New Musical: Boy in the Bathroom at the Bloomington Playwrights Project

Bloomington Playwrights Project will present The Boy in the Bathroom (book and lyrics by Michael Lluberes, music and additional lyrics by Joe Maloney) a quirky new musical this February as part of the BPP’s Off-Broadway/On-Ninth Series.

The Boy in the Bathroom follows David, a young man who lives in his bathroom. He never comes out, at least not for the past year. David has obsessive-compulsive disorder and he's not going anywhere... until he meets Julie, and discovers that there might be something - or someone - on the other side of the door that will make it worth opening.

These three characters create a powerful ensemble of want and desire checked by doubt and fear. Each dreams of a better life; however, each is trapped by fears ranging from germs and contamination to the fear of abandonment. The Boy in the Bathroom suggests that there are people, relationships, and forces in life more powerful than the doubts with which people allow themselves to be imprisoned.

The Boy In The Bathroom stars Indiana University theatre students Evan Mayer and Maddie Shea Baldwin as David and Julie, and BPP newcomer Lisa Kurz as David’s mother. BPP Producing Artistic Director, Chad Rabinovitz, will direct. The production also features a one- of-a-kind scenic design by resident artist Shane Cinal.

The Boy in the Bathroom was previously performed at the 45th Street Theatre in New York and the Chance Theater in Anaheim. It has received numerous awards including four New York Musical Theatre Festival Excellence Awards, the Microsoft/Healthvault Most Promising New Musical Award, and the 2011 American Harmony Prize. It’s a small-scale musical with a giant heart.

The BPP’s Off-Broadway/On-Ninth series seeks to take a play recently seen at a small theatre inNYC and help it to have a future life across the country by producing it here at the BPP at 9th Street. And if any play deserves to have a long life, it’s this one.

Performances of The Boy in the Bathroom are scheduled for February 3, 4, 9 – 11, 16 – 18 at 8pm & February 12 at 2pm at the Bloomington Playwrights Project 107 W. 9th St.Tickets are $18 General Admission; $15 Student/Senior, available at the BCT Box Office at the Buskirk Chumley Theatre (www.bctboxoffice.com).

The BPP will celebrate the opening of The Boy in the Bathroom along with the completion of a massive $100,000 makeover to its theatre space on Ninth Street with a progressive reception featuring musical entertainment and a unique beverage and appetizer in each of BPP’s newly renovated rooms, plus the unveiling of new commissioned artwork by Joel Washington & Martina Celerin with support from the Mary Morgan Oliver Foundation.

The 2011/2012 Season is sponsored by Holiday Inn, Indiana Arts Commission, Oliver Winery & World Arts Inc., Bloom Magazine & Papa John’s Pizza.

The Boy In The Bathroom: February 3, 4, 9 – 11, 16 – 18 at 8pm & February 12 at 2pm Bloomington Playwrights Project 107 W. 9th St. 812.334.1188 | newplays.org

$18 General Admission; $15 Student/Senior

Tickets available at BCT Box Office at the Buskirk Chumley Theatre or online at buskirkchumley.org 114 E Kirkwood Ave. 812.323.3020 11am - 6pm M - F and 12 - 5pm Sat/Sun

Michael Lluberes (Book & Lyrics): Writing/directing credits include: Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers (No Rules Theatre Company, Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage Festival), The Boy In The Bathroom (New York Musical Theatre Festival, NYMF Most Promising New Musical Award, Best Book, ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop, New World Stages Workshop, Penn State Festival of NewMusicals, The Festival of New American Musicals), The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died (Urban Stages). Directing credits include: Twelfth Night (Sonnet Repertory Theatre), Nighttime Traffic (NYMF), One Thousand Cats (HBO’s Funny Or Die Presents). As an actor, he has appeared in Dirty Dancing (National Tour), Off-Broadway in American Dreams: Lost and Found, Pudd’nhead Wilson, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It (The Acting Company), Heaven Knows (Ensemble Studio Theatre). Regional theatre credits: The Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse, St. Louis Rep, Casa Mañana, Capital Rep, Maltz Jupiter, Pioneer Theatre Company. TV: “Chappelle’s Show”, “Tough Crowd”. He is the recipient of The American Harmony Prize, an NEA New Artist Initiative Award/Hambidge Residency, an Anna Sosenko Trust Award and a Richard Rodgers Award Finalist. Education: North Carolina School of the Arts. Member of The Acting Company, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and The Dramatists Guild. www.MichaelLluberes.com

Joe Maloney’s (Music & Additional Lyrics) work includes The Boy in the Bathroom: 2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival (Most Promising New Musical at the 2007 NYMF Awards Gala) 2007 ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop, Workshop at New World Stages, Festival of New American Musicals at The Chance Theater, 2011 American Harmony Prize; Hint (book, music, and lyrics): 2009 New York International Fringe Festival at the Minetta Lane Theatre; Ready or Not (book, music, and lyrics): The Ohio State University; B.A. in Theatre, The Ohio State University. Joe is currently developing the new musicals Good for Me, and Wilma’s Wish. Joe is a member of the Dramatists Guild. www.joemaloney.net.

Photo Credit: Evan Mayer and Maddie Shea Baldwin star as David and Julie in The Boy in the Bathroom at the Bloomington Playwrights Project (Feb. 2012) Photo by Ivona Hedin

To post a comment, you must register and login.