"10 Days in a Madhouse" will be having an industry staged reading Monday, February 10th in preparation for its Off-Broadway premiere in January 2021.
"10 Days in a Madhouse" is a new musical recounting the real life events surrounding Nellie Bly, an investigative reporter in the 1890's who went undercover in an insane asylum. She starts on a mission to prove her capabilities as a journalist and finds passion in being a "voice for the voiceless," risking her life to reveal the injustices the women of the asylum faced. The stories of these women have historically fallen on deaf ears and today, we are demanding their stories be heard. Nellie Bly is a testament of a woman's determination to spark a movement, casting an eye on how women and those who suffer from mental health issues and stigmas still face many of the same struggles as those over a hundred years ago.
Written by MandaLeigh Blunt, directed by Mika Kauffman, music directed by Andrew Drannon and stage managed by Gregory F. Jackson. Starring as Nellie Bly is Yansa Fatima, with a supporting cast including Dana Aber, Gregory C. Driscoll, Brandon Grimes, Erin Smith, Taylor Wright, Teresa Hui, Zoe Kanter, Shannon Ryan, Christian Apple, Macy Jae Davis, Jordan Sisson, and Murph Murphy.
MandaLeigh Blunt works as Associate Producer for Beth Morrison Projects and a freelance producer and drummer. Her previous written work includes Captain X (book/music/lyrics), Tale of the Sackman (book/lyrics), and The State of Hockey (book/lyrics). She is also founder and Creative Producer of Artemis Theatrical, a theater company created to give more opportunities for new work to be seen by the public by storytellers whose work defies the status quo.
Mika Kauffman is a queer multi-hyphenate artist, primarily a director, musical writer, dramaturg and performer. Leading with empathy, they firmly believe in creating equitable, collaborative spaces for marginalized folx of all abilities, identities and expressions. Off-Broadway credits: #adulting, a millennial opera (director), The Great Cat Massacre (director), We Are The Tigers (dramaturg), Afterglow (associate director and co-dramaturg), safeword. (associate director), Paranormative (bookwriter & lyricist). They are currently developing the Trans Theatre Alliance and are a proud member of SDC and Ring of Keys.
To request a seat, we ask all industry professionals to please RSVP to 10daysinamadhousemusical@gmail.com
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