Lesli Margherita, Josh Lamon, and More Cast in EMOJILAND THE MUSICAL at NYMF

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for EMOJILAND, an official selection of the 2018 New York Musical Festival that was Inspired by The Unicode Standard, and takes place within the imaginary digital world inside a smartphone. Co-created by husband-and-wife-team Laura Nicole Harrison (book, music & lyrics) & Keith Harrison (book, music & lyrics), the production is directed by Thomas Caruso (named NYMF's Best Director in 2014), and will very appropriately begin performances on World Emoji Day, July 17th with a run through July 22nd in the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row.

Having garnered acclaim for being a 2018 Richard Rodgers Award Finalist, EMOJILAND's cast features Olivier Award Winner Lesli Margherita (Matilda, Dames at Sea) as Princess, Josh Lamon (Groundhog Day, Finding Neverland) as Prince, Keith Harrison (Million Dollar Quartet) as Nerd Face, Laura Nicole Harrison (Showtime's Masters of Sex & Weeds) as Smize, Jordon Bolden (Bushwick Beats) as Skull, Cooper Howell (Spamilton) as Sunny, Angela Wildflower (Motown the Musical) as Police Officer, Megan Kane (ABC's For The People) as Construction Worker, and Jessie Alagna as Pile of Poo & others. The cast also features Brandon L. Armstrong, Chloe Fox and Alex G. Kunz.

EMOJILAND features musical direction by Jonathan Ivie (Rock Ages, ...Great Comet of 1812), choreography by Kenny Ingram (Showboat, The Lion King), sound design by Kenneth Goodwin (Hedwig, Groundhog Day), lighting design by Jamie Roderick (Aladdin, Motown), costume design by Sarah Zinn (Marvel's Deadpool, The Hunger Games), scenic design by David Goldstein (Church and State, That Golden Girls Show), dramaturgy by Mark-Eugene Garcia, general management by Visceral Entertainment - Michael Chase Gosselin & Tim Sulka (Jersey Boys, Matilda), and is co-produced by Jacquelyn Bell (#Bway4BLM, The Band's Visit). The Production Stage Manager is Heather Klein, and casting is provided by Binder Casting - Chad Eric Murnane, CSA & Justin Bohon. Since emojis have no inherent race, nationality or, in most cases, gender, casting of the production was completely fluid, with an emphasis on overall diversity and imaginative juxtaposition.

Not to be confused with, and very much unlike "The Emoji Movie", EMOJILAND is an electric ensemble piece about a diverse community of archetypes who take one another at face value: a smiling face dealing with depression; a princess who doesn't want a prince; a skull dying for deletion; a nerd face too smart for his own good; a face with sunglasses who can't see past his own reflection; and a police officer and construction worker who just want to work together. When a software update threatens to destroy life as they know it, these seemingly disconnected characters become inextricably interlinked.

"Emojis are the musical theatre of text messaging: a stylized representation of the human experience that makes life a little - or a lot - more fun. The opportunity to bring our emoji 'font' to life at NYMF is an absolute dream come true," says the show's producer, Jacquelyn Bell.

Performances of EMOJILAND are on July 17th @ 8pm, July 19th @ 9pm, July 21st @ 9pm, July 22nd @ 1pmand July 22nd @ 5pm.

Tickets for EMOJILAND go on sale June 14th. The NYMF PASS is another way to experience the New York Musical Festival. To purchase a pass, please visit: www.emojiland.com/tickets

The running time is approximately 2 hours, including intermission.