New York Theatre Barn Will Live Stream Excerpts From New Musicals THE DOGS OF PRIPYAT and TARRYTOWN

New York Theatre Barn will host a free live stream of its New Works Series on Wednesday, June 24th, 2020 at 7PM EDT, featuring excerpts from the new musicals The Dogs of Pripyat and Tarrytown. The 40-minute presentation will also feature the creators of the new musicals.

Based on the play by the late Leah Napolin, The Dogs of Pripyat has a book by Leah Napolin (Yentl) and Jill Abramovitz (Bread and Roses, It Shoulda Been You), music by Aron Accurso, and lyrics by Jill Abramovitz. Ukraine, 1986: In the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, citizens of nearby Pripyat are forced to evacuate, leaving behind their homes, their lives, and their beloved pets. The Dogs of Pripyat is the story of these pets, and one in particular: Boychik, a gentle lap dog that learns to survive without his masters in this harsh new world. It's a story of hope when it seems least possible and the deep need inside all of us to create family in the most unimaginable of circumstances. The writers will present two songs from the show performed remotely by Zachary Noah Piser (Dear Evan Hansen, Sweeney Todd), Adam Rothenberg (Company, Miss Saigon), Rachel Griffin (We Have Apples), and co-writer Aron Accurso. Abramovitz most recently appeared on Broadway in Beetlejuice, and Accurso is the associate music director of the Broadway production of Aladdin.

Loosely based on Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown is a contemporary new musical with book, music and lyrics by Adam Wachter. Set in present day Tarrytown, New York, the musical tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a gay music teacher who, after being fired from a private school in Manhattan, moves to Tarrytown for a job at the local public high school. There he meets the principal's secretary Katrina. The small-town-girl is enthralled with Ichabod's former big-city life, while he is equally infatuated with her gorgeous and flirtatious husband Brom. The musical culminates on Halloween, when a ghost story Brom tells about a headless horseman sparks an explosive chain of events for the three characters, changing their lives forever. Wachter will present two songs from the show performed remotely by Rachel Cahoon and Jaye Alexander. Wachter is a music director recently featured on six episodes of the Disney+ series Encore!.

The Dogs of Pripyat has been developed in the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, the Dramatists Guild Fellowship program, Weston Playhouse/Ghostlight and Sh-K-Boom Records, NAMT's Festival of New Musicals, Goodspeed Musicals, City Center, University of Miami, and is and is the recipient of the Jerry Bock Award. Tarrytown has been developed by Diversionary Theatre where it won the San Diego Theatre Critics' Circle Craig Noel Award for Best New Musical, Backyard Renaissance, MCC Theatre, and has a studio cast recording now streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon, or wherever music streams to benefit The Actors Fund's COVID-19 assistance programs.

The 40-minute presentation will be available on New York Theatre Barn's YouTube channel, and is hosted and produced by Jen Sandler and Joe Barros. The company will be giving 50% of its donations each week to a different charity that supports black lives and civil rights. The charity on June 24th will be DARKNESS Rising, a vehicle to help individuals in the Black community begin conversations with family, coworkers, and friends about mental health and emotional well-being. For more information, visit New York Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.

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