Lee Sunday Evans Directs RIDDLE OF THE TRILOBITES, an Original New Musical at the New Victory Theater

Two-time Obie Award winner and Waterwell Artistic Director Lee Sunday Evans (In the Green, Dance Nation, The Things That Were There) directs Riddle of the Trilobites, an original new musical by CollaborationTown [Family Play (1979 to Present)].

When young Aphra discovers an ancient prophecy, "The trilobites cannot live, but will not die," she and her arthropod pals set off on an underwater adventure to solve the riddle before a sea change of epic proportions destroys their home. Will they save the trilobite kingdom? Scuttle over to the New Victory Theater from February 7 - 23, 2020 to find out!

Set 500 million years ago, Riddle of the Trilobites brings prehistoric sea creatures to life with humor, heart and eye-popping puppetry designed by Amanda Villalobos (In the Green, Amelie, Cute Activist). An allegory about climate change, this all-ages musical tackles a difficult subject--the state of our planet--with a creative team whose credits include Homos, or Everything in America (LAByrinth Theater Company), Family Play (1979 to Present), named one of The Advocate's 10 Best LGBT Plays of 2014; The Deepest Play Ever: The Catharsis of Pathos (The New Ohio Theater); The Play About My Dad (59E59 Theaters); The Momentum (2012 GLAAD Media Award nomination); Children at Play (The Living Theater); and 6969 (59E59 Theaters; winner of three NYIT Awards).

Over a two-year period with New Victory LabWorks, the theater's new work development program, Riddle of the Trilobites premiered to great acclaim at Flint Repertory theatre in March of 2019. "Flint Rep launches [Riddle of the Trilobites] with beauty, respect and commitment," says Encore Michigan. "Nothing short of magic," raves Flint Stages.

CollaborationTown creates ensemble-driven, humorous and heartfelt new plays that defy expectations of how stories can be told in the theater. The company maintains a consistent core ensemble which collaborates regularly with an ever-expanding community of artists, and creates new plays that are relevant beyond traditional theater audiences. Awarded an Otto Rene Castillo Award for Political Theatre in 2014, CollaborationTown most recently devised a new play, Candy, under commission from LCT3 / Lincoln Center.