THE SNOW QUEEN to Have New York Premiere at NYMF, 7/14-20

The Snow Queen will have its New York premiere this summer as part of The New York Music Theatre Festival (NYMF), celebrating its 11th Anniversary Season. With a book by Kirsten Brandt & Rick Lombardo, music byHaddon Kime, lyrics by Kirsten Brandt, Haddon Kime and Rick Lombardo, with additional music by Rick Lombardo, this new musical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fantastical coming-of-age adventure will be presented in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street - between 9th & 10th Aves.). Directed by Mr. Lombardo, performances will begin on July 14th and continue through July 20th.

The Snow Queen asks the question: How far would you go for a friend? Gerda is on a dangerous and whimsical quest to save her best friend Kai before he is trapped forever in the Snow Queen's palace. Along for the ride, the audience dares to enter a world where flowers sing, animals talk, and riddles yearn to be solved. With an original pop rock score, alluring ballads, urban steam punk flair, and the enigmatic Snow Queen, we soon see this is not your average bedtime story. The show had its World Premiere at San Jose Repertory theatre in December 2013.

The cast for The Snow Queen is: Lauren Cipoletti (Rose/Princess/Robber Girl), Janice Isabelle Engelgau (Flower/Ensemble), Jason Hite (The Crow/Ensemble), Summer C. Latimer (Flower/Ensemble), Eryn Murman (Gerda), Lee Ann Payne (Co-Choreographer/Ensemble), Jane Pfitsch (The Snow Queen), John Michael Presney (Kai), and Reggie D. White (Troll/Reindeer).

The production team is comprised of: Frances Nelson McSherry (costume design), David Lee Cuthbert (lighting/projection design), Haddon Kime and Rick Lombardo (sound design), Anna Ebbeson (musical director), Delores Duran-Cefalu (music supervisor) and Matthew Stern (production manager).

"We're thrilled to be bringing The Snow Queen to the New York Musical Theatre Festival," said Mr. Lombardo. "It is a great opportunity to present this new work to the festival audience. It really means a lot to us because the San Jose Rep, the theater where The Snow Queen was first presented, recently had to close its doors. So, in a sense, we're bringing San Jose Rep along with us to New York next month and this will be the company's final performance."

The performance schedule is: Monday, July 14th at 8pm; Tuesday, July 15th at 1pm; Thursday, July 17th at 5pm; Thursday, July 17th at 9pm; Sunday, July 20th at 8pm. PLEASE NOTE: **There will be an "Autism Friendly" performance on Saturday, July 19th at 11am.

**This show is performed in a friendly, supportive environment for an audience of families and friends with children or adults who are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other sensitivity issues. Slight adjustments to the production included reduction of any jarring sounds or strobe lights focused into the audience. The theatre lobby will have a quiet/activity area, staffed with autism specialists, for those who needed to leave their seats during the performance.

For information about booking tickets contact (212) 352-3101 or visit nymf.org.