Abingdon Theatre Company Opens THE BOY WHO DANCED AIR Tonight

Abingdon Theatre Company presents its first musical with the New York premiere of The Boy Who Danced On Air, with music by Tim Rosser and book and lyrics by Charlie Sohne, winners of 2015 Jonathan Larson and Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart awards. Directed by Abingdon Theatre Company Artistic Director Tony Speciale, The Boy Who Danced On Air is now playing through June 11, at the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street). Opening night is tonight, Thursday, May 25 at 7PM.

THE BOY WHO DANCED ON AIRis a modern-day love story set in rural Afghanistan. Paiman and Feda have spent their young lives as dancers in the world of bacha bazi, where wealthy men take in boys from poor families, train them to dance at parties, and often abuse them. The two boys' chance meeting changes the course of their lives and sets them on a journey to find their independence in this musical fable about love, tradition, morality, and the strength of the human spirit.

Troy Iwata (The Lightning Thief, TheatreWorksUSA) and Jonathan Raviv (The Band's Visit, My Name Is Asher Lev) reprise their roles from the musical's world premiere in San Diego. Completing the cast are Osh Ghanimah, Deven Kolluri, and Nikhil Saboo (The Transposed Heads, Public Theater).

THE BOY WHO DANCED ON AIR features music direction by David Gardos and choreography by Nejla Yatkin. The production has scenic design by Christopher Swader and Justin Swader; costume design by Andrea Lauer; lighting design by Wen-Ling Liao; sound design by Justin Graziani, props by Jerry Marsini; casting by Karie Koppel; and fight direction by Dan Renkin. Associate Director is Zi Alikhan and production consultant is Mejgan Afshan. Christopher Flores is Production Stage Manager. Michelle Viteri is Assistant Stage Manager.

THE BOY WHO DANCED ON AIR was presented at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) festival in 2013 and received a Writers ResidenCy Grant at New York Theatre Barn. In 2016, the musical had its world premiere at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego where it received the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Score. Pam Kragen, in the San Diego Union Times, called The Boy Who Danced On Air "a solid, subtle, sad and often inspiring work that's smartly staged by director Tony Speciale with a first-rate cast."

The Boy Who Danced On Air runs through June 11 at Abingdon Theatre Company's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 1st floor, between 8th and 9th Avenues). Performances are Tuesday - Saturday at 7:30PM, with matinees Saturday at 2:30PM and Sunday at 2PM(No performance on Friday, May 26.) Tickets are $65. For tickets, visit abingdontheatre.org or call 212-352-3101.

Photo credit: Maria Baranova