Jasmine Rice LaBeija to Join FIVE, THE PARODY MUSICAL as Hillary Clinton

FIVE: The Parody Musical will welcome iconic drag legend Jasmine Rice LaBeija to the company as 45's original "nasty" nemesis, Hillary Clinton. The world premiere production, presented by Five Musical LLC, features a book and lyrics by Shimmy Braun & Moshiel Newman Daphna, music and lyrics by Billy Recce (A Musical About Star Wars, Little Black Book), and direction & choreography by Jen Wineman (Dog Man: The Musical, F#%king Up Everything). The limited one-month-only engagement plays February 15 – March 10, Off-Broadway at Theater 555 (555 W 42nd St, NYC). The official opening night is President’s Day, February 19 at 7PM. A portion of proceeds from the production will be donated to voter initiative charities to be announced soon. For tickets and further information, visit www.FiveTheMusical.com.
 
LaBeija joins the previously announced cast of FIVE: The Parody Musical: Anyae Anasia as Ivana, Gabriella Joy Rodriguez (The Color Purple Tour) as Marla, Jaime Lyn Beatty (Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical, Starkid Founding Member) as Melania, Gabi Garcia as Stormy, and Hannah Bonnett (Legally Blonde National Tour) as Ivanka.

“I am so excited to get to play iconic boss Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton,” says Jasmine Rice LaBeija. “As someone who looks up to her, I hope my performance makes her proud, and brings some joy and hope to people, as she has brought joy and hope to me.” 

Look out SIX, here comes FIVE: The Parody Musical. Henry VIII and his six wives had nothing on Donald, the 45th, and these five ladies. Poised to make America laugh again, FIVE is an irreverent musical comedy revue starring some of the women in the life of America’s past (and hopefully not future) President. Ivana, Marla, and Melania are joined by crowd favorite Stormy and daddy’s girl Ivanka as they each take the spotlight and sing their hearts out for your vote.
 
“The lightbulb moment came right after we saw SIX,” say Shimmy Braun and Moshiel Newman Daphna, creators of FIVE. "Who else can easily fight the battle of who had it the worst? … And so was born, FIVE: The Parody Musical, a primary held by the women in the life of our loathsome 45th President. It is a parody that, at last, gives these women their moment in the limelight …and a chance to ‘grab back.’”

FIVE: The Parody Musical features Orchestrations and Arrangements by Terence “T” Odonkor, Music Supervision and Arrangements by Lena Gabrielle, and Casting by Michael Cassara Casting. Scenic Design is by David Goldstein; Costume Design is by Florence D’Lee; Lighting Design is by Marie Yokoyama; Sound Design is by UptownWorks; and Props Design is by Brendan McCann. Visceral Entertainment is the General Manager and Executive Producer. 
 

JASMINE RICE LABEIJA

is one of the most iconic and respected nightlife entertainers in NYC. She has had a hold on the drag scene since Pride of 2012, and she is now the International Godmother of The House of LaBeija. In 2017, she was one of the main cast members on the documentary series Shade: Queens of NYC on Fusion Network. She was later a host of Dragged, which won a Shorty Award in Diversity & Inclusion, for Verizon’s network In The Know. She was the face of 2020 NYC Pride and a featured artist at the Guggenheim Museum. More recently, she was featured in a short film called Inside & Outwards, narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker which has won an Emmy Award. In 2022 she was a main cast of a short film which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Aside from her drag career, Jasmine is also an opera singer and a graduate of The Juilliard School. That same year she made her San Diego debut at the Shell with the San Diego Symphony as a special guest soloist with Megan Hilty and Rob Fisher as the conductor. This year she was invited back to the Guggenheim Museum to give her solo recital as well as her solo Lincoln Center Recital. She continues to further her career in both opera and drag and performs around the world.
    

SHIMMY BRAUN

(Book & Lyrics) is a Theater and Film producer, who in following his dreams, has recently added playwright to his credits with Five, The Parody Musical and Faygele (in production). Theater producing credits include Anthony Rapps’ Without You, The Secret Garden and Hester Street. Other recent projects include Life of Pi, Good Night Oscar and current Broadway revivals of The Wiz, Spamalot and Merrily We Roll Along. Film credits include Executive Producer of the documentary Conversion and the feature film Bleed like Me (in production). Shimmy thanks his parents and children for their unconditional love and support. Special thank you to Mary Lu Roffe and Jason Turchin. Love and kindness to all!
    

MOSHIEL NEWMAN DAPHNA

(Book & Lyrics) is making his writing and producing debut with Five, The Parody Musical, but is no stranger to the theatrics. He started writing parody lyrics to pop songs as a Hasidic Jewish boy in Long Island, and while those were very different in concept, they certainly sparked his interest in writing. From Theological Seminary in Israel, to a BFA in Photo and Video from the School of Visual Arts, Moshiel’s journey has always been an unconventional one, which he believes adds all the color to his life and writing. A strong advocate of being involved in community, Moshiel traveled the world under his Drag Persona Lady SinaGaga, and currently as Mr. SoCal Leather 2023; entertaining, and talking about the importance of intersectionality, identity, and fun, in whatever form he chooses to inhabit!
    

Billy Recce

(Music & Lyrics) is a Billboard charting, two-time MAC Award, and NEO Award- winning composer/ lyricist, singer/songwriter, and playwright based in NY. His works include the long- running hit A Musical About Star Wars (Off-Broadway, Cast Album on Broadway Records), Singfeld! A Musical About Nothing (Off-Broadway) the Broadway bound Little Black Book (World Premiere Concept Album on Broadway Records) and the upcoming musical comedy Fowl Play (directed by Emmy and Tony Nominee John Tartaglia). Billy also wrote the international headline making Balloon Boy, for which he was the youngest writer ever selected for NYMF at 17. Billy has co-authored songs for Bernadette Peters, Mandy Patinkin, Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess on “The Birds and the BS” with Jordan Roth. He also served as the head writer and composer of the Award Winning BroadwayWorld sitcom “Rachel Unraveled” and sold out 54 Below several times with his traveling “Snowflake Jamboree” concerts. His debut album, "The Perks of Being a Snowflake" is on iTunes and Spotify. His work has been performed at The New Amsterdam, Broadway in Bryant Park, Lincoln Center, The Tilles Center, The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Ars Nova, The York Theatre, The Green Room 42 and beyond. Billy is a proud member of ASCAP and graduate of Fordham University.
    

Jen Wineman

(Director/Choreographer) is a Brooklyn-based artist. Selected NYC credits include: Dog Man: The Musical (New World Stages/Lucille Lortel Theatre); Retraction (TheatreRow); Less Than 50% (59E59); Surfer Girl (Animus); My Heart is in the East (La Mama); Fable (NYMF); F#%king Up Everything (Elektra Theater). Selected regional credits: As You Like It (American Shakespeare Center); Tiny Beautiful Things (Merrimack Rep); Game On (Pittsburgh CLO); Shakespeare in Love (Virginia Rep); Into the West (Tantrum Theater); Baskerville (Dorset Theatre Festival); The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Asolo Rep & Miami New Drama); Sweeney Todd (Playmakers Rep); The 39 Steps, Shipwrecked (Triad Stage). Touring productions include Dog Man: The Musical (National tours in the US, Canada, Australia); Twelfth Night and Midsummer (Asolo Rep). Upcoming: the world premiere of Dangerous Days (Miami New Drama) and Bye Bye Birdie (Argyle Theatre). Jen holds a B.A. from Vassar, and a M.F.A in directing from Yale School of Drama.
 

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