School Daze - a new comedy mixing Mozart and Tchaikovsky with a 1980s high school dance - will receive its world premiere at 37 Arts Theatre (450 W. 37th St.) as part of the third annual New York Music Theatre Festival on September 21. It will play subsequent performances on September 23 and 28.
School Daze "tells the tale of six students and their fantasies that are played out at a high school dance in the 1980's. Inspired by
Matthew Bourne's
Play Without Words and
Twyla Tharp's
Movin' Out, choreographer
Wendy Seyb (
But I'm A Cheerleader) interprets her story without spoken dialogue and solely through movement and classical music. In a twist on the jukebox musical, Seyb uses the 'hits' of Mozart, Rossini, Bizet, Tchaikovsky and Bach, and proves that dance can be outrageously funny," as the show is described in press notes. Seyb is the creator and director, as well as the choreographer, of
School Daze.The cast also includes Amber Paul,
Brian Spitulnik,
Ivory McKay, Jen Bowles,
Keith Coughlin,
Michael Mindlin, Tracey Petrillo, and
Ven Daniel.
Seyb recently served an Observership to
Kathleen Marshall for
The Pajama Game (2006 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival). New York theater/musical theater credits include:
But I'm a Cheerleader (2005 NYMF), Nerve (14 St. Theater),
Indoor/Outdoor (DR2, Union Square),
The Best of Raw Impressions (2004 NYMF),
The Cosmic Calamities of Henry Noodle (2004 New York Fringe Festival) and
Trey Parker's CANNIBAL! The Musical (Kraine Theatre). Her other credits include the International Dance Festival Opening Night Gala (Doris Duke Theatre),
St. Mark's Remember Project DRA, Winter Festival (
Alvin Ailey Theatre) and The Élan Awards honoring
Jerry Mitchell; along with commercial industrials and with dance companies. She most recently worked on the first workshop of
Cheer!, a cheerleading theatrical event produced by
Richard Frankel Productions.
The show will features costume design by
Heather Dunbar, lighting design by
Jeff Carnevale, and technical direction by
Jeff Griffin.
"The New York Musical Theatre Festival, now in its third year, is a three-week event in NYC that has premiered over 70 musicals in its first two years, becoming the largest musical theatre event in American history. Hailed as 'the Sundance of Musical Theatre,' it is now widely regarded among the entertainment industry as the key source for new material and talent discovery."
The show will play: September 21 at 8PM, September 23 at 7PM and September 28 at 3PM. Running time is 60 minutes. Tickets are $20. For tickets call 212-352-3101 or
www.theatermania.com. For further information and advance tickets, visit
www.nymf.org.
