Goodspeed's 2015 Johnny Mercer Writers Colony to Showcase Works at 54 Below, 4/27

54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, presents the 2015 Johnny Mercer Writers Colony Concert, featuring the works of Colony participants Peter Cincotti and Pia Cincotti (The Last Laugh), Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), Jean Rohe (The Odysseus Agreement), and Patrick Lundquist & Peter Seibert (Puccini). The Johnny Mercer Foundation (JMF) and Goodspeed Musicals are proud to co-produce the first New York City showcase of musicals developed at this one of a kind program.

Since its inception in 2013, the Colony has hosted over 100 writers and 70 new musicals. This year's Johnny Mercer Colony included 46 writers working on 24 new musical projects over a four week period during the snowy winter at Goodspeed.

Performers for the 54 Below Concert include Robert Cuccioli (Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde and Spider-Man; Goodspeed's Cutman a boxing musical at The Norma Terris Theatre), Charissa Hogeland (Heathers), Blake Segal (Mary Poppins), Aubrey Kay Johnson, Jo Wallfisch, Larry Owens, James Jackson, Jason Veasey, Jamaal Clark Turpin, Elijah Caldwell, and Larry Hamilton.

Directing the concert will be Colony Dramaturge, Michael Bush, with Dan Pardo serving as Musical Director. Production team includes: Hunter Bird as Line Producer, Donna Lynn Hilton (Goodspeed's Line Producer) and Jonathan Brielle, (Colony Producer/Writer in residence and Vice President of JMF) co-producing.

The 2015 Johnny Mercer Writers Colony Concert plays 54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on Monday, April 27th at 9:30pm. There is a $30-$40 cover charge and $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.

ABOUT THE WRITERS:

Jean Rohe is a multi-lingual performer and composer, whose writing concerns itself as much with the internal world as with the external. Her one-of-a-kind narrative songs have won recognition from ASCAP and the New York Songwriters Circle, and her refreshingly candid performance won her the audience prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival. She is the recipient of residency fellowships at the Blue Mountain Center, The MacDowell Colony, The Johnny Mercer Foundation, ISLAND, and Goodspeed Musicals. Her latest record, Jean Rohe & The End of the World Show, has been called "masterful," (Daily News) "thoughtful, reflective, and courageous" (No Depression). Elmore magazine says it is "remarkable in so many ways I can think of no comparison". The record won three Independent Music Awards in 2014. Jean lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Michael R. Jackson holds a BFA and MFA in playwriting and Musical Theatre Writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. As a songwriter, he has seen his work performed at The Barrington Stage Company, Merkin Hall, The Laurie Beechman Theater, Ars Nova, Joe's Pub, 54 Below, The Metropolitan Room, The Bruno Walter Library, The Musical Theatre Factory, and ACT in Seattle. He wrote book and lyrics for the musical Only Children with composer Rachel Peters, book, music, and lyrics for the musical A Strange Loop, and is currently writing book and lyrics for the musical adaptation of the 2007 comedy horror film Teeth with composer Anna Jacobs. Michael is a 2009 recipient of the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Award, an alum of the Ars Nova Uncharted Writers Group, and the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals.

Pia Cincotti (Book) and Peter Cincotti (Music and Lyrics) siblings, were born and raised in New York City. Their first musical "How Deep Is The Ocean?" had its first staged reading in October 2011, produced by the Midtown Direct Theatre Company. It then premiered at The New York Musical Theatre Festival in July 2012 where it had a sold out run and was featured on the TODAY SHOW. Pia and Peter were 2013-2014 Dramatist Guild Musical Theatre Fellows where they began developing two new musicals, "The Last Laugh" and "The Untitled Horse Musical". Most recently they were writers in residence at the The Johnny Mercer Writer's Colony where they continued to develop "The Last Laugh." Pia graduated from Fordham University as a playwriting major. She was one of four people chosen to study in London at the prestigious Writer's Guild of Great Britain. Peter singer-songwriter-pianist has performed sold out shows all over the world in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, The Olympia in Paris and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. He is currently at work on his fifth studio album.

Peter Seibert and Patrick Lundquist have been writing music together for over 10 years, since they met at the University of Virginia. Patrick Lundquist was the music assistant to Andrew Lippa for the world-premiere of Big Fish. As Associate Producer for Al Jarreau's latest album My Old Friend, which features 12 Grammy-Winning artists, he arranged and sang background vocals. He also proudly co-wrote lyrics with Jazz legends Jarreau and George Duke on the song Summer Breezin'. Peter Seibert counts among his accomplishments performing Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, writing additional music for such movies as Disney's Alice In Wonderland, Justin Bieber : Never Say Never, and Footloose, composing music for Fox TV's Mob Doctor and three seasons of Drop Dead Diva, orchestrating strings for Kelly Clarkson and 3 Doors Down, singing backup for Bon Jovi, and getting into Stanford's Graduate School of Business as a musician. In addition to the JMF Songwriters Workshop at Northwestern and the ASCAP/Dreamworks Workshop in LA, they are proud two-time alumni of the Colony, and give a very very warm appreciation to both of the host organizations.

The Johnny Mercer Writers Colony is a long term residency program devoted exclusively to musical theatre writing. It was launched in 2013 with the generous support of the Johnny Mercer Foundation and is held annually on the campus of Goodspeed Musicals. The colony nurtures writers by providing each team with private housing, resources to write, and evening salons to discuss their work. Over the course of the four week program, composer/lyricist Jonathan Brielle serves as Producer/Writer in Residence, and Michael Bush serves as Resident Dramaturge. Goodspeed's Donna Lynn Hilton is the Producing Artistic Director and Hunter Bird serves as Line Producer of the JMF Writers Colony.

The mission of the Johnny Mercer Foundation (JMF) is to support the discipline of songwriting in the tradition of the Great American Songbook as exemplified by the life and work of the legendary Johnny Mercer: lyricist, composer, performer, collaborator and producer. The Foundation continues Johnny's legacy by partnering with individuals and organizations dedicated to celebrating and nourishing the disciplines he mastered and the causes he and his wife Ginger Mercer championed.

JMF has created a number of dynamic creative joint ventures with several prestigious institutions to facilitate our goals including; the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, Accentuate The Positive Programs (New York-Kaufman Music Center, Los Angeles and Miami), The Musical Theater Program at NJPAC, Georgia State University Fellowship Program, Florida International University Fellowship Program, the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project with Northwestern University, and the Johnny Mercer Archives at Georgia State University, In addition, JMF also supports various charitable causes including UCLA's Art of The Brain, Children's Hospital Los Angeles (Mark Taper and Johnny Mercer Artists Program), Braille Institute (Johnny Mercer Children and Adult Choirs) and KCET TVs Cinema Series.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Michael Gennaro, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the preservation, development and advancement of musical theatre. Goodspeed Musicals, produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and additional musicals at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. The first regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards for outstanding achievement, Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre.

54 Below, Broadway's Supper Club, is the new performance venue in the grand tradition of New York City nightlife. A few blocks from the heart of Times Square and just below the legendary Studio 54, 54 Below is a classically designed state-of-the art nightclub in the theatre district that hosts audiences with warmth and style. The venue provides a food and beverage menu from early evening through the wee hours of the morning that is worthy of the world-class entertainment on the stage. Located at 254 West 54th Street, 54 Below features up to three shows nightly with cover charges ranging from $15-$95.

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