New Musicals HART ISLAND and COWBOY BOB to Headline New York Theatre Barn's New Work Series

New York Theatre Barn will host a free live stream of its award-winning New Works Series on Wednesday, May 12th, 2021 at 7PM EST, featuring excerpts from the new musicals Hart Island and Cowboy Bob. The live 1-hour presentation will also feature a conversation with the writers and creative team.

From the writers of the award-winning musicals Cloaked and The Yellow Wood, Hart Island is the new musical from Michelle Elliott (book and lyrics) and Danny Haengil Larsen (music and lyrics). Just off the shore of New York City lies a sorrowful island that serves as a public burial ground for the lonely, forgotten, or impoverished of the city. Hart Island is an inspiring and emotional tale of an immigrant woman fighting for her child, and unexpected compassion of a disillusioned inmate who is the only person who can help her. This hauntingly beautiful new musical observes two people on the fringe of society as they change each other's lives forever. Featuring performances by Natascia Diaz (Passion, By The Way, Meet Vera Stark), Rodney Hicks (Come From Away, Rent) and Gizel Jiménez (Wicked, Avenue Q).

Cowboy Bob has music and lyrics by Jeanna Phillips, book and additional lyrics by Molly Beach Murphy, additional music by Alex Thrailkill, and is directed by Annie Tippe (Octet, Ghost Quartet). You wouldn't look twice at Peggy Jo. She was a good daughter, always tipped well at restaurants, but disguised as "Cowboy Bob" in a fake beard and a ten-gallon hat, she was the slickest bank robber Texas has ever known. Making her get-away in a sky blue 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix, she was a modern-day bandit stealing thousands and evading detection for more than a decade. With a score that's equal parts Riot Grrrl rage and Texas two-step twang, this tale of a small-town legend spurs a discontented chain-restaurant waitress to buck routine, take life by the reins, and let it ride. Featuring performances by Ashley Pérez Flanagan (Freestyle Love Supreme) and Grace McLean (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812).

Hart Island has been developed with the Village Theatre and Musical Theatre Factory. Cowboy Bob has been developed with Ars Nova, the Yale Institute for Music Theater, University of the Arts' Polyphone Festival, New York Stage & Film, and the Village Theatre. Cowboy Bob reflects the fluid vitality of the work created in collaboration by Molly Beach Murphy, Jeanna Phillips and Annie Tippe, all united by a desire to make music theatre that carves out space for more dynamic female-identifying characters, and explodes the possibility of the genre at large. Both shows were featured in the 2020 National Alliance for Musical Theatre's (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals.

The 1-hour presentation will be available on New York Theatre Barn's YouTube channel and Broadway on Demand, and is hosted and produced by Associate Artistic Director Jen Sandler and Artistic Director Joe Barros. Now in its 14th season, the New Works Series has received support in part by the Innovation & Exploration Fund, a program of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. For more information, visit New York Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.

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