New Musical ORLANDO Debuts In October At Theatre Row

ORLANDO, a new musical based on Virginia Woolf's classic novel, will debut Off-Broadway on Friday, October 11 at Theatre Row – Theatre 5 (410 West 42nd Street) for a limited engagement.

Directed by Kimille Howard, the new musical retelling of a feminist classic features book by Nora Brigid Monahan with music by Cynthia Saunders and lyrics by Tricia Dunn & Cynthia Saunders. Emily Young* (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson) heads a cast of nine as Virginia.

It's 1928, and Virginia Woolf sees a crumbling world. Corruption, pollution, an empire in decline – and yet somehow, shining through it all… there's Orlando. A miraculous, singular being who defies description and has lived over three hundred years, Orlando captivates Virginia's imagination and inspires her to write a fantastical, biographical adventure that one day will be called the “most charming love-letter in literature.” In this new musical, Orlando charts the rise and fall of queens, kings, and poets and sets to song the immortal love of two of the most brilliant women of the 20th century.

“The groundbreaking 1928 novel Orlando is an epic story of self-discovery and non-conformity that immortalizes the love between two queer women, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West”, said co-writer Nora Brigid Monahan. “Cindy Saunders first started working on this score over forty years ago, and it has been a joy and a privilege to collaborate with her this last year and to write the book to this new musical adaptation of my all-time favorite novel. Every time I reread it, I fall in love with Orlando a little bit more – and I think audiences at Theatre Row will share that sentiment.”

The cast features Matty Balkum*; LaDonna Burns* (White Girl in Danger); Jessie Cannizzaro* (Puffs); Tymothee Harrell; Micki Hardenberg*; Evie Schuckman; Ariella Serur* (1776 Revival); Anita Welch-Smith*; and Emily Young* (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson).

ORLANDO includes set design by David Goldstein; costume design by Lisa Renee Jordan; lighting design by Emmanuel Delgado; sound design by Guy Harrington; production props is Brendan McCann; choreographer is Michael Raine; music director is Megan Smythe; production stage manager is Emma Frances* and assistant stage manager is Erika Graff. Visceral Entertainment serves as the General Manager.

ABOUT THE CREATORS:

Nora Brigid Monahan (Book) is a playwright and performer best known for creating and starring in the cult-hit solo musical DIVA: Live From Hell (music & lyrics by Alexander Sage Oyen), which has been performed around the world. Other writing credits include the plays Aunt Jack and Maximilien Robespierre Did Nothing Wrong. As an actor, Nora has originated roles by Charles Busch, Ken Urban, Randy Sharp, and James Presson, and most recently starred in the new musical A Complicated Woman by Jonathan Brielle and Ianne Fields Stewart at Goodspeed's Terris Theatre. Orlando has been Nora's favorite novel since she first read it at age 16.

Cynthia Saunders (Music, Lyrics, Orchestrations) wrote her first song when she was eight years old. Her first musical, Tropical Rhythm, was performed in her high school auditorium. She went on to study music theory and composition at Adelphi and Syracuse University and then received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hartford. For many years, Cynthia performed and toured the country in several successful all-women rock bands, including Sweet Jenny Grit and Siren. In 1984, she began work on the score to Orlando. Cynthia is proud to be making her off-Broadway debut with the musical that has been her passion project for the last 40 years.

Kimille Howard (Director) is a director, deviser, writer, filmmaker, Assistant Stage Director at the Metropolitan Opera, and Artistic Director of the Lucille Lortel Theatre's NYC Public High School Playwriting Fellowship Program. Recent credits: Two Corners (Finger Lakes Opera), Sanctuary Road (Virginia Opera), Treemonisha (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson (Glimmerglass, Washington National Opera, Opera Carolina, Pittsburgh Opera). She is a recipient of OPERA America's 2023 Robert L. B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize.

Michael Raine (Choreographer). New York: Joe's Pub, Theater for a New City, Ars Nova, NYCT, National Sawdust, The Folksbiene, Jewish Rep, 92nd St Y, The Flea. Regional: Yale Rep, Wolf Trap Opera, The Weston Playhouse, Barn Arts, Le Petit Theatre, The Egg. International: Rent Japan, Creativiva Toronto. 

Megan Smythe (Music Director) is a New York based music director and pianist. She most recently was the music assistant on the new musical Working Girl featuring music by Cyndi Lauper, Rob Hyman, and Sammy James, Jr. As a music director, she has most notably worked on Norwegian Cruise Line's production of SIX the Musical and Burn the Floor. Other theater credits include The 2nd National Tour of Anastasia the Musical, Escape from Margaritaville (Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts), Sweeney Todd, and Ragtime (Hangar Theater). Megan holds two bachelor's degrees in piano performance and music education from Ithaca College.

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