The New Colony Presents TUPPERWARE: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL FABLE 7/16 Thru 8/9

To conclude its inaugural season, The New Colony--Chicago's upstart, new works-focused theater company, presents Tupperware: An American Musical Fable. This New Colony production reunites James Asmus, Andrew Hobgood, and Julie Nichols, the award-winning team behind Love is Dead: A NecRomantic Musical Comedy. This past year, Asmus, Hobgood and Nichols won the 2008 FringeNYC Outstanding Music & Lyrics award and three After Dark Awards for Love is Dead.

Based around the true story of Tupperware's founding and famous parties, Tupperware: An American Musical Fable tells the story of Dolores Clark, a young widow living in Kissimmee, Florida in 1950 who is struggling to find her footing as a traditional, All-American housewife. But when she teams up with Brownie Wise, the woman who devised the revolutionary marketing strategies that propelled Tupperware to icon status, they end up tackling small town norms, local politics, and a woman's right to pursue her own entrepreneurial dreams.

One day it's preserving leftovers, the next thing you know there's a revolution going on--all told with original music and lyrics.

To help pull off such a lofty project in the company's first season, The New Colony assembled a unique creative team to ensure the production's success. "First of all, this project is being written with the Atlantic ocean sitting between us and Julie," Hobgood noted. In the fall of 2007, Nichols became the Associate Music Director for Boom Chicago in Amsterdam. "And with interest in James rumbling in Los Angeles, we might have all three of us in different parts of the world."

To work within these unique constraints, Gary Tiedemann was brought on to act as Nichols' ears in rehearsals. Tiedemann facilitates the usual experience between composer and vocalists by recording each music rehearsal and emailing tracks back and forth between Nichols and the cast. Additionally, Jared Saunders was brought on as an additional music mind to help make on-the-ground decisions in rehearsals, and company member Will Cavedo joined the writing team with an added role as the book and lyric facilitator between Hobgood, Asmus, Nichols and the rest of the creative personnel. "Thank God for the internet!"

Tupperware: An American Musical Fable is directed by Andrew Hobgood and written by James Asmus, Andrew Hobgood and Will Cavedo. Music composed by Julie B. Nichols. Produced in Association with Karen Davidov and Nathan Gardner. The show features Mary Hollis Inboden, Megan Johns, Nikki Klix, Thea Lux, Tara Sissom, Kevin Stangler, and Danny Taylor.

The New Colony presents Tupperware coming off its recent success with its production of FRAT. "We sold out 15 of 19 performances and actually made some money on the run! We are going into Tupperware debt-free. Take that, Chrysler and GM!," New Colony executive director Gary Tiedemann said about the group's most recent production of FRAT, a critical and box office success.

Tupperware makes its World Premiere with an Industry and Press Opening at 7:30 pm Monday, July 13 and opens at 7:30 pm Thursday, July 16. The show will run Thursdays through Sundays through August 9 at 7:30 pm at La Costa Theater, 3931 N. Elston St. (Elston and Central Park). Show Passes are $20. All Passes to New Colony productions allow the purchaser to see the show for which the Pass was purchased an unlimited number of times.

For tickets, visit the New Colony website at www.thenewcolony.org/tupperware.

 

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