Lauren Patten, Jelani Remy, and More Will Present Songs From New Musicals at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Gala

Over 25 artists will appear live at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat's gala "Songs of our Summer from Rhinebeck to Chelsea" at Chelsea Table + Stage on November 18 at 6:30pm. Selections from 8 new musicals developed this year in Rhinebeck will be presented. The hosts for the evening are 4-time TONY award-nominee Judy Kuhn (LES MISERABLES, CHESS, SHE LOVES ME, FUN HOME) and Adam Chanler-Berat (PETER & THE STARCATCHER, AMÉLIE). Performers include TONY winner Lauren Patten (JAGGED LITTLE PILL), Jerry Dixon (ONCE ON THIS ISLAND), Jelani Remy (BACK TO THE FUTURE), Christopher Sears (CULT OF LOVE), Adrian Blake Enscoe (SWEPT AWAY), Kerstin Anderson (MY FAIR LADY), Heath Saunders (COMPANY) and Garnet Williams (PPAC's CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL)

The writers sharing their new musicals include Oscar-nominated Peter Hedges, 2024 Richard Rodgers and Larson Award winner Veronica Mansour, and Emmy-winning creative team the Q Brothers Collective. Guests will be treated to an open bar all evening, hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction, and the concert. Tickets are $500. There are discounts for guests under 40 and VIP packages available. Proceeds from the evening will support musical theatre writer residencies in the Hudson Valley in 2025.

Created in 2011, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat provides weeklong residencies for musical theatre writers to focus solely on writing their musicals in the Hudson Valley. Triple R gives one team two readings and a residency to accelerate the development of their musical. Many musicals developed at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat have received world premieres: A.D. 16 at Olney Theatre Center (MD); BHANGRA NATION at La Jolla Playhouse (CA); NOIR at The Alley Theatre (TX); ON THIS SIDE OF THE WORLD at East West Players (CA); MEXODUS at Baltimore Center Stage (MD) and TL; DR: THELMA LOUISE; DYKE REMIX at Diversionary Theatre (CA). OPERATION MINCEMEAT, by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts won the 2024 Olivier award and is opening on Broadway in February 2025.

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat's programs receive major funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, The Noël Coward Foundation in honor of Geoffrey Johnson, and The National Foundation for Musical Theatre. Major individual support comes from Liz Armstrong, Paul Feuerman and Bruce Grivetti, Molly McEneny, Liz and Bill Mills, and Steve and Paula Reynolds.