Pulp Musicals Sets Sights On The Moon With New Radio-Style Musical THE GREAT MOON HOAX

"Don't be scared of the dark... that is where the dreaming starts!" From the piano of Matt Dahan (Starry, The Babies, music director of Team Starkid) comes PULP MUSICALS, a new radio-style musical series that weaves stories of science fiction, fantasy, and myth into an audio adventure unlike any other.

The first episode of Pulp Musicals is titled "The Great Moon Hoax", and is inspired by actual events, when in the summer of 1835, a struggling New York City newspaper published a series of articles detailing the discovery of a thriving lunar civilization. 19th century readers believed it, imaginations ran wild, and the moon never felt closer to the Earth.

The Great Moon Hoax features an all-star ensemble starring: James Tolbert (National Tour: Mary Poppins, Black Friday) as Samuel Stratford, Mariah Rose Faith (National Tour: Mean Girls, Starry) as Rose Stratford, Curt Mega (Glee, Spies are Forever) as Benjamin Park and John Herschel, Natalie Llerena (Starry, Salvage) as Margaret Cavendish, Tony Gonzalez (Annabella, Diary of Atticus) as Chester Thomas, Amanda Walter (Starry) as Preacher and Chorus, and Matt Dahan as the Narrator.

The idea to pair science fiction with musical theatre came about in mid-2020, when Dahan witnessed his theatre community adapting to a world without live venues. Performers and patrons went digital, connecting in a way that was both brand new and oddly familiar. He couldn't shake the image of early 20th century listeners gathered around radios, engaged in audio dramas while imagination filled in the scenery. Being partial to the sci-fi genre and longing to find a suitable arena for his passions to co-exist, everything clicked in the form of Pulp Musicals.

Spanning 94 minutes, "The Great Moon Hoax" will be operatic in nature (less than 5% of the episode is spoken) and cinematic in your minds eye (songs blend together as scenes would on stage, and sound effects play to heighten the sense of time and place). Future episodes will contain stories both original and adapted, with protagonists traveling between other classic pulp genres.

The complete "Great Moon Hoax" original cast recording is set to be released on Friday November 19 for $14.99 on iTunes, and comes with a complete libretto. The album is currently available to pre-order, with the song "More Than This" (sung by Mariah Rose Faith and James Tolbert) downloading instantly when purchased.

To honor the past, "The Great Moon Hoax" will "broadcast" its three half-hour parts for free on YouTube - Part 1 on Monday November 15, Part 2 on Wednesday November 17, and Part 3 on Friday November 19. Each part will premiere at 8 PM eastern / 5 PM pacific, and kept live for four hours before being removed. Matt Dahan will be present in the live chat as each part airs. For more, follow @pulpmusicals on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok.

Join the cast of Pulp Musicals, here at the beginning - the sky's the limit, and the stars await.

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