DOING TIME WITH LAVINIA: THE MUSICAL to be Presented at The Stonewall Inn

Watch out - Lavinia Draper is coming to town! New York City's Gay Pride Week (June 20-26) will officially kick off with a one night only performance of "Doing Time with Lavinia: The Musical," a cautionary tale of one woman's journey from Broadway to behind bars, written and performed by downtown diva Susan Campanaro, with an original score written and performed by Lynn Portas, directed by, and developed with Christopher Scott. The evening will include the debut of a new music video of Lavinia's dance hit _"Comin' Home." This fundraising event for The Stonewall Inn Gay Initiative (SIGBI), a non-profit charitable organization inspired by the struggles and ideals of the LGBTQ rights movement, will take place on Monday, June 20 at the legendary Stonewall Inn(53 Christopher Street). Doors open at 6pm. Show at 7pm. Tickets are $20 (2-drink minimum required) may be purchased here and at the door. Seating is limited. For more information, visit www.thestonewallinnnyc.com.

Told from a jail cell, the new musical, Doing Time with Lavinia (formerly Missing Person), is the raucously boozy tale of Lavinia Draper, fallen socialite and one-time stand-by for Broadway star Betty Buckley, who is eternally chasing her pipe dream of becoming an entertainer. This is a hilarious cautionary tale of a woman whose dreams have been repeatedly thwarted by a self-sabotaging addiction to drama and other various substances. Lavinia wakes up from a black out in a holding cell in South Florida on a drunk and disorderly charge. Finding herself once again trapped by her own dysfunction, she is actually missing a real opportunity to finally prove herself as an entertainer.

The infamous Lavinia Draper is a character that Ms. Campanaro has developed through her 20+ years' experience as a NYC downtown gay nightlife headline performer. Susan (and Lavinia!) have performed all over the USA including such iconic places as the Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village, The Ice Palace in Cherry Grove and at Denver Pride.

"Lavinia has stood outside the speakeasy entrance of The Stonewall Inn on Gay Pride Day for over 20 years, hosted the 39th and 40th year floats and hosted the World Pride Day event "The Golden Girls Musical - Thank You for Being a Friend," where I played the role of Sofia," shares Ms. Campanaro. "Lavina and I are inseparable, especially during Gay Pride!"

Susan proudly works with LGBTQIA+ at risk youth at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center through Road Recovery.

Bios

Susan Campanaro (Book/Performer) has been an actor, entertainer, director, and teacher in NYC for over 30 years. She worked as resident Improvisation teacher for Susan Batson, a high-profile acting teacher and coach who studied under Lee Strasberg, and at the studio she is the assistant to the Master Voice teacher, Mary Setrakian and hosts the Singer Showcase. Susan has been a contracted actor in Tony n Tina's Wedding for over 28 years. This mock Italian wedding is the most successful Off-Broadway show. This interactive play is based on the improvisational skills of the actors and their talent to engage a live audience. She has played various female roles for over 25 years, directs the touring productions and helped create and star in the 25th Anniversary revival Off Broadway. Through improvisation she has helped develop shows such as The Fantasy Party, Aunt Chooch's Birthday Party, Revenge in the Mob and her own one-woman musical, Doing Time with Lavinia (formerly Missing Person) based on a character she created Lavinia Draper, with music composed by Lynn Portas. Susan is a creative mentor at Road Recovery, a nonprofit organization to help at risk youths through the power of music and creativity (www.roadrecovery.org). Susan is the performance coach for the house band Type II and sings lead and records with the band. Susan coaches and helps artists develop their one person cabarets and plays. She has a residency at The Duplex Cabaret Theater and hosts an open mic night at The Stonewall Inn on Mondays and performs as Lavinia at special events. Susan/ Lavinia Draper works in Denver with her comedy partner Chocolatina Q Dessert. Together, they Host Pride and Holiday shows at Hamburger Mary's and in NYC at The Stonewall Inn.

Lynn Portas (Composer/Lyricist) Lynn's original musical theater scores include: The First Time, 108 Waverly, Our Time, (Book and Lyrics by Dan Clancy), children's musicals; Penelope the Tooth Fairy, A Boy and His Dog, You Gotta Believe (Book and Lyrics by Dan Clancy). She is the former Musical Director of the Off-Broadway hit Tony and Tina's Wedding in New York City and on National Tour. Her other musical direction credits include New York Off-Broadway's Finnegan's Farewell, The Totally Tubular Time Machine, and Channeling the King. Lynn is the sole creator of the app called "Emusi," a music messaging app that has over 1200 original short songs to send as text messages - "a musical Emoji" for Apple and Android devices, launched in 2016. In the New York Times "Emusi" was noted by Kit Eaton, and it remains an internationally acclaimed social networking app. Lynn has written several albums for children, Same Old Lunch, Only Boloney, Are We There Yet, and Blah Day, and has performed many years for young audiences. Lynn works as a studio musician and performs nightly as a singer and piano/keyboardist in New York. She has scored several films and continues her work scoring app and web series. She is a member of ASCAP and a former BMI Lehman Engle Workshop participant.

Christopher Scott (Director) is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory and a member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) Actors Equity Association (AEA) and SAG/AFTRA. Christopher's vast experience as an actor and director ranges from Broadway, Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre and US Tours to TV and film also includes his association with well-known acting teacher Michael Howard. He is a faculty member at Bruch College/CUNY and has been on the faculty of CAP21 at NYU and The Michael Howard Studio. He most recently collaborated on an original musical project And Then There Was Us with Stew (TONY award winner for Passing Strange) and is excited about the upcoming New York Premier of Hip-Hop Cinderella. Christopher is Artistic Director of The Masterworks Theater Company in New York City presenting accessible, professional multi-cultural productions of theatrical and literary heavyweights. He also serves as Artistic Associate with Amas Musical Theatre (directed over 20 productions) who under the Founder Rosetta Le Noire with her leading the way in inclusive casting, have been pioneering the development multi-cultural theatre since its founding in 1968. He is also a member of the Playwright/Directors Workshop at the world-famous Actors Studio. Directing credits - Off-Broadway: The Glass Menagerie (Audelco Award Nom.), God Shows Up, Edwin: The Story of Edwin Booth, A Class Act, Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden, Golf: The Musical (Drama Desk Nom.), For Lovers Only, Tails, The Big Bang, and Greed: A Musical For Our Times. Other NYC: Missing Person (by Susan Campanero and Lynn Portas), I Am, I Will, I Do (Amas Musical Theatre and NYMF 2017); The Morons (Best Direction Nom.) First Irish Festival; Picked Up, In Pursuit Of Peace and The Last Night Of The Oki Dog at The Broadway Bound Festival; Years Of Sky at 59E59; Best Night Ever & Sitting Shiva fringe NYC; Lorenzo at NYMF 2009. Great Works Reading Series/ Baruch Performing Arts Center (B-PAC) Endgame, Miss Julie, Antigone, Hedda Gabler, Medea and Zoo Story. Many, many productions for Theatreworks/USA.

The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI) is a non-profit charitable organization inspired by the struggles and ideals of the LGBTQ rights movement born from the Stonewall Inn Uprising of 1969. We are committed to eliminating the social intolerance that is profoundly impacting the lives of LGBTQ citizens throughout America and abroad. Through awareness campaigns, educational programming, fundraising and candid public dialogue, we support grassroots organizations scattered across the country and especially those in communities where progress toward equality has been slow and the negative impact of ongoing acts of discrimination and harassment can no longer be tolerated.

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