nominated play MOTHERS AND SONS starring Tyne Daly. Sheryl recently directed the world premiere of Nick Blaemire's new musical A LITTLE MORE ALIVE at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company's Underground production of TOO MUCH TOO MUCH TOO MANY by Meghan Kennedy, and the LCT3 production of MR. JOY by Daniel Beaty. Ms. Kaller received a Tony Nomination for Best Director for the Broadway production of NEXT FALL by Geoffrey Nauffts. She has directed at many theaters including The New Group, Pasadena Playhouse, Primary Stages, Williamstown Theatre Festival, A.C.T., New York Stage and Film, The Geffen, Philadelphia Theater Company, Bucks County Playhouse, the York, EST, National Theater of the Deaf and Naked Angels. She has directed and developed a plethora of new plays and musicals with writers including Christopher Durang, Peter Melnick, Regina Taylor, Dick Beebe, Theresa Rebeck, Richard Dresser and Alan Menken. Sheryl is currently in development with David Henry Hwang, Winnie Holzman, Annmarie Milazzo, Kyle Jarrow, Bill Russell and Geoffrey Nauffts, among others.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos