GET Announces New Musical THE PRETTY PANTS BANDIT

Georgia Ensemble Theatre (GET), the professional North Fulton theatre company, is pleased to announce a new commission with Atlanta theatre artists Chase Peacock and Jessica De Maria to produce an original musical, The Pretty Pants Bandit, for the late fall of GET's 2020-21 Season.

From housewife to hero - Marie Baker, her gang, and one infamous pair of guns took the country for a year-long ride that would make headlines. Notoriously leaving the men she robbed with their pants down, her evolution became a revolution. Set against the sparkling and scintillating backdrop of 1930s Miami, The Pretty Pants Bandit will steal your inhibitions and your heart.

The creators of The Pretty Pants Bandit are Atlanta actors/singers Chase Peacock and Jessica De Maria. De Maria, in talking about the project relayed that, "...I came across Marie Baker, (known as The Pretty Pants Bandit) doing research for another show I was in....this was a real life woman, leading a gang of men, who marauded through Miami from 1932-1933. She was notorious for her beauty, and for "pantsing" the men she robbed at gunpoint. When Chase said he really wanted to do a female driven musical for our next project, I jumped at the chance to introduce him to Marie."

The pair did quite a bit of digging to find historical information on Miss Baker but came up empty, except for a few sensational headlines. So they imagined what might drive a woman to such lengths and invented a story around her, combining history with imagination against the backdrop of 1930s Miami where race conflicts, casinos and the golden age of the American Gangster were all at their height.

When asked about their goal for the new musical, Peacock and De Maria responded, "The dream is always going to be Broadway. But the first part of our dream was to have a theatre in Atlanta produce our homegrown musical as part of their season, and that dream is coming true with Georgia Ensemble Theatre. And we couldn't be more excited."

Peacock continued, "We needed a chance, and GET gave it to us. The passion and enthusiasm with which Anita Farley, Jimmy Donadio and all of GET have greeted our show meets our own, and that's a powerful thing. More intimately, the late Bob Farley gave both Jessica and me the support and care and vote of confidence we needed at different times in our lives, so producing this show with GET has special personal meaning. It's been thrilling to see The Pretty Pants Bandit through the eyes of an established professional company and to be greeted with respect and care, not to mention all of the company's ideas and contributions. GET has stayed true to their mission of being an ensemble-driven theatre by making this development process a truly collaborative experience."

GET Producing Artistic Director Anita Farley is excited about adding this musical to next year's lineup and noted, "This is one of the most exciting projects we've worked on in years!" Similarly, GET Associate Artistic Director James Donadio has raved about the music, saying, "It was clear from hearing the first demo that Chase and Jessica had put together a wonderful, modern musical that audiences are going to love!"

For more information, visit us online at www.get.org.

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