MEDUSA THE MUSICAL Will Have Developmental Readings Next Week Starring Kristolyn Lloyd, Jeremy Kushnier, and More

Developmental readings of Medusa The Musical, a new musical, with a book, music and lyrics by Wes Braver and Rachel Dean will be presented at Ripley Grier Studios (520 8th Avenue). There will be two (2) performances: Monday, March 13th @7:00 and Tuesday, March 14th @1:00pm. Seating is limited.

Everyone knows her name-most know her face-few know her story. But no one's seen it through her eyes. When Medusa becomes the first priestess of Athens to accuse a god of rape, it sparks a battle for the soul of the first democracy. This emotional epic asks who the real "monster" is, with a darkly catchy score fueled by rock, hip-hop, and jazz that breathes a fierce urgency into an ancient story.

Don't look away.

Directed by Chloe Treat, the cast features Kristolyn Lloyd (Medusa) Hannah Cruz (Eury), Jeremy Kushnier (Poseidon), Alison Cimmet (Steno), Olivia Phillip (Athena), Nick Fradiani (Perseus), Victoria Frings (Eritha), Kathel Griffin (Belo), Tristan Hernandez (Archon), Austin Ku (Thallo), Barrie Lobo McLain (Lia) and Alyssa Wray (Karpathia). The Music Directors are Walter Bobby McCoy and Ian LeRoy. The stage managers are Jessica Kate Mathews and Anthony Rigaglia . Casting by Stephen DeAngelis. The reading is produced by Sylvie Scowcroft.

Bios

Wes Braver (BOOK, MUSIC, LYRICS)
Wes is a D.C. native living in Brooklyn writing words and music for stage and film. Musicals: Medusa (w/ Rachel Dean), Vinegar Tom (dir. Carlos Armesto), Galapago (w/ Andrea More), Hear No Evil in the Year 2090. Concept albums: METADATA, about Edward Snowden, Love and Hate and Season 8, (w/ Sophie Capp) about Game of Thrones. Song cycle: Space Cases. Songs for the musical film Chatsworth, (HBO's New York Latino Film Festival), film scores: Youth, (SXSW, dir. Farida Zahran), The Block Plan (best film, Helsinki Film Fest). Songs featured at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, all the great Centers. Music featured in downtown dance projects and with the Broken Box Mime Company. B.A. in Music, Colorado College; M.F.A., NYU Tisch GMTWP.

Rachel Dean (BOOK, MUSIC, LYRICS)
Rachel Dean is a New York City-based composer, pianist, and music director. She is a rehearsal pianist for Hamilton and Moulin Rouge on Broadway as well as a staff pianist at NYU Steinhardt. An ASCAP award recipient, Rachel's work has been performed in New York, Tokyo, Miami, Ohio, Arizona, Michigan, and New Jersey. Other musicals in development include The Anxiety Project (with David Brush) and The Ballad of Janis Matthews and the Dodo Scouts (with Giancarlo Rodaz). Rachel is a member of ASCAP and AFM Local 802.

Chloe Treat (DIRECTOR)
Chloe Treat is a New York-based director and choreographer. Born and raised in the great, if not wildly problematic state of Texas, she directs and choreographs big-ass-musicals. Chloe is the director and choreographer of a number of new musicals and operas, most recently: Taking up Serpents and Holy Ground (The Glimmerglass Festival), Dave Malloy's Don't Stop Me (Manhattan School of Music and The Polyphone Festival), and Iron John (Irish Arts Center (upcoming)). Chloe is an associate artist for Heartbeat Opera where she choreographed Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, Daphnis and Chloe and Don Giovanni as well as co-directed a New York Times Critics' Pick production of Der Freischütz. Chloe has worked as an associate on a number of large commercial productions including Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway and the American Repertory Theater), Amelie (Berkeley Rep), and Heisenberg (Broadway). She has also directed and choreographed large musical productions at many educational institutions including Pace (Amelie), Manhattan School of Music (Spring Awakening, Iron John, Wild Party), The New School (Street Scene) and Wagner (Evita). Chloe has her BFA in Drama from Tisch School Of The Arts. She's an SDC Member and a Drama League Directing Fellow. Chloe was listed as one of the Broadway Women's Fund "Women to Watch" in 2020 and received a grant from Opera America for Women Stage Directors and Conductors in 2022. Chloe is the mother of two-year-old, Cora, and has presented her writing about the intersection of motherhood and directing in industry publications like the SDC journal. Her ultimate goal as a director is to create spaces that value equally both artistic excellence and treating people well.