Photos: IRREPLACEABLE Holds First Developmental Reading at Spark Theatre Festival

Irreplaceable, A New Musical held its first developmental reading of an excerpt on September 9, 2024, at the Chain Theater in New York, as part of the Emerging Artists Theatre’s Spark Theatre Festival NYC. Check out photos below!

Developed by a multicultural writing team, the musical features a Book by Ei Sugai, Music & Japanese Lyrics by Yu Okuda, English Lyrics & Book by Adam Mathias, and Dramaturgy & Additional Story by Ayumi Okada and Yasuko Uchida.

The cast included Luke Di Liddo, Charissa Bertels*, Greg Carter*, Angelika Christoforou, and E.B. Hinnant (*appearing courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association).

About the Show: Irreplaceable explores the theme of "care" through a Japanese popular music-influenced score. The story intertwines the lives of Kento, a high school senior in Shizuoka, Japan, who dedicates himself to caring for his disabled grandfather to avoid confronting his own desires, and Naomi, a middle-aged single mother who, now that her daughter is almost grown, seeks to rejuvenate her career but feels constrained by societal expectations linking social value to career success. The show is set to be developed in both the US and Japan, with this reading marking its first public presentation.

For more information, email irreplaceablemusical@gmail.com.

Photo Credit: Bambi Everson