Sophia Manicone, Natalie Toro and More Will Star in WATCHER IN THE WOODS Showcase Production

Producers announced today a fully staged showcase production of the new musical in development, WATCHER IN THE WOODS, music & orchestrations by Johanna Telander, book & lyrics by Douglas Thompson, music direction by Brian Walters, directed by Chase Kniffen, based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall. The showcase production will play Wednesday, September 11 – Sunday, September 15 at UrbanStages.

The showcase production of WATCHER IN THE WOODS will feature Sophia Manicone as “Jan/Karen Aylwood,” Natalie Toro as “Mrs. Aylwood,” Carson Worthy as  “Mark/Marcus/Charlie,” and Rachel Zatcoff as “Kate/Janet Fleming.”

The creative team includes: Chase Kniffen (Sets), David Marmon (Costumes), Joe Doran (Lighting), Elisabeth Weidner (Sound), Bryan Gonzalez (Hair & Wigs), Mo Guiberteau (Director of Production), Betty Kasper (Production Manager), Michelle Elizabeth (Production Stage Manager) and Meredith Hoddeson (Casting).

Further casting to be announced soon.

Watcher in the Woods: A New Musical is a supernatural family drama, intertwining themes of familial love, loss and reconnection with the supernatural mystery of R.L. Stein’s “Goosebumps” and the universe-expanding heart of E.T.

Summer. 1976. It’s been nearly a year, and Jan is still haunted by the traumatic loss of her father. Now, her mother has moved Jan and her little sister into a creepy old house, surrounded by dark woods. Here, the haunting is real. Forces she cannot see, and feelings that are not hers, compel Jan to unlock the fifty-year-old mystery of a young girl's disappearance in the woods. Someone, or something, wants her to know the truth: the only way out of the woods ... is through.

Other adaptations of the 1976 novel include the 1980 Walt Disney Studios film, The Watcher in the Woods, starring Bette Davis, David McCallum, and Kyle Richards; and the 2017 Lifetime remake, starring Anjelica Huston, directed by Melissa Joan Hart. Watcher in the Woods: A New Musical is an all-original work, solely based on, and expanded from, the novel.

For information and updates, visit WatcherInTheWoodsMusical.com