New York Theatre Barn Presents First Look at New Musicals From David Dabbon, Gabriel Jason Dean, Emerson Mae Smith & More

New York Theatre Barn will host a free live stream of its New Works Series on Wednesday, January 13th, 2021 at 7PM EDT, featuring excerpts from the new musicals Our New Town and Elektric. The live 1-hour presentation will also feature a conversation with the writers and creative team. This installment was scheduled for a live broadcast on January 6th, but was postponed due to the destructive and unlawful events in Washington, DC.

The new musical Our New Town has book and lyrics by Gabriel Jason Dean (Heartland) and Jessie Dean, and music and additional lyrics by David Dabbon (Beetlejuice). In the aftermath of the deadliest shooting on a college campus in US history, surviving cast members of Thornton Wilder's Our Town put together an unauthorized show as a way to reclaim their theatre space and heal their broken community. But when the event is stopped mid-performance, the cast and audience must decide between compliance or defiance. A hyper theatrical blend of truth with fiction and scene with song, Our New Town is an immersive musical that puts the audience at the center of an American crisis. The writers will be joined by their director Theresa McCarthy (Titanic, Queen of The Mist, First Daughters Suite) and Howard Sherman (Writer of Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder's Our Town in the 21st Century). Featuring performances by Wagner College students Gabriel Argate, Lila Cooper, Travis Harley, Madeline Kendall, Elise Killian, Julie Manning, Emily Moreno, Benjamin Sellers, Miles Wilke and William Wallace, and co-writer Jessie Dean.

Elektric is a new musical with a book by Emerson Mae Smith (Love In Hate Nation) and music and lyrics by Murphy Taylor Smith. A pair of twins, one cisgender, one transgender, are reunited after a decade by a Gods-sent mission: murder their mother to avenge their father. They are dual heirs to the throne of Argos, a small militaristic city-state under the complete control of their mother, Klytemnestra. Elektra, who's dealt with her mother's violent transphobia for years, is ready to kill. Orestes, returning home in secret from his studies abroad, is not so sure. Argos is crumbling at the end of a years-long war and the streets hum with violence and talk of prophets. Brimming with revolutionary fervor, Elektric is a radical, trans woman-centered retelling of the Oresteia. Featuring performances by co-writer Murphy Taylor Smith.

Our New Town was developed with The Civilians R&D Group and received its world premiere production in October 2019 at Wagner College. Elektric has been developed with Penn State University and will have an upcoming world premiere at the University of Michigan. This is the first time that material from Elektric will be presented publicly.

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 Jen Sandler and Joe Barros. For more information, visit New York Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.

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