Elizabeth A. Davis and Gary Farmer to Lead Goodspeed's INDIAN JOE This Fall

BroadwayWorld has just learned that Tony nominee Elizabeth A. Davis and actor Gary Farmer will lead the cast of Goodspeed's INDIAN JOE. Based on a true story, INDIAN JOE, a new musical about discovering the true meaning of family, will inspire Connecticut audiences this fall. An acoustic powerhouse cast of actor-musicians will weave a tuneful tale that beats with pure American heart and soul. Don't miss INDIAN JOE, October 22 through November 15 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn.

Inspired by true events, this brand new musical tells the unlikely story of a homeless Native American and a Texas beauty queen who never should have been friends. He's looking for a fight. She's looking for a cause. As they stumble toward friendship, both ultimately overcome fear and prejudice to discover that there's more to family than what you see. From the streets of Waco, Texas to the streets of New York City it's a uniquely American story with a progressive Americana beat. You'll never forget INDIAN JOE.

INDIAN JOE features book by Tony and Drama Desk nominee Elizabeth A. Davis and Chris Henry, artistic director of Royal Family Productions in New York City. Music is by Elizabeth A. Davis, Luke Holloway and Dove Award-winner and two-time Stellar Award nominee Jason Michael Webb. Lyrics are by Elizabeth A. Davis. Luke Holloway orchestrated the musical, and Jason Michael Webb, who wrote additional orchestrations, will serve as Music Supervisor. Matt Castle, who performed as Peter in Broadway's Company, will serve as Music Director.

Elizabeth A. Davis will play Liz. Davis received a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for the hit Broadway production of Once, and a Drama Desk nomination for her recent Off-Broadway performance in Allegro. Actor, musician, cultural activist and filmmaker Gary Farmer, will play Joe. In 2011, this multi award-winning talent received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Native American Film + Video Festival in a ceremony held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. Farmer has more than 100 film and TV appearances to his name and is best known for playing Native American spiritual guide Nobody opposite Johnny Depp in Dead Man. As a musician, Farmer leads a blues-rock band named Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers. Their music was described in a recent article by The Taos News as "a simple, blues-to-the-bone vibe...drawing inspiration from musicians like John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Freddie King and Taj Majal...all with clear influences of Native music." In addition to being an accomplished harmonica player, Gary Farmer is the founding director of Aboriginal Voices, which encompasses an urban Indian radio network, a major cultural publication, and a cultural festival.

Joining the cast will be Jahi A. Kearse, whose credits include Broadway's Holler if Ya Hear Me and Baby It's You!. Kearse will play Jordan. Marion Markham, who was recently seen in the Off-Broadway production of Spring Flung at The Public Theater, will play Mama.

Rounding out the cast will be Luke Holloway, David Finch and Paul Lincoln. Holloway's credits include performing in the Off-Broadway production of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 and as standby for the character of Jerry Lee Lewis in the Broadway production of Million Dollar Quartet. David Finch has played beside artists as diverse as Alan Cumming, Serj Tankian, Tony Bennett, Kylie Minogue, Amanda Palmer, Justin Vivian Bond, and Dee Snider. Finch's theatre credits include performing as Hans/Rudy/ Max in Tony Award-winning revival of Cabaret and Off- Broadway in Allegro with John Doyle, Fame on 42nd Street and the New York premiere of Tennessee Williams' Spring Storm. Paul Lincoln's credits include the Hans/Rudy/ Two Ladies Guy in the First National Tour of Cabaret, as well as the recent Off-Broadway revival of Allegro. Goodspeed audiences may remember Lincoln from his performances in Very Good Eddie and Houdini at the Goodspeed Opera House.

Kim Weild, Associate Director of Broadway's Amazing Grace, Blithe Spirit, Is He Dead? and Deuce, will direct INDIAN JOE. Scenic Design will be by Edward Pierce whose designs have been seen in Broadway's Amazing Grace, Holler if Ya Hear Me, Pippin, A Streetcar Named Desire and Wicked. INDIAN JOE will feature Lighting Design by Paul Miller, whose credits include Broadway's Amazing Grace, Legally Blonde, Company, Sweeney Todd, Hairspray and The Producers, and Goodspeed's One Touch of Venus, How to Succeed... and My One And Only at the Goodspeed Opera House and Lizzie Borden at The Norma Terris Theatre. Projection Designs for INDIAN JOE will be by C. Andrew Bauer, whose Broadway credits include The Heidi Chronicles, Rocky, Fela!, Gore Vidal's The Best Man and 9 to 5. Jay Hilton, who is in his 31st season as Goodspeed's Lighting and Sound Supervisor and has designed more than 60 Goodspeed productions, will serve as Sound Designer for INDIAN JOE. Casting for INDIAN JOE is by Paul Hardt at SH Entertainment.

INDIAN JOE will run October 22 - November 15, 2015. Curtain times are Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available through the Goodspeed Box Office (860.873.8668), open seven days a week, or on-line at www.goodspeed.org. For show highlights, exclusive photos, special events and more, visit us at goodspeed.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

For 30 years, The Norma Terris Theatre has been Goodspeed's home for developing fresh, innovative, and original new musicals. These new works have been developed in Chester, Conn., before they've moved on to Broadway, Off-Broadway, National Tours, and other Regional Theatres. Because this is a developmental theatre, the show can change on a day-to-day basis. New scenes are added, songs are moved, costumes are changed, dialogue is tweaked?all based on audience response and feedback.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Michael Gennaro, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the preservation, development, and advancement of musical theatre. Goodspeed produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and additional productions 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. Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the support of United Airlines, the official airline of Goodspeed Musicals, and official auto sponsor Hoffman Audi. Goodspeed is supported in part by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts.

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