The Colony Theatre to Present THE CIVILITY OF ALBERT CASHIER

The Colony Theatre will present the Reel Red Entertainment production of The Civility of Albert Cashier, a new musical, with preview performances on August 31, at 8pm, Sunday, September 1, at 3pm, Thursday, September 5, at 8pm, and Friday, September 6, at 8pm. Opening is set for Saturday, September 7, at 8pm. The regular performance schedule is Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm, through September 22 only. No performance on Friday 9/13; added performance on Saturday 9/14 at 2pm. Winner of the 2018 Jeff Award for Best New Musical, the show has a book by Jay Paul Deratany, music by Coyote Joe Stevens & Keaton Wooden and lyrics by Stevens, Wooden, and Deratany. This developmental production will be directed by Richard Israel and Anthony Lucca will serve as musical director. Casting and creative team will be announced later.
 
In August of 1862, Private Albert Cashier enlisted in the Union Army and fought valiantly during the Civil War, until being honorably discharged on August 17, 1865, at which point he received a military pension in recognition of his service. But there was more to Albert than most people knew ... he had a secret ... this heroic American soldier was actually born a female.
 
Said Colony Theatre Producing Artistic Director Heather Provost, “We are thrilled to be part of the telling of this incredible story and proud to support the development of new works.” Producer Christine Russell said, “Before getting involved with a project, my first question is always ‘why should this exist in the world? Is it meaningful, will it impact lives, will it enlighten people, will it nurture our souls?' And with The Civility of Albert Cashier, the answer was a clear ‘yes' on all fronts. I'm proud and excited to bring Albert's story to life.” And co-composer Coyote Joe Stevens said, “Albert's life matters personally to me. I see myself in his story. But it is more than my story. It's a story about veterans. About war. About young people. About autonomy and privacy. And about an unlikely person, the way he found his way in the world, and the people who became his family.”  
 
Jay Paul Deratany (Book & Lyrics) is a GLAAD-nominated writer and activist. His earlier plays include Veronica, Two Grooms, and Haram Iran, for which he received a London Arts Counsel grant and GLAAD Award nomination for best theatrical writing in California. He is the recipient of the 2017 Jeff Award. He is also the author of the feature films Saugatuck Cures and FosterBoy. He is in the LGBTQ Hall of Fame, advocating for global LGBTQ youth rights. He has built a career in Chicago as one of the top 100 lawyers and human rights advocates in the country. 
 
Coyote Joe Stevens (Music & Lyrics) is a transgender Americana singer-songwriter, composer, and trans rights advocate. He has recorded five albums and toured extensively with such notable acts as Indigo Girls, Melissa Ferrick, Girlyman, and Lowen & Navarro. He is best known for his contribution as one of the first wave of transgender performers to break through into public consciousness. His next musical co-written with Keaton Wooden, Hills on Fire, was a finalist for the 2023 Relentless Awards, the largest musical theatre prize in the US. 
 
Keaton Wooden (Music & Lyrics) is a Rhodes and Emmy-nominated writer, composer, and producer. Current development projects include the sci-fi series Dark Star and Hills on Fire (with Coyote Joe Stevens). As a screenwriter, he was winner of the AFM Pitch Conference, finalist for the London Film Awards, NexTV Pilot Competition, and Script Pipeline. As a social impact producer, his film TKOKC is a project executive produced by Morgan Freeman. He specializes in art leading to positive social change. He has helped raise millions of dollars for charity and multiple award-winning arts projects around the country.
 
Richard Israel (Director) is a New York-based theatre director specializing in the development of new musicals and is the recipient of the LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Career Achievement.  Current development projects include King of Pangaea (NAMT Festival of New Musicals), Snipped – A Non-Cutting Edge Musical, A Very Brady Musical, Schwab's (with Paul Gordon, composer of Daddy Longlegs, Jane Eyre), Amelia – A Musical Tale of Bravery and Mystery (written and produced by Tegan Summer) and American Whore Story (starring American Horror Story's Naomi Grossman). He was Theatrical Coordinator for the Emmy award-winning HBO series Big Little Lies, and he was the director of the multiple award-winning musical short film Into Light. He has directed off-Broadway at Theatre Row, AMT, and NY Theatre Festival, and regionally at O'Neill Theatre Center, Ogunquit Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse, Z-Space San Francisco, and McCoy/Rigby Entertainment. Notable West Coast productions include Calvin Berger, Violet, Floyd Collins, 110 in the Shade, and the world premiere of Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins. 
 
Anthony Lucca (Musical Director) is an award-winning music director, orchestrator, and arranger. World premieres include Bronco Billy (Skylight Theatre Company), Mutt House (Kirk Douglas Theatre). Regional music direction: Calvin Berger (Colony Theatre), The Sound of Music, Oliver!, Cinderella, Something Rotten!, Mamma Mia! (5-Star Theatricals), Evita (Palos Verdes Performing Arts Center). Orchestrations and arrangements: King of Pangaea (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), Cult of Love (IAMA Theatre Company), Sideways in Concert (Via Reggia Productions), Into Light (musical film). He is currently composing dance music for Hans Christian Andersen's The Shadow with the dance company Mixed eMotion Theatrix. He is an adjunct lecturer at USC School of Dramatic Arts and serves on the board of the Foundation for New American Musicals.
 
Ticket prices range from $45–$75. Purchase online at www.colonytheatre.org. The Colony Theatre is located at 555 N. Third Street (between Cyprus and Magnolia) in Burbank, 91502. Free onsite parking is available.   

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