NYTB IN THE D-LOUNGE Presents ACADEMIA NUTS Tonight, 10/15

Tonight, October 15, 2012, New York Theatre Barn will present NYTB in the D-Lounge, its monthly concert for emerging musical theatre writers (now in its 6th year), at the Daryl Roth Theatre. The October 2012 installment of NYTB in the D-Lounge features an excerpt from the new musical Academia Nuts called Speaking Geek: The Songs of Academia Nuts, as well as a selection of songs by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson. The monthly series is executive produced by Laura Brandel and Jason Najjoum.

The new musical Academia Nuts features music by Julian Blackmore with book and lyrics by Becca Anderson and Dan Marshall. Academia Nuts is a nerd-off of epic proportions that raises questions about the ways we learn and how we choose to value our learning and ourselves. Meet Maggie McCutter, an u?ber-brainy home-schooler from Weiner, Arkansas. Maggie, along with her creepy siblings Mary and Joseph, and her ferociously evangelical mother Chrystal, are primed to win The National High School Quiz Bowl Championship at MIT. The top prize, a life-changing scholarship, will give Maggie a chance to break away from her extremist family and live the life of her dreams! However, all of this changes when Maggie falls, and falls hard for Tyler O'Neil, a football-loving slacker and member of the opposing team. This excerpt of Academia Nuts will be directed by Sam Pinkleton (The Lyons, Cinderella) and features Alyse Alan Louis (Mamma Mia!), Grasan Kingsberry (Nice Work If You Can Get It, Cinderella), Charissa Bertels (A Christmas Story), Julianne Wick Davis (GLAAD Award and Jonathan Larson award winner for Southern Comfort), Emily Afton (Hair), Sean Patterson, James LaRosa, Raja Burrows, and Nina Ablan. For more information about Academia Nuts, visit www.academianutsthemusical.com.

In addition to Academia Nuts, NYTB will also present We Wrote That: The Songs of Samsel and Anderson, a collection of songs written by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson, the sister-in-law of Robert Lopez (Book of Mormon, Avenue Q). Samsel and Anderson are excited to present brand new material from Camp Wish-No-More, a new musical about a rehab camp for girls and boys who believe they are magical characters from various fairy tales. They will also debut material from other projects that are currently in the works. The set features Natalie Charle? Ellis, Martin Landry (Dear Edwina, Son of a Gun), Raquel Hecker, Elizabeth Hagstedt (Sweeney Todd, national tour), Melissa Weisbach, Jonathan Monro, Dave Christensen, Michael Shapiro, and Caitlin McCarthy, with Elyssa Samsel at the piano.

The October 2012 installment of NYTB in the D-Lounge will take place tonight, October 15, 2012 at 7:30pm at the D-Lounge, located at the Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 East 15th St. (just east of Union Square). There is a $10 cover, plus a 2- drink minimum. For more information and to learn more about New York Theatre Barn, visit: www.YouTube.com/NYTheatreBarn.