SOPHIA AND THE BEE-MAN Will Have Industry Readings Next Week

With a cast of Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional talent, Tony Award-winning producer Judith Manocherian (The Prom, Once On This Island) and IndieWorks Theatre Company (Christopher Michaels, Producing Artistic Director) will present two invitation-only industry staged readings of Sophia and The Bee-Man, a magical new family musical based on Frank R. Stockton's The Bee-Man of Orn fairytale. With music by Neil Radisch, lyrics by Kit Goldstein Grant, and a book collaboratively written by both Radisch and Goldstein Grant, the readings will be staged at Ripley-Grier Studios in New York City on Monday, November 18, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Christopher Michaels directs a cast of eight including Korie Lee Blossey* (Genie in Disney's Aladdin), Eli Gonzalez (El Otro Oz), Fernell Hogan* (Kimberly Akimbo, The Prom), Kendyl Ito* (Soft Power), Rebecca Larkin* (South Pacific, Avenue Q), Mary Malaney (Single Rider), Manu Narayan* (star of Bombay Dreams, Company), and Jessica Sheridan* (The Music Man, Helly Dolly!). Music direction by Joseph Ivan. *member, Actors' Equity Association. 

When the villagers of Orn find themselves fed up with the eccentric Bee-Man and his ever-buzzin' bees, they convince Sorcery Girl Sophia to transform him. Perfect timing, too, as she only has until nightfall to get her transformation merit badge! There's just one catch: subjects have to agree to be transformed, and the Bee-Man loves his life just the way it is. Sophia sets out to change that – and change him! But when her misguided mission sets off a chain of events that puts all of Orn in danger, Sophia realizes that maybe she's the one who needs to change.

The runtime is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.

Long-time collaborators, Kit Goldstein Grant and Neil Radisch (The Nose, The Wrong Box) began working on Sophia and The Bee-Man in early 2019 and through the pandemic, having been inspired by Frank Stockton's The Bee-Man of Orn fairytale. The creative team is now seeking interest from industry professionals to advance the musical to a workshop or full production.

This is not the first collaboration between IndieWorks, the writers. the director, and producer. In 2020/2021, Manocherian served as a producer for the 12-time award winning first season of Bite-Sized Broadway: A Mini-Musical Podcast, which premiered a new mini-musical every episode performed by live musicians and Broadway, West End, and Hollywood talent. The second episode, Blue Cross Blues, featured music and lyrics by Radisch, direction by Michaels, and starred Broadway veterans Karen Mason (Mamma Mia!), Ann Harada (Schmigadoon), Alan H. Green (The Karate Kid), and Lance Roberts (The Music Man).

In 2019, Manocherian was a producer for IndieWorks' first mainstage production, The Giant Hoax, written by Goldstein Grant and directed and produced by Michaels. The family musical had its NYC premiere at Theatre Row and centered around the Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous archaeological hoaxes in American history, told through the lens of a fictional little girl named Emily. Additionally, Michaels has directed numerous productions of musicals written by Goldstein Grant over their nine-year collaborative relationship.