Julia Murney, Philippe Arroyo, Liam Pearce, & Alisa Melendez to Star in New Ryan Scott Oliver Reading

On November 7, 2024, Ryan Scott Oliver's new musical folk horror, Tomorrow, the Island Dies will be presented in a reading presentation for an invited audience.

Drama Desk-nominee Zi Alikhan directs a cast featuring Alisa Melendez as Widow Clack, Philippe Arroyo as Benji, Liam Pearce as Jacob, Julia Murney as Ms. Kelly, Kim Onah as Nadine, Ethan Carlson as Ephraim, and Caitlin Doak as Kathryn, with Ryan Bronston, Bryanna Cuthill, Nicole DeLuca, Miranda Luze, Jackson Mizell, Jordan A. White rounding out the cast. Joshua Zecher-Ross music directs a five-piece band.

The musical tells the story of “Widow Clack, 18 and pregnant, who lives an exiled life running a lighthouse with her brother on a storm-crushed island set to be uninhabited in two days. When a young man is found dead on the beach, the remaining collection of young adults (left to make final preparations for the abandonment) combust into dangerous accusations leading to devastating division and ultimately, death. When a final, unexpected storm impacts the island, can Widow save the villagers from themselves?”

The reading is produced by American Music Theatre Project (Alexander Gemignani, artistic director), Very Intense Productions, and AT New Works, and is a commission from Samford University. Recently it won the SDSU New Musical Theatre Initiative two-year residency and is an official selection of the American Music Theatre Project's 2024-2025.

Ryan Scott Oliver is a Kleban Prize, Rodgers, and Larson Award-winning composer and lyricist. He was called “the future of Broadway… a major new voice in musical theatre” (Entertainment Weekly). He wrote the music and lyrics for Jasper in Deadland;35mm: A Musical Exhibition; We Foxes; Darling; Mrs. Sharp; and others, and is also the winner of New Musicals Awards from Weston Playhouse, Pace University, and the recipient of commissions from Disney Theatricals, Universal Theatricals, Broadway Across America and others, plus a Lortel Award Nomination as well as numerous fellowships, residencies and ASCAP awards. Select upcoming: the commissions Party of the Century. @ryanscottoliver on all platforms.

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