Telly Leung, Maria-Christina Oliveras & More Kick Off Bingham Camp Theatre Retreat

Some of Broadway's brightest were on hand Saturday in the tiny bedroom community of Salem, CT for an afternoon concert that officially launched the inaugural season of the Bingham Camp Theatre Retreat (BCTR), a resident program aimed at developing new works. The event kicked off a summer of preparation for the innovative program's first retreat which will take place September 25th through October 5th, 2015.

Saturday's intimate afternoon tea and concert featured performances by Broadway's Telly Leung (Godspell and TV's Glee), Maria-Christina Oliveras (Here Lies Love), Veronica Reyes-How (Rent), Orville Mendoza (Peter and the Starcatcher), Peter Flynn (Beauty and the Beast), Hudson Flynn (Birdman), Brian Myers Cooper (Miss Saigon), with musical direction by Ryan Sigurdson and Adam Overett.

BCTR is the brainchild of Lucille Lortel Award-winning choreographer Devanand Janki (Zanna Don't), who sees the inaugural season as a homecoming. "I spent my childhood summers at The Bingham Camp," Janki said. "I am thrilled it's now going to be a home for writers, directors and actors to create innovative new works of theatre that celebrate our diversity."

"Diversity" and "non-traditional" are Janki's watchcry for BCTR which he aims to be an oasis free of the distractions from commercial theater for professionals to hone new theatrical works. "In our ever-evolving world, we need more places like BCTR that provide opportunities for artists," Janki said. "I am committed to bringing stories to the stage that reflect the multicultural world in which we live. At BCTR we provide a non traditional environment so that we can create non-traditional theatre."

Held at 100 year-old Bingham Camp set in the woods of Salem, CT, BCTR will be a rural retreat where theater artists create work that gives voice to under-represented communities onstage. With an emphasis on non-traditional casting, multi-ethnic participants and bold theatricality, BCTR will offer a unique opportunity for theatre-makers to develop new plays and musicals that encourage dialogue between cultures. Each season, participants work on the development of a single new play or musical that culminates in a workshop performance.

The first piece chosen to be developed by BCTR is Call It Courage, a musical adaptation of the beloved children's novel written by Connecticut native Armstrong Sperry. Set in the Pacific Islands, Call It Courage is the coming of age story of a timid young boy who overcomes bullying and ostracism to find the strength he always had within. Call it Courage is written by two-time Harrington Award winning composer and librettist Adam Overett whose My Life is a Musical had its world premiere in 2014 at Bay Street Theatre.

BCTR will be led by artistic director Devanand Janki whose career spans all facets of the performing arts - theatre, opera, ballet and corporate entertainment. Janki began as a performer, appearing in numerous productions including Broadway's Miss Saigon. Cats, The King & I, and Side Show. For the past 15 years, he has been a freelance director, working regionally and in New York on over 50 shows including Aladdin, Junie B. Jones, Man of La Mancha, Rent, The Full Monty and Off-Broadway's Zanna Don't for which he won the Lucille Lortel Award. His passion has always been creating new work for the stage.

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