THE UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SAMANTHA BROWN Begins Tonight at Aurora Theatre

The Brand Signature Series at Aurora Theatre continues with The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown by New York's best young composers, Kait Kerrigan and Brain Lowdermilk. The show runs tonight, March 13 through April 6, 2014.

Samantha Brown is a girl who has what every teenager wants: brains, a boyfriend, functional parents and an acceptance letter to the college of her choice. Yet she sits in her car with her bags packed and can't turn the key in the ignition. At the crossroads to adulthood, will Samantha come to terms with her parents' expectations, her first love, and a lost friendship and start the car, drive away and find freedom?

The 2013 Suzi Bass Award-winning duo from LES MISERABLES, director Justin Anderson and musical director Ann-Carol Pence, lead an amazingly talented five-person cast. Starring in the title role is Kylie Brown (Bye, Bye Birdie, Aurora Theatre). This past winter, she performed on the national concert tour of Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. Making her Aurora Theatre debut as Samantha's best friend Kelly is Stephanie Friedman (Pluto, Actors Express). Samantha's parents will be played by Atlanta favorite Wendy Melkonian (Bob and Damn Yankees, Aurora Theatre), and Chris Damiano (Million Dollar Quartet, Apollo Theatre in Chicago). Damiano, a graduate of Snellville's Brookwood High School, recently returned home and is making his Aurora Theatre debut. Jeremiah Parker Hobbs (Hair, Serenbe Playhouse) is Sam's first love, Adam. The production team contains Suzi Bass Award-winners Phil Male (Set Design) and Mike Post (Lighting Design). The talented team also includes Becca Potter (Choreographer/Assistant to the Director), Daniel Terry (Sound Design) and Elizabeth Rasmusson (Costume Design).

Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk made their off-Broadway debut in 2006 with their adaptation of Henry and Mudge. Other musicals include Tales from the Bad Years, The Woman Upstairs, Wrong Number, The Freshman Experiment, Republic and Flash of Time. They have released two albums: Our First Mistake (2011), which charted at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart, and Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Live (2013), which documents a concert tour that resulted from their breakout $35K Kickstarter campaign. Their songs have been performed internationally, and their musicals have been developed at the Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre, Theatreworks Silicon Valley, La Jolla Playhouse, Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival, ASCAP/Disney Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, York Theatre, the Lark Playwrights Development Center, CAP21, and Primary Stages. As a playwright, Kerrigan has written Disaster Relief (developed by Page 73), Imaginary Love (Hapgood Theatre 2011), and Transit (Lark Playwrights Week 2010). She received the 2009 Kleban Award for libretto-writing. Lowdermilk composed music for The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog (with playwright Lauren Gunderson, the Kennedy Center 2011) and Red (with librettist Marcus Stevens), which received the Alan Menken Award and 2005 Richard Rodgers Award. Together, Kerrigan and Lowdermilk received the 2006 Larson Award and 2004-2005 Dramatists Guild Fellowship, and they have held residencies at the Orchard Project and the MacDowell Arts Colony. Both are alumni of the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop, co-founders of the digital sheet music company NewMusicalTheatre.com, and proud members of the Dramatists Guild and ASCAP.

Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus

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