QUEEN OF THE MIST Comes to Montclair State University

PEAK Performances at Montclair State University has announced the cast of its musical-in-concert performances of Queen of the Mist (February 20–23). With words and music by five-time Tony Award nominee Michael John LaChiusa (Hello, Again, Marie-Christine, The Wild Party, The Gardens of Anuncia), these performances directed by Kirsten Sanderson (previous works with LaChiusa: First Daughter Suite, Sukie and Sue, Little Fish, and First Lady Suite) with musical direction by Jude Obermüller (Orchestrations: Marguerite, Rehab: The Musical; as composer: Julius Caesar, Farragut North; with LaChiusa: The Public Theater’s workshop of The Gardens of Anuncia) bring a bold yet heretofore overlooked musical back in a time when its themes are all the more resonant, and its thrilling originality is all the more rare. Three-time Tony nominee, Drama Desk Award winner, and frequent LaChiusa collaborator Mary Testa (Broadway: Oklahoma!, Guys and Dolls; works with Michael John LaChiusa: Marie Christine, See What I Wanna See, First Lady Suite, The Gardens of Anuncia, and Queen of the Mist) reprises the role LaChiusa wrote for her and which she originated in 2011—of the historic figure at the center of this audacious true story.

Queen of the Mist was first commissioned and premiered by The Transport Group in New York City for its Off-Broadway debut in 2011 at the Gym at Judson, and is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. About a woman who sought to create a safety net for herself by taking a safety-net-free, death-defying plunge, this wise, moving, and eerily captivating work from one of the great musical theater composers and lyricists of his generation continues PEAK’s 2024-25 season, bringing a diversity of genres and forms to the Alexander Kasser Theater (1 Normal Ave, Montclair, NJ).

In 1901, Annie Edson Taylor, an unmarried and struggling 63-year-old woman, went to extraordinary lengths to change her position, in a quest both for financial stability and visibility: becoming the first person to challenge and survive the mighty Niagara Falls, braving them in a barrel she designed and built. This riveting narrative follows Taylor (Mary Testa) as she navigates not only the perilous Falls but also her place in history, amid a chaotic world of manipulative managers, killers, judgmental relatives, and advocates. Unwilling to settle for an ordinary life, she waged war against her fears and gambled with destiny.

Kirsten Sanderson said,  “Annie’s 15 minutes of fame fails to lift her out of poverty. Instead she has a profound spiritual experience while going over the falls, one which sustains her through the final years of her life. Annie Edson Taylor—brazen, stubborn, brave and determined, with her one-of-a-kind, larger-than-life story and uncommon world view, is such a great musical theatre character. I’m inspired by the way she defied the conventional restrictions placed on women in her time. Successfully pursuing ideas that others believe are impossible is so important. It’s the very thing that empowers humanity and advances civilization, and that’s why Edson Taylor’s crazy adventure is a tale worth sharing.”

Beyond Testa, Queen of the Mist’s cast also includes George Abud (Broadway: Lempicka, The Band’s Visit; Off-Broadway: Cornelia Street, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Man of La Mancha), Klea Blackhurst (Off-Broadway: Party Face, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Bingo; Solo shows: Everything the Traffic Will Allow, Autumn in New York), Erin Davie (Broadway: Diana, Sunday in the Park with George, Side Show, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Grey Gardens), Kelvin Moon Loh (Broadway: Beetlejuice, SpongeBob SquarePants, The King and I; Off-Broadway: Pacific Overtures, Here Lies Love), Anthony Norman (Broadway: The Prom; National Tour: Dear Evan Hansen, Newsies; Regional: Sweeney Todd; TV: ‘Mare of Easttown’), and Leo Roberts (National Tour: Mrs. Doubtfire; London/West End: Les Miserables, Shrek, Show Boat, West Side Story).

Queen of the Mist features orchestrations by Michael Starobin (winner of Tony Awards for Assassins and Next to Normal). The creative team includes Keith A. Truax (Lighting Design), Ken Travis (Sound Design), Lara de Bruijn (Costume Design), and Kirsten Sanderson (Projections Design).

Queen of the Mist builds on Hausam and LaChiusa's 40-year professional relationship. With this “refreshingly unusual musical” (Time Out London), PEAK Performances doubles down on its devotion to inventive musical theater, as it seeks to find new ways to incubate and uplift bold original works in the genre as the industry increasingly favors intellectual property. The musical follows last year’s presentation of the East Coast premiere of the opera Blind Injustice— “a spirited call for reforms to the American criminal justice system” (The New York Times)—composed by Scott Davenport Richards with a libretto by David Cote, and directed by Robin Guarino. In Summer 2025, PEAK Performances will engage to-be-announced musical theater makers in developmental readings and workshops, challenging this era of scarce opportunities for the creation of innovative work in the field.

Wiley Hausam, Director of Arts + Cultural Programming at Montclair State University, says, “We at PEAK Performances value musicals with something on their minds and in their hearts. I'm always on the lookout for artful works that might have been overlooked or underappreciated at their debut. Michael John LaChiusa is one of the most important writers of musical theater of the past thirty years. He is also extraordinarily productive. I believe that his Queen of the Mist, which I loved when I first saw it in 2011, is more relevant — and more touching — than ever.”

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