New York Theatre Barn to Launch 6th Annual NYTB Concert Series, 7/9

New York Theatre Barn (Joe Barros, Artistic Director; Jason Najjoum, Producing Director; Barry Levine, Managing Director) will launch the 6th consecutive year of its acclaimed monthly platform for emerging musical theater writers, NYTB in the D-Lounge, on July 9, 2012 at the D-Lounge of the Daryl Roth Theatre. Featured writing teams will be Charlie Sohne and Tim Rosser, and Adam Spiegel and Dan Wolpow, all alumni of the Tony Award-winning BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Featured writers for later months in the 6th season will be announced at a later date.

Since its founding in May 2007, NYTB in the D-Lounge has helped to launch the careers of many of the most lauded new musical theater writing talents, such as Adam Gwon, Ryan Scott Oliver, Sammy Buck, Joe Iconis, Julianne Wick Davis/Dan Collins, Eli Bolin/Sam Forman, Jeff Thomson/Jordan Mann, Sam Willmott, Joshua H. Cohen, and Brian Feinstein, among others. To date, video clips from this series have been viewed over 400,000 times on YouTube, providing essential exposure for new musical theater work and the artists that create it.

Artistic Director Joe Barros reminisces, “When we decided to produce our first concert in May 2007, we had no idea it would turn into a mainstay that would bring our community together month after month, sparking hundreds of artistic relationships and incubating so many notable projects. I get so excited everyone month to see what the next set of writers will bring – those in attendance get to experience the future of our artform, and then grab a drink with the creators. It’s priceless.”

Actors such as Katie Thompson, Lindsay Mendez, Carrie Manolakos, Alex Brightman, Marla Mindelle, Jared Gertner, Donna Vivino, Lilli Cooper, Anastasia Barzee, Gideon Glick, Kenita Miller, Quentin Earl Darrington, Lisa Howard, Heather Christian, and more have performed in the series. Executive Producers are Laura Brandel and Jason Najjoum.

Next month, Sohne and Rosser will premiere songs from their new musicals The Boy Who Danced On Air and The Profit of Creation (the latter was previously developed at The Johnny Mercer Workshop, The Lark, and Yale Institute for Musical Theater). Spiegel and Wolpow will showcase material from their new musical Cloned! as well as other songs from their zany catalogue.
The July 2012 installment of NYTB in the D-Lounge will take place on Monday, July 9 at 7:30 PM in the D-Lounge of the Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 East 15th Street. Cover is $10, plus a two-drink minimum. Tickets may be purchased at the door by cash or credit, and the doors will open at 7:15 PM. For more information and to learn more about New York Theatre Barn, visit: www.NYTheatreBarn.org.

New York Theatre Barn is a non-profit theatre company founded in 2007 and dedicated to the investigation, development, and advancement of new works. The company is attracted to new work that mirrors our diverse global community so that the world can better understand itself. Productions include the all-female musical I Married Wyatt Earp (59E59 Theatres/Prospect Theater Co.) with Heather Mac Rae and Carolyn Mignini, the musical Wood (New York Musical Theatre Festival/Emily Miller) with Cady Huffman, and Bridget Bailey’s award winning solo play Child of Hungry Times. New York Theatre Barn has been instrumental in the development of Adam Gwon’s Ordinary Days, the musical parody Hey, You Know What Movie Would Make A Good Musical?, Cait Doyle's Hot Mess in Manhattan, and Katie Thompson's R.R.R.E.D. The company’s monthly platform for new work, NYTB in the D-Lounge, provides a community and a home for artists to discover and grow within their art form. New York Theatre Barn is a proud member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.

Charlie Sohne has written lyrics for Tina Girlstar (book: Anton Dudley, music: Brian Feinstein) which was developed at NY Stage and Film and optioned by Olympus Theatricals; The Shadow Sparrow (book: Anton Dudley, music: Keith Gordon) which was developed at The O’Neill National Music Theater Conference; and Kissing The Underworld (book: Anton Dudley) which was commissioned by the Cherry Lane Theater. He wrote the book and lyrics for The Profit of Creation (music: Tim Rosser): developed at ASCAP’s Johnny Mercer Songwriters Workshop and the 2011 Yale Institute for Musical Theater, and The Boy Who Danced On Air. Charlie’s a member of the Monthly Meeting of the Minds at the Lark and was selected for three Lark Retreats. He’s a member of the advanced class at the BMI Workshop.

Tim Rosser is a composer and music director. Composer: The Profit of Creation (book/lyrics: Charlie Sohne; workshopped at the 2011 Yale Institute for Musical Theater and with roundtables at The Lark and Mercer Songwriters Project. A song from the show was one of a few from the Mercer workshop to be featured in a gala for Stephen Schwartz), The Boy Who Danced On Air (book/lyrics: Charlie Sohne), Oprah Winfrey Presents (book/lyrics: Jennifer Doerr; featured in the BMI Showcase at The Zipper Theater, 2008), Plateaus (contemporary concert piece, represented the composition department at the Oberlin Conservatory Honors Concert 2006). MD/Pianist: The Addams Family (rehearsal pianist/keyboard 2), The Suicide (pianist), Tea with Chachaji (Making Books Sing; MD). Music seen at the Beechman, NYTB, NEXT. BMI Advanced Class Alumnus.

Adam Spiegel is a composer, singer, actor, pianist and music director, among many other things. As a composer in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, he met lyricist Dan Wolpow, with whom he has written the hilarious original musical, Cloned!, a musical adaptation of Back To The Future, and the YouTube video, "Evil Barbershop Quartet." He has also written music and lyrics for the original summer camp musical Camp Rolling Hills (book & lyrics by David Spiegel & Stacy Davidowitz), and has written and arranged many songs for his own solo act. Adam is a graduate of NYU. www.adamspiegelmusic.com

Dan Wolpow contributed several songs to “Keepers: A Broadway Benefit” which was performed in November 2010 at Studio 54 and featured in the 2011 New York International Fringe Festival. Dan’s music has also been heard in association with The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers’ Group, and his short musical, A Lunchtime Story, has been performed at Wayne State University. With Adam Spiegel, he wrote music and lyrics for The Spiegel & Wolpow Musical Comedy Hour (& A Half)! at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Next up, Cloned!—an original musical about the hilarious dangers of human cloning (also with Adam Spiegel). www.danwolpow.com

www.YouTube.com/NYTheatreBarn @NYTheatreBarn