KC Rep's THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON Indie Musical Folk Story To End 2021-22 Season

Kansas City Repertory Theatre completes its 2021-22 season with The Old Man and the Old Moon, book, music, and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co., directed by Artistic Director Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co. Performances run May 3 through 22, 2022, at Spencer Theatre. The Old Man and the Old Moon is a whimsical American fable performed by live folk musicians that will charm and delight audiences of all ages. Photos, bios and more can be found at https://kcrep.org/press.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Stuart Carden stated, "The Old Man and The Old Moon holds a very special place in my heart. I am so excited to share this playful, tuneful, and adventurous theatrical experience with audiences of all ages in Kansas City. The artists of PigPen Theatre Co. and I have had the joy of collaborating on projects for over a decade. An endlessly creative ensemble of artists, we've shared The Old Man and The Old Moon with audiences of all ages from Coast to Coast. Now, with a new cast of extraordinary actor-musicians from around the country and right here in Kansas City, we invite you to come experience some lo-fi/hi-imagination storytelling that answers the question of how the moon found its place in the heavens that will leave you creatively and imaginatively inspired."

Liz Chidester (Old Woman/Ensemble) KCRep: debut. Regional: Phantom Folktales (PigPen Theatre Company); Lizzie (title role), Queen of the Mist, Always, Patsy Cline (Firebrand Theatre Company, Company Member); Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (American Blues Theatre, Artistic Affiliate); Frederick, Green Mountain (Chicago Children's Theatre); Sundown, Yellow Moon (Raven Theatre); High Fidelity (Refuge Theatre); Pump Boys and the Dinettes, Big River (Theatre at the Center); Ring of Fire (Mercury Theatre). lizandthelovelies.com AEA Member

ANAND (Andy) NAGRAJ (The Old Man) KCRep: debut. Chicago: Steppenwolf Theatre, Court Theatre, Chicago Children's Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Timeline Theatre, and Silk Road Rising. Regional: Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Great Lakes Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre Company, and the Utah, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Lake Tahoe, Hudson Valley, and Idaho Shakespeare Festivals. TV: Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire (NBC); Proven Innocent (FOX); The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS). Co-Author with Jonathan Spivey: the musical Murphy's Law and the play Talmadge & Ray. Voiceover/Motion Capture: Tony the Tiger. Music: The Winchesters (Train & Taxi). Education: MFA, University of Delaware's PTTP. anandnagraj.com AEA Member

Ashley Pankow (Mabelu) KCRep: debut. Local: A Moon for the Misbegotten and The Realistic Joneses (Kansas City Actors Theatre); Million Dollar Quartet, Johnny and June, Boeing Boeing, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (Narrator), Sister Act, Addams Family, Moon Over Buffalo, Fox on the Fairway (New Theatre); Next to Normal and South Pacific (Musical Theatre Heritage); Footloose (Starlight Theatre); Musical of Musicals, Judy Barbra Liza (Quality Hill Playhouse); Classic Crooners (Chestnut Fine Arts Theatre); Nelly Don: The Musical (Nelly Don in the World Premiere). National Tours: The Marvelous Wonderettes (First National) and A Christmas Carol. Regional Favorites: Shrek (Fiona), Les Misérables (Eponine), Annie (Miss Hannigan), Buddy Holly, and more. Upcoming: Being Seen with Mark Robbins at The Black Box. Ms. Pankow has a private music studio where she teaches voice, piano, and audition prep. ashleypankow.com AEA Member

Cody Proctor (Matheson) KCRep: Noises Off!, A Christmas Carol. Local: Ragtime, Funny Girl (Musical Theater Heritage); Shakespeare in Love (Marlowe, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival); All is Calm (MTKC Pro); The Orphans' Home Cycle (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre). Regional: The Iceman Cometh (Goodman Theatre); Othello, Henry V (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Hatfield & McCoy (House Theater of Chicago); Stupid F***ing Bird, Idomeneus (Sideshow Theater); Machinal (Greenhouse Theater); Great Expectations (Strawdog Theater); The Mother (Oracle Theater); The Source (Route 66 Theater); three seasons at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Education: BFA Theatre Performance, Wichita State University. codyproctor.com AEA Member

EDWARD ROSINI (Callahan) KCRep: debut. Regional: Bang! Bang!, Papermaker, Sheer Madness (Shadowland Stages, NY); Water Everywhere (Old Castle Theatre, CT); Ripcord (7 Angels Theatre, CT); Phantom Folktales (Virgin Voyages); In The Closet (Theatre Row, NYC); What Happened That Night, Twelfth Night (IRT, NYC). Education: BA in drama, Tufts University. AEA Member.

JAKE SALEH (Cookie) KCRep: debut. Regional: Groundhog Day, Legally Blonde (Paramount Theatre); The Tempest (Chicago Shakespeare); Phantom Folktales (Pigpen Theatre Company). Education: BA in Music, BA in Theatre, Loyola University. AEA Member

MARISA TEJEDA (Llewellyn) KCRep: debut. Local: Four Children (Kansas City Actors Theatre); Shakespeare in Love (Heart of America Shakespeare Festival); Dolls House Part II (Unicorn Theatre); Brainstorm (The Coterie). Regional: A Christmas Carol, The Sunshine Boys (The Guthrie Theatre); Learned Ladies, The Winter's Tale (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey). Might As Well Be Dead (Park Square Theatre); Hairspray (Artistry Theatre); Vanya, Sonya, Masha, and Spike (Paul Bunyan Playhouse). Education: MFA, UMKC; LAByrinth Theatre Intensive Ensemble; Chautauqua Conservatory; Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Apprentice Company. marisatejeda.com IG: @marisabee AEA Member

PIGPEN THEATRE COMPANY (Creators) began creating their unique brand of theatre, music, and film as freshmen at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 2007. They have since performed, produced, and licensed their original plays in New York City and all over the world - earning them critic's picks from The New York Times, Time Out New York, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Boston Globe, and many more, ranking them in the top ten theatrical events of 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016. They were the first group to win the NYC Fringe Festival's top honor for a play two years in a row (2010/11) and have gone on to win IRNE (2012, 2015) and Jeff Awards (2014) for their theatrical productions. In 2016, Sir Trevor Nunn invited PigPen to be a part of his first American acting company for a production of Shakespeare's "Pericles".

PigPen's debut album, "Bremen", was named #10 album of the year in The Huffington Post's 2012 Grammy preview sending PigPen on tour playing to sold-out crowds across the country. American Songwriter premiered their follow-up EP, "The Way I'm Running", in 2013 while the band was playing a series of concerts that became one of the most popular residencies of the past decade at the legendary Schuba's Tavern in Chicago. In 2015, PigPen released their sophomore album, "Whole Sun", performed at Mumford & Sons' return to the Gentlemen of the Road Festival, and made their feature film debut in Jonathan Demme's "Ricki and the Flash" starring Meryl Streep.

In 2018, PigPen announced that they are creating two stage musicals based on beloved novels: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (in partnership with Universal Theatrical Group) and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (in collaboration with Rick Elice). The Tale of Despereaux world premiered at The Old Globe in the summer of 2019 and transferred to Berkeley Repertory Theatre to close out the year. In 2020, they will premiere their first interactive theatrical experience, "The Phantom Folktales", for Richard Branson's groundbreaking cruise line, Virgin Voyage

The design and production team for The Old Man and the Old Moon includes KATIE BEAZLEY (Associate Director), GEORGIANNA LONDRE BUCHANAN (Costume Design Associate), Stuart Carden (Director), Bart Cortright (Light Design), MEGAN CULLEY (Sound Design Associate), Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design), Lydia Fine (Costume and Scene Design and Puppets), Erin Earle Fleming (Light Design Associate), Curtis Gillen (Movement/Puppet Consultant), Sarah Reed (Scene Design Associate), Dan Weschler (Music Consultant), and Emily White-WINTER (Stage Manager).

The Old Man and The Old Moon

May 3 - 22, 2022 | Spencer Theatre

Book, Music, and Lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co.

Directed by Artistic Director Stuart Carden and PigPen Theatre Co.

For ages 8 +

Tickets start at $35

Who keeps the moon shining bright? In this whimsical brand-new American fable, performed spellbindingly by a live indie-folk band, audiences of all ages will be in awe of The Old Man and the Old Moon.

Charged with the otherworldly task of making the moon glow nightly, The Old Man embarks on an unexpected epic adventure of land, sea, and sky. In search of his missing wife, this magical swirling tale of love unfolds before your eyes as our hero endures apocalyptic storms, monsters of the deep, and the fiercest obstacle of all: change.

The Old Man and the Old Moon is a blend of resonant storytelling, spirited indie-folk music and inventive puppetry, creating a theatrical experience that will win over generations of theatregoers with its wit, style, and depth of emotion. Created by the endlessly imaginative PigPen Theatre Co., who were declared "a phenomenon" by the Boston Herald, and performed to sold-out houses across the nation, KCRep is thrilled to bring this uplifting and joyful production to Kansas City to close our 2021-22 Season.

For more information about the 2022-2023 season, call Ticketing Services, 816-235-2700, or visit https://kcrep.org/. Single tickets begin at $35.00. For group ticket sales, call 816-235-6122.

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