'Soul Searching' and 'Generations' To Appear at Nuyorican As Part of NYMF

On the heels of concert performances at DR2 Theater, D-Lounge, Bowery Poetry Club, and Don't Tell Mama's, The New Rock Musical SOUL SEARCHING - along with GENERATIONS, The All-Kids Rock Musical Workshop - will appear in the 2008 New York Musical Theater Festival (www.nymf.org) with a series of special performances at the Nuyorican Poets Café, 236 East 3rd Street between B & C.

SOUL SEARCHING, in active development for off-Broadway, takes the stage four times at 9pm: on Monday, September 15; Sunday, September 21; Monday, September 22, and  Tuesday, September 23.  GENERATIONS, preparing for an off-off-Broadway premiere, plays three times at 7pm: on Monday, September 15; Sunday, September 21; and Monday, On September 8, "A Night on the Town with Black Box (and Friends)" will take place from 7-11pm at Bar Nine, 807 Ninth Avenue between 53rd & 54th Streets, NY, NY 10019.  This event will benefit the artists involved with SOUL

SEARCHING and GENERATIONS just before their appearances in NYMF.  The evening will feature a cash bar, raffle, and an eclectic array of comedy acts such as Chadwick Elliot, Stephanie Holmes, and the improv groups Comedy Period and Do You Like This In Your Face?.  Rock acts will include Melissa Larson; Matt Dragstem; Jackie Schwartz, Vanessa Altshuler, Dana Shaw, Giselle D'Souza, and the house band from SOUL SEARCHING; aswell as Dan Viola, Rachel Shamosh, Nicole DeLuca, and Jessica Lieberman fromGENERATIONS.  The cover charge is just $5.00.  www.blackboxnyc.com

In The New York Musical SOUL SEARCHING - which began its path towards off-Broadway just three seasons back as a workshop at Theater for the New City - a thirty year-old single woman on New York's Upper West Side embarks on a comedic and poignant search for her soul-mate with the help of her three best married friends, all engulfed in relationship troubles of their own.  Now featuring the electrifying voices and acting talents of Vanessa Altshuler, Melissa Bayern, Noah DeBiase, Chadwick Elliot, Giselle D'Souza,  Jackie Schwartz, Dana Shaw, and David Thornton, SOUL SEARCHING also includes a live rock band consisting of bassist/band leader Jon Taub, drummer Jason Horowitz, and the renown electric guitarists Iakov Kremenskiy and Vitaa.

In GENERATIONS, The All-Kids Rock Musical Workshop - which came to life in the summer of 2007 and is now in ongoing development at Englewood's BergenPAC (www.bergenpac.org) - a group of disparate teenagers help a twelve year-old girl and her grandfather overcome potential tragedy and find common ground.  The cast features a tight-knit group of Broadway-bound talents, ages 9 - 19, from NY and NJ including Daniel Chelemer, Nicole Deluca, Shlomo Goffstein, Angelina Kelley, Jessica Lieberman, Olivia Rand, Sara Ravid, Chloe Roe, Rachel Shamosh, Rebecca Sichel, Yuval Talby, and Dan Viola. GENERATIONS also includes a pop/rock quartet featuring the musicians from SOUL SEARCHING.

Both shows have stories, music and lyrics, and direction by Matt Okin (A MATCH MADE IN MANHATTAN, ONE INNOCENT WOMAN, CHERRY HILL, DESTINATIONS, SECOND CHANCES, TWIST OF FAITH) and music and lyrics by Avi Kunstler (A MATCH MADE IN MANHATTAN, DESTINATIONS, SECOND CHANCES, TWIST OF FAITH).   

Over the last 35 years, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe has served as a home for groundbreaking works of poetry, music, theater, visual arts and poetry slam.  A multicultural and multi-arts institution, the Nuyorican opens its arms to audiences and artists of all backgrounds; our extended community of regulars is a reflection of New York City's diverse population.  Allen Ginsberg called the Cafe "the most integrated  place on the planet".  For more details call (212) 780-9386.