New Musical THE INTERNATIONALS Set for 'Music at I-House' Series

A fictitious Patti Lu Pone is the central character in The Internationals, a new musical by musical theater writer and comedienne Emily Rose Simons, directed by Alexander Notkin, and with musical direction by Kengchakaj Kengkarnka, which will be performed by residents of International House (I-House) on Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 PM as part of its new music performance series, Music at I-House: Then and Now.

The Tony Award winning actress, who begins previews next week for the new Broadway musical War Paint (lyrics by Michael Korie, music by Scott Frankel, and book by Doug Wright), was a resident of International House when she was a student at the Juilliard School in 1969. I-House, the Riverside Drive residential community founded by the Rockefeller and Dodge families in1924, is dedicated to preparing the next generation of globally-minded leaders.

With new songs and book and lyrics by Ms. Simons, who is the I-House Resident Producer for this event, as well as such standards associated with Miss Lu Pone as Cole Porter's Anything Goes, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice's Don't Cry For Me Argentinal, Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's Some People and Everything's Coming Up Roses, and Stephen Sondheim's Being Alive, The Internationals aims to capture how the mission and spirit of I-House are personified by the people who live there every day. The Assistant Music Director is Miss Simons; the producers are Heather Mangrum and Julie Pape; the Assistant Producer is Dilshad Shawki; and the musicians are guitarist Pablo Crespo and Ali Comerford, violin and viola.

Tickets are $30.00 in advance, $35.00 at the door (and $125.00 for VIP tickets) and are available here. International House is located at 500 Riverside Drive in Manhattan. Proceeds from all performances support International House leadership programs and financial aid for deserving residents.

Said Miss Simons, "It's often been said that you can experience the world at large through International House, with its community representing 100 different countries, continuous dialogues and cultural celebrations. The Internationals will show how additionally, life at I-House is impacted by, and reflects, life's real ups and downs."

The central character is young actress Mati DeMone who with her fellow house mates experience love and loss within the House, the pain of being far away from home, the balance of school work and daily life in the midst of a terror attack or natural disaster at home, and learning about themselves and growing through the surrogate family I-House provides.

Emily Rose Simons is a London-born, New York dwelling musical theater writer and comedienne. Selected Composer-Lyricist credits include: Confessions of A Rabbi's Daughter (Edinburgh Fringe, Off-West-End, UK Regional Tour), The Shakespeare Hostel (Selected to be developed at Catwalk Artist Residency), "My Mum" (Performed in William Finn's Songs by Ridiculously Talented Composers and Lyricists You Probably Don't Know But Should at Barrington Stage) and Emily Rose Needs A Visa. The Cabaret. (Off-Off-Broadway). Select Composer credits include: Loitering (Manhattan Repertory Theater), Find the Golden Bird (Thespis Theatre Festival, NYC), Julie (Tristan Bates Theatre, Off-West-End), and "Far from Heaven" from Half Way There (Finalist in the Styles and Drewe Songwriting Competition, Garrick Theater, West End). She has performed stand-up comedy all over the UK, including open and middle spots with UK TV names, and has continued to develop as a stand-up in New York. She was recently selected for The Armory improv house team, Bad People. Miss Simons received a BA in Music and her MA in Composition from the University of Bristol, spent two years on the Book, Music, Lyrics workshops in London workshops based on BMI format as a composer, as well as one year on the Book, Music, Lyrics' Book writing track, and recently received an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, Tisch, NYU. She was on the reading committee for the New York Musical Festival this year, and is currently on an Apprenticeship at The CRY HAVOC Company.

Over four distinctly curated events, Music at I-House: Then and Now, which launched on Tuesday, January 24 with A Celebration of the Words and Music of Leonard Cohen (Class of '57), celebrates the words and music of some the House's most famous former residents through exciting interpretations by a highly talented roster of current residents from around the world who proudly share the experience and honor of learning through living at the legendary Riverside Drive institution. The final event this season will be on Thursday, April 20, A Tribute to Sakura Sweethearts at I-House. Resident performers include graduate students from Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes School of Music, as well as highly talented part-time musicians studying engineering, economics, law, education, and other areas at Columbia, NYU and other area institutions. This exclusive series continues in the strong tradition of cross-cultural collaboration at I-House, an important piece of the resident experience since the first class of residents entered in 1924. This series compliments other longstanding and acclaimed resident performance series including the All Nations Festival and Sunday Suppers.

International House or I-House is a non-profit programmatic and residential center dedicated to fostering the next generation of global leaders. Each year, I-House serves as home to nearly 700 carefully selected graduate students and young professionals from 100 countries, representing more than 70 leading universities, businesses, and cultural, non-profit, and government institutions. We provide unrivaled opportunities for residents to learn and thrive through daily interaction in a culturally, politically, and economically diverse community and through programs designed to encourage diversity of thought and experience. I-House is the destination of choice for the best and the brightest of the millennial generation who seek the skills necessary to navigate and lead the conversations that will shape our world. Learn more at www.ihouse-nyc.org.