New Musicals Anjou and For Tonight Will Headline New York Theatre Barn’s New Work Series March 17th

New York Theatre Barn will host a free live stream of its award-winning New Works Series on Wednesday, March 17th, 2021 at 7PM EST, featuring excerpts from the new musicals Anjou: The Musical Horror Tale and For Tonight. The live 1-hour presentation will also feature a conversation with the writers and creative team.

Anjou: The Musical Horror Tale, a cautionary tale set in 16th century France revolving around the massacre of Saint Bartholomew in 1572, has music by Guillermo Mendez M., lyrics by Mendez M. and Guadalupe Sandoval, with a new English translation by Javier Vilalta. The modern Mexican opera recently had its English-language premiere and is directed and produced by Roberto Araujo. Fusing Renaissance-inspired melodies, modern orchestrations and Latinx-influenced tunes, Anjou turns a tragic moment in history into a riveting exploration of kindness and acceptance against a backdrop of injustice, prejudice, and ruthless ambitions. Featuring performances by Nathan Cockfroft, Kevin Curits (Moulin Rouge!), Gabriel Hyman (Hamilton, King Kong), Taylor Iman Jones (Head Over Heels, Scotland, PA), Michael Perrie Jr. (Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story) and Jelani Remy (Ain't Too Proud, The Lion King).

The new musical For Tonight has a book by Whitney Rhodes, Shenelle Salcido and Spencer Williams and music and lyrics by Salcido and Williams. When their parents die of a mysterious illness in their small Welsh village, surviving siblings Thomas, Haydon, and Nettie are forced to fend for themselves. Inspired by the Romani who once shared their home, Haydon heads off to Liverpool, guitar in hand, to find what he's been missing. There he meets a Romani woman who speaks to his wandering soul. With a riveting indie-rock/folk score, For Tonight explores the indelible power of home. Featuring performances by Joey Cornish, Sam Ebenezer, Simon Gordon (Girl From The North Country, Bat Out Of Hell), Michelle Beth Herman (Les Miserables), Luke McCall (Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera), Jordan Allan Mills and Adam Tabellija.

Anjou: The Musical Horror Tale was originally developed and produced in Mexico in 1986 and 1992. It has since been developed in Calgary, Canada and with the New York Musical Festival. In 2020, Araujo and Vilalta adapted the show to English where a digital presentation followed in early 2021 presented by Playbill. For Tonight has been developed with Queensbury Theatre, New York Theatre Barn, Michigan State University, Goodspeed Musicals and the New York Musical Festival.

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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