Jessica Hendy to Record Full Concept Album of Original One-Woman Musical WITH BECKETT

Jessica Hendy, a Broadway actress known industry wide for her extraordinary vocal range, is bringing her own story to the stage in WITH BECKETT - a new and unique, full length, narrative book-musical for a solo artist. An impact story for a new generation of women, collaborators Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker (creators of the Tony Award ® winning BANDSTAND and the upcoming new musical BRUCE), unravel Hendy's astounding story of a single mother's resilience through an almost unbelievable chain of events captured in a wholly original new score. A one-woman theatrical tour de force performed by the woman who lived it, WITH BECKETT offers a way forward through life's challenges while championing emotional wellbeing, bravery and independence.

Following a year of development, virtual industry readings and a socially distanced creative intensive at Open Jar Studios in New York City, WITH BECKETT charts one woman's journey through a seemingly impossible landscape of love and loss, delivered with honesty, candor and a contemporary score with an IndiePop singer-songwriter aesthetic. Despite the theater industry facing a continued intermission due to COVID restrictions, the team is propelling the project forward, launching a crowdsourcing campaign to fund a full-length concept album to be released this Spring as a precursor to a fully staged production at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati under the artistic leadership of D. Lynn Meyersas part of their commitment to creating and debuting new work.

"As a creative team, we've just refused to let this pandemic stop us from realizing the full potential of this show" explains writer and performer Jessica Hendy. "It's a story about something that almost incapacitated my entire life, but I chose to rise out of the pain and the shame and go on. That's what we all are trying to do right now, stay safe so we can go on," she continues. "Like real life, WITH BECKETT is a story of equal measure comedy and tragedy, irreverence and gravitas, flying high and rolling with life's punches, and the score reflects that," adds co-writer and lyricist Robert Taylor. "We have created a new musical that pushes the boundaries of form in the midst of a pandemic," explains composer, co-writer and co-lyricist Richard Oberacker. "Finding our way, no matter what to a new beginning, just as Jessica did."

The team also includes music supervisor, arranger and orchestrator Julie McBride (Broadway's SpongeBob SquarePants!), and commercial recording producer and mix engineer Mark Owen (Cirque du Soleil's KA) at the helm. The concept album will be produced by Mitchell Walker and Ashley Kate Adams of AKA Studio Productions.

"It's thrilling to know the concept album for this show will be released this Spring, and we look forward to the day when we can all return to the theatre safely, and our audiences will be able to experience remarkable stories like WITH BECKETT live," adds D. Lynn Meyers. Until then, donations to fund their IndieGoGo campaign can be made at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/with-beckett#/

REPERTORY NOTES

Book: Jessica Hendy, with Robert Taylor & Richard Oberacker

Music: Richard Oberacker

Lyrics: Robert Taylor & Richard Oberacker

Music Supervision, Arrangement & Orchestrations: Julie McBride
Direction: Richard Hess

Recording Production, Mixing & Mastering: Mark Owen
in collaboration with Mitchell Walker and Ashley Kate Adams of AKA Studio Productions

BECKETT is a full-length narrative book-musical with an original score, based on an extraordinary true story, and performed solo by the woman who lived it. Jessica is a woman living her dream - a career in the big city and a perfect marriage - when her husband begins to suffer an inexplicable mental decline that slides into a terrifying psychotic break with reality. She is left with her young son to navigate a seemingly impossible new landscape with few resources other than an irrepressible sense of humor and a mother's determination. BECKETT is the surprising and emotional true story of a woman's resilience and her journey to a new beginning.

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