REINCARNATION BLUES Will Perform Concert Version in NYC

With a book by award-winning playwright Laura Zlatos (Happily After Ever) and music & lyrics by indie-rock musicians Coyle Girelli and Ben Thornewill, Reincarnation Blues is a contemporary fantasy with a sweepingly melodic and electrifying score, featuring the mystical and comical tale of a soul who is reincarnated through 10,000 lifetimes to be with his one true love: Death herself. 
 
In addition to Girelli & Thornewill playing in the band, the concert will star actor/singer Eleri Ward (Gatsby at A.R.T.), Morgan Siobhan Green (Hadestown Tour, Be More Chill), Jeff Taylor (music artist who has performed and recorded with Dave Matthews and Sara Bareilles) and more to be announced shortly.
 
“After reading Reincarnation Blues during the pandemic lockdown, I was immediately hooked - each page spoke to me like a song. Happily, Ben and Laura had the same reaction to it,” says Coyle Girelli.  “We're thrilled to bring this funny, joyful and soulful experience to the stage.”
 
Ben Thornewill adds, “There is truly something remarkable about this story- it's an extraordinary outer-worldly journey about the true power of love. We can't wait for an audience to experience it live.”
 
"This story is unlike anything that's been on stage,” says librettist Laura Zlatos. “It's an epic tale that travels through all of time and space, and a touching love story you can't help but root for."
 
Of the musical adaptation, Michael Poore comments, “There's no thrill greater than seeing your book zoom to life in music. What this exceptional creative team has done with Reincarnation Blues is simply electrifying.”
 
An instant hit upon its publishing in 2017, Michael Poore's novel Reincarnation Blues was called “charming” and “surprisingly light and uplifting” by The New York Journal of Books. NPR delightedly adds, it's “the most fun you'll have reading about a man who has been killed by both catapult and car accident.” The Chicago Review of Books adds, “This book made me laugh out loud. And then a page later, it made me sob. Reminiscent of Tom Robbins and Christopher Moore, Poore finds humor in the dark absurdities of life.” 
 
In addition to the NYC concert, workshop reading performances will take place on April 24, 2025 at The Other Palace in London. The London readings are produced by the same team, with the addition of Holly Reiss as co-Executive Producer alongside Lisa Dozier Shacket, and Short Street serving as General Management. The musical is currently being developed for future stage productions in NYC and London. Originally developed in part at the 2023 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, Reincarnation Blues also became a 2024 Semi-Finalist for the O'Neill National Music Theater Conference.