Premieres' Inner Voices 2018, Featuring Rebecca Luker, Finn Douglas And Farah Alvin, Begins Performances Today

PREMIERES (Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director), the New York based music theater organization whose mission is "to bring new music theater to light," is pleased to announce the cast and creative teams for this season's INNER VOICES, the biennial series of solo works featuring new teams of playwrights and composers. Performances begin TONIGHT at 8:00pm for a limited run through Saturday, November 17, 2018 at The TBG Mainstage Theatre (312 West 36th Street - between 8th & 9th Avenues). Opening Night is Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 8:00pm.

The 2018 biennial series of three dramatic and intimate one-act solo musicals for INNER VOICES is:

Scaffolding, with words and music by Tony© Award nominee Jeff Blumenkrantz. Broadway veteran and Tony© Award nominee Rebecca Luker (Cinderella) stars in this musical that finds a single mom's relationship with her brilliant only child tested when he interviews for the college of his choice. Directed by Tony© Award winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza), with music direction by Benji Goldsmith and Yari Bond on cello.

The Costume, with words and music by Daniel Zaitchik. Newcomer Finn Douglas (A Man's World) stars in this musical that finds 10-year old Leo on Halloween 1954 given the unexpected task of caring for an injured bird overnight. Directed by Noah Himmelstein, with music direction by Deborah Abramson and on violins Patti Kilroy and Ludovica Burtone.

Window Treatment, with words by Deborah Zoe Laufer and music by Daniel Green. Broadway's Farah Alvin (It Shoulda Been You) is set to star in this musical that finds a lonely New Yorker planning her future with a stranger across the courtyard. Directed by Portia Krieger, with music direction by Paul Masse and Brandon Wong on the vibraphone.

The design team of INNER VOICES is comprised of: Reid Thompson (set/props), Brooke Cohen Brown (costumes), and Aaron Spivey (lighting). Donald William Myers is Production Stage Manager and Ryan Looke is Assistant Stage Manager. Alan Filderman is the Casting Director. Christine Cirker is Marketing Director. Dailey-Monda Management are the General Managers.

"PREMIERES is thrilled to add three more 'jewels' to the canon of INNER VOICES with our sixth production," stated Artistic Director Paulette Haupt. "It is always exciting to find exceptional creators and give them the opportunity to try a new form of music theater. And it gives me great joy to put these productions together with outstanding directors, musicians, designers and virtuosic performers who bring these new works to life."

Inner Voices plays the following performance schedule: Monday through Friday at 8:00pm and Saturday at 3:00pm & 8:00pm.

Tickets are $49 and are available online at www.PremieresNYC.org or by calling OvationTix at 866-811-4111. Tickets will also be available at The TBG Theatre box office one hour before performance time.

Rebecca Luker (Performer, Scaffolding) is thrilled to be collaborating with her friends Jeff Blumenkrantz and Victoria Clark for PREMIERES INNER VOICES at TBG Mainstage Theatre. Ms. Luker has starred in nine Broadway productions including The Secret Garden, Showboat, The Sound of Music, The Music Man and Mary Poppins. Her films include Not Fade Away and The Rewrite. Her solos recordings are Anything Goes: Rebecca Luker sings Cole Porter, Leaving Home, Greenwich Time, and I Got Love - Songs of Jerome Kern.

Jeff Blumenkrantz (Words and Music, Scaffolding) is thrilled to be collaborating with two of his greatest muses, Rebecca and Victoria! Writing: Urban Cowboy (Tony nomination), 2011 Fred Ebb Award, commissions from Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Guggenheim Works and Process, I've Been Played: Alysha Umphress Swings Jeff Blumenkrantz, The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast (on iTunes). Songs recorded by Rebecca, Victoria, Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, and Megan Mullally, among others. Acting: Bright Star, Murder for Two, The Big Sick, The Detour, Will and Grace, Joseph..., Candide, Sweeney Todd, and more. www.jeffblumenkrantz.com

Victoria Clark (Director, Scaffolding) is inspired to tell stories as an actor, director, and educator, and thrilled to collaborate with Jeff Blumenkrantz on this project. Director: Newton's Cradle (NYMF- Best Director and Best Musical), The Trouble with Doug (Fredericia Theater/Denmark), Hansel and Gretl and Heidi and Günther (Village Theater Festival of New Musicals), Mary Jo Shen's Piano Paper, Goodspeed, Philadelphia Opera, Texas Opera Theater, NAMT, and the short film, For Me & My Gal (NikoFrank Productions). Artist-In-Residence: Duke University, Pace University, visiting faculty Yale University. Actor: 12 Broadway shows, 4 Tony© Award nominations, 1 Tony© Award: The Light in the Piazza.

Benji Goldsmith (Music Director, Scaffolding) is a composer, songwriter, and music director. Music Direction credits include Butterflies (Barrington Stage Company), Regretting Almost Everything (BSC, 54 Below), Crossing Over (NY Theatre Barn), as well as Associate MD on The Royal Family of Broadway (BSC). As a composer, his music and songs have been performed at NAMT, 54 Below, Barrington Stage Company, New World Stages, and various other venues in New York and across the country.

Finn Douglas (Performer, The Costume) is a native New Yorker, and a Film, TV, and Theatre actor. Theatre: Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Ben), A Man's World (Kiddie Ware), School of Rock (Broadway Promo Team) The Titans (Max). Film: Lemon (Landon), Fill Your Heart with French Fries (Xavier). TV: "Tot Cop Nick Jr "(Tot Cop), "After Forever" (Riley), "House of Cards" (Charlie Conway), "The Blacklist" (Ethan), "Thanksgiving" (Noah). Thrilled to be soaring into his Off-Broadway debut, Finn would like to give special thanks to Jackie Reid, Innovative Artists, Neal Tracy, Anna Hentz, Anne Brummel, Garden Street School of the Performing Arts, Frank and Sharon, Dad, Mom, and Jack for helping him take flight. @FinnDouglasActor

Daniel Zaitchik (Word and Music, The Costume). His musicals include Darling Grenadine, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Suprema (with Jordan Harrison) and have been developed/produced at the O'Neill Theater Center, Goodspeed Musicals, Roundabout, Lincoln Center, New Dramatists, Ars Nova, and other theatres. Honors include the 2017 Kleban Prize, the Kahn Award from Boston University, the Frederick Loewe Award, and The Georgia Bogarduz Holof Lyricist Award. Zaitchik's singer-songwriter albums include Summer of the Soda Fountain Girls and Bad Dancer. www.danielzaitchik.com

Noah Himmelstein (Director, The Costume). Credits include: I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk (Strathmore and Lincoln Center with Kristin Chenoweth; also San Francisco, LA and Denver); The Forgotten Woman (Bay Street Theatre); Los Otros; The Book of Joseph and An Inspector Calls (all with Baltimore's Everyman Theatre); Loving Leo (Weston Playhouse); Positions 1956 (Urban Arias); Surfer Girl (Foley Gallery); Bleeding Love (Fredericia Teater, Denmark); New York Philharmonic (Young People's Concerts), Lincoln Center American Songbook. Asst. Director: James Lapine & Bartlett Sher. www.noahhimmelstein.com

Deborah Abramson (Music Director, The Costume) has served as Music Director or Associate MD for many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including Matilda the Musical, Spring Awakening, James Joyce's The Dead, Bernarda Alba, Dessa Rose, My Life with Albertine, and The Glorious Ones. As composer, she has written What You Think About When... (with William Finn), Young Marco Polo (with Peter Mills), The History of War (with Amanda Yesnowitz and Chip Zien), and While I Wait (with Amanda Yesnowitz).

Farrah Alvin (Performer, Window Treatment). Broadway: It Shoulda Been You, Nine, The Look of Love, Saturday Night Fever, Grease!, A Christmas Carol. Off-Broadway: Goldstein, The Last Smoker In America (cast album), The Marvelous Wonderettes (Drama Desk Nomination, cast album), I Love You Because (cast album), and more. Lots of regional including Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, Signature Theatre (Helen Hayes Award), Cape Playhouse, Geva Theater and Alabama Shakespeare. Farah regularly performs in NYC in the series Broadway by the Year and Broadway Unplugged at The Town Hall, Broadway Close Up at The Kaufman Center and 54 Sings... at Studio 54. Follow Farah on Instagram and Facebook @FarahAlvin

Deborah Zoe Laufer (Words, Window Treatment). Her plays have been produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Geva, Cincinnati Playhouse, Portland Stage, and The Humana Festival. Informed Consent was a NYTimes Critic's Pick. End Days won The ATCA Steinberg citation and has received over 70 productions around the world. Other plays include Be Here Now, Leveling Up, Out of Sterno, The Last Schwartz, Sirens, Meta, and Fortune. She is a graduate of Juilliard, alumna of BMI and member of The Dramatists Guild. DEBORAHZOELAUFER.com

Daniel Green (Music, Window Treatment) is a composer and music director. Broadway playing/conducting credits include: In Transit (Associate MD), Rocky (Associate Conductor), An American In Paris, Big Fish, Matilda, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Addams Family, and Wicked. Other credits include The Wild Party (Encores!), Theory of Relativity (Goodspeed) and Between the Lines (Kansas City Rep). Writing credits include The Museum of Broken Relationships, written with David H. Bell and winner of the Holof Lyricist Award at the O'Neill National Music Theatre Conference; and The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen, written with Lezlie Wade and presented at the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop.

Portia Krieger (Director, Window Treatment) directs new plays and musicals. Favorite productions include The Tomb of King Tot (Clubbed Thumb), Deborah Zoe Laufer's Be Here Now (Cincinnati Playhouse), Friend Art (2ST Uptown), and Eager to Lose (Ars Nova). National Directors Fellow, Drama League Fellow, LCT Directors Lab, former Ars Nova director-in-residence, Clubbed Thumb Affiliated Artist, co-founder of the New Georges Jam. Associate Director, Fun Home on Broadway. www.portiakrieger.com

Paul Masse (Music Director, Window Treatment) has led the Broadway orchestras of The Scottsboro Boys, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Holler If Ya Hear Me, It Shoulda Been You, Fun Home, Avenue Q and Wicked, and has played in the pit of more than 20 other Broadway shows as a pianist and accordionist. He was the musical supervisor for London's West End premiere of The Scottsboro Boys. He appeared in the Kennedy Center production and subsequent PBS broadcast of First You Dream and has been recorded on several original cast albums and TV and film soundtracks. His concert appearances include events with the New York Pops, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and the New York Philharmonic.

PREMIERES (Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director) is a not-for-profit New York based music theater organization founded by Edward Trach and Paulette Haupt in 2001. The company's mission 'to bring new music theater to light' supports the development and promotion of works by exceptional playwrights, lyricists and composers whose creative visions move the art form forward and enrich the lexicon of the American musical theater. They present staged readings and workshops of works in progress as well as create new collaborations through commissions, development and full productions of its INNER VOICES initiative. INNER VOICES was inspired by Alan Bennett's 'Talking Heads' series on PBS. After seeing the PBS series and later the stage version off-Broadway, Paulette Haupt decided to explore the concept as a musical theater form. Teams of playwrights and composers who have not worked together before are commissioned by PREMIERES to create an original monologue and a tapestry of the sung and spoken word. Each character they create is fictional and the storytelling from a single point of view. The premiere of INNER VOICES in 2008 featured works by Ellen Fitzhugh and Michael John LaChiusa, Laura Harrington and Jenny Giering, and Michele Lowe and Scott Davenport Richards. Subsequent productions in 2010, 2012, 2014 featured works by Cheri Steinkellner and Georgia Stitt, David Simpatico and Josh Schmidt, Martin Moran and Joseph Thalken, Victor Lodato and Polly Pen, Nilo Cruz and Jim Bauer, Charlayne Woodard and Kirsten Childs, and Mark Campbell and Marisa Michelson. The recent 2016 season featured works by Ellen Fitzhugh and Ted Shen, and Saheem Ali and Michael Thurber. Nancy Anderson received a 2016 Drama Desk nomination for her solo performance in The Pen written by Dan Collins and Julianne Wick Davis.

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