The Chase Brock Experience Returns To Theatre Row This December With The NYC Debut Of BIG SHOT

Following a two year hiatus as a result of the global pandemic, The Chase Brock Experience (CBE) - the critically acclaimed New York City based contemporary dance company from esteemed Broadway and contemporary choreographer, Chase Brock (Be More Chill, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules) - will return to NYC's Theatre Row this December to debut an all-new dance-narrative inspired by Brock's personal family history.

Titled Big Shot, the new work will feature direction and choreography by Chase Brock and CBE company member Travante S. Baker, and will play a six performance limited engagement from Friday, December 9, through Monday, December 12.

The latest dance theater work from The Chase Brock Experience, Big Shot is inspired by Brock's own family's iconic Western North Carolina drive-in restaurant - Brock's of Hendersonville, which operated from 1949 to 1972 - and tells the tale of three generations from two different (yet intertwined) families striving to achieve the once sought after "American Dream" at a time when America herself was losing her innocence.

"I grew up hearing endless stories about how Brock's - which ended its 25-year run a decade before I was born - was the place to be in my hometown in the late 60s, my dad's high school years," said Chase Brock. "The family dramas those memories hinted at always felt theatrical to me, and given the jukebox spinning hits right at the center of Brock's, it was inevitable that my version of this drama would dance. What came later - and I'm so grateful it did - was the realization that the piece would be stronger and more interesting if we didn't look just at my family, but perhaps imagined two different families, striving side by side, in contrast to one another."

On joining Brock for this work, co-director and co-choreographer Travante S. Baker added, "What interested me the most about the piece was developing these complex relationships between family, friends, and lovers; coupled with the circumstances of the time period. That's really juicy to me. Attempting an authentic telling of one Black experience within such a tumultuous zeitgeist sounded really exciting, especially now, when I think people are becoming more open to relearning and rethinking what they know."

Big Shot will be set to a brand-new jukebox-style score of 19 vibrant 1960's inspired pop songs from Richard Rodgers Award-winning composer and giant of the advertising jingle era Paul Libman. Featuring lyrics from Gary Apple, Rob Berliner, Jack Lechner, Mary Liz McNamara, Mark Pierce and Mr. Libman, the music aims to underscore Big Shot's historically-rooted tale.

"Besides being great fun, composing Big Shot has afforded me the privilege of working with a team of marvelous lyricists to create 'Instant Oldies.' These 19 original songs embody a faithful, yet fresh take on the sound, sentiment and exuberance of the 1960s, a time considered by many to be the Golden Age of American pop music," says Paul Libman, the show's composer and lyricist.

Commissioned and developed with the generous support of the The Wilson Center, where the work will have two world premiere performances Friday, November 11, with additional commissioning support from The O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, Big Shot will feature scenic design by Dane Laffrey (Tony Award-winning revival of Once On This Island), costume design by Laffrey and Chase Brock, and lighting design by Drama Desk-nominee Brian Tovar.

Big Shot will be danced by Jane Abbott, Cemiyon Barber, Ryan Fitzgerald, Lauryn Hayes, Marty Lawson, Skye Mattox, Jared McAboy and Sara Elizabeth Seger, with Shiloh Goodin, Grant Howard, Erin Moore and Reed Tankersley serving as understudies for the Wilson Center run.

Director of Education & Engagement Ashley Newman noted, "When CBE became a company-in-residence at Theatre Row, we re-committed ourselves to education initiatives, so I'm especially proud this cast features Jane Abbott and Lauryn Hayes, who we first worked with at Barnard College and Marymount Manhattan College, and Skye Mattox, who joined CBE as an understudy for our 2009 Four Seasons revival.

Tickets for Big Shot are now available for purchase starting at just $22.50 each (including a $2.50 Theatre Restoration Fee) and can be purchased online at theatrerow.org, by phone at (212) 714-2442 ext. 45, or by visiting the Theatre Row Box Office (located at 410 W. 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) during regular business hours.