MAGIA, BIG QUARTERLY, and FORTY ELEPHANTS Launch 12th Season of New York Theatre Barn's Choreography Lab
The lab launches on Sunday, April 6, 2025, at 7PM ET.
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 17, 2025
New York Theatre Barn will launch the 12th season of its Choreography Lab on Sunday, April 6, 2025, at 7PM ET. The lab will be presented at Open Jar Studios in NYC (1601 Broadway, 11th floor) and will be streamed live. Curated by Avital Asuleen, the Choreography Lab is the only platform for choreographers and writers to collaborate on movement for original musicals during incubation.
The New Works Lab will support three original musicals and three choreographers who will bring them to life on their feet for the first time. The three musicals include: Magia - with book/music/lyrics by Letitia Bullard and Nathan Leitão, Big Quarterly - with book/music/lyrics by S. Todd Townsend, Luke McLemore, and Kim Kilby, and Forty Elephants - with book and lyrics by Laurie Hocgman and music and lyrics by Bryan Blaskie. The featured choreographers are Jenny Boissiere (Magia), Jōvan Dansberry (Big Quarterly), and Avital Asuleen (Forty Elephants).
Magia, previously featured in the company's award-winning New Works Series, is a vibrant celebration of Afro-Latino-Caribbean cultures and experiences in an imaginative fantasy musical with flavors from the writers' home countries: The Bahamas and Brazil. Big Quarterly is a hip-hop gospelized musical, centering the legacy of Peter Spencer – a formerly enslaved man turned pastor who sparked the Big Quarterly – a joyful reunion for freedom in Delaware and a chance to secure passage on the Underground Railroad. Forty Elephants follows a group of female pickpockets in a dual-timeline comedy about the power of love, the social diminution of women, and the biggest score they can fit in their pockets.
Funded in part by a generous gift from the Amber Foundation, the Choreography Lab was created to elevate and expand the use of dance in musical theatre. New York Theatre Barn will continue to provide Live CART and captioning services provided in part by NYSCA/TDF TAP Plus. The lab's unique programming supports choreographer development, fosters collaboration between writers and choreographers earlier in the creative process, and serves as an educational forum where all parties can strengthen and specify how dance can be used to convey story and character. For more information, visit New York Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.
Videos