LAUGHistan Presents World Premiere of BUMBUG THE MUSICAL, Now thru 12/22

LAUGHistan has announced the world premiere production of Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri's BUMBUG The Musical, directed by Mercedes Murphy. BUMBUG The Musical will play a limited engagement at The Clurman Theatre (Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street). Performances begin today, December 5 and continue through Saturday, December 22. Opening Night is Saturday, December 15 (8 p.m.). Press Performances: Dec. 13 at 8pm, Dec. 14 at 8pm, Dec. 15 at 2pm, Dec 15 at 8pm. (Unofficial press dates will be accommodated upon
request for all remaining performances.)

BUMBUG The Musical, a new Rock Opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri, is an electrifying musical reinvention of "A Christmas Carol" told through the looking glass of NYC Immigrants and Hyphenated America. Like so many immigrants, disillusioned Deli-owner Scroogewala left his motherland years ago to pursue the American dream. Amidst his battle with holiday merriment, Scroogewala is visited by a motley crew of misfits who remind him that love, loss and laughter are all a part of that dream he'd almost given up on.

BUMBUG The Musical is the FIRST Full Length Musical authored and produced by the Indian-American diaspora in New York City.

The production stars Kiarri Andrews, Andrew Guilarte*, Brooke Ishibashi*, Matthew Knowland*, Adrienne C. Moore*, Debargo Sanyal*, Lipica Shah*, and Falu. *Performing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. AEA approved showcase.

The band includes Keyboard: Samrat Chakrabarti, Guitar: Ranjit Arapurakal, Bass: Konrad Payne, Percussion: Shiv Puri.

BUMBUG The Musical, general managed by Darling & Company, features scenic design by Mercedes Murphy, lighting design by D.M. Woods, and costume design by Amanda Seymour.

BUMBUG THE MUSICAL plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, December 22:

Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sundays at 3 p.m.

There is no performance on Friday December 7th. Tickets are $19.25 (including a facility fee) and are now available at Telecharge.com. For more about the show, visit www.BUMBUGTheMusical.com.

SAMRAT CHAKRABARTI (Book, Lyrics, Music) is a graduate of the prestigious A.R.T/ Moscow Art Theatre School Program at Harvard University with a MFA in Acting. He has worked on several international film projects including: Deepa Mehta's film adaption of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Kamal Hassan's Vishwaroopam, Manish Acharya's Loins of Punjab Presents, Kabir Khan's New York (produced by Yash Raj Films), Joseph Matthew's Bombay Summer and Italo Spinelli's Gangor (produced by RAI Cinema). Critics named Samrat as one of the top six fresh faces to emerge from Toronto International Film Festival 2009, for his breakout performance as Krishna in Claire McCarthy's The Waiting City (with Hollywood actress Radha Mitchell). His Hollywood and Independent films range from from Spike Lee's She Hate Me to Amyn Kaderali's Kissing Cousins, and from Bruce Leddy's The Wedding Weekend to Joseph Castelo's The War Within.

In addition to films, he has acted in American TV shows, including: 30 Rock (NBC), In Treatment (HBO), Outsourced (NBC), Damages (FX), A Gifted Man (CBS), Bored To Death (HBO), Law and Order (NBC), The Sopranos (HBO) and All My Children(ABC).

Samrat is also an established international musician and has won numerous awards for his music, including: a U.S. CARA for Best Original Pop/Rock Song, for his composition, What's It all About. For more info on his works, check out:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1589782/

Sanjiv Jhaveri (Book, Lyrics) is a veteran actor of TV, Film, and the Theatre. Film: Manish Acharya's Loins of Punjab Presents (with scenes opposite the legendary Shabana Azmi); Walkaway, Shailja Gupta's debut film. Television: All the series of Law and Order (NBC), Conviction (NBC), Rescue Me (FX), and 3 Pilots, Drift, Hate, and the Tim Robbins directed Possible Side Effects. Regional Theatre: Yale Rep, Washington D.C.'s award-winning StudioTheatre, and Missouri Rep. In New York City: The Play Company (Sakharam Binder), the Lark Theatre, Lincoln Center Directors' Lab, the Cherry Lane Theatre, and the Hypothetical Theatre Company. Director: Desipina Production of "7-11", seven 11-minute plays set in a convenience store, in 2007. Writer: Collaborations with Samrat Chakrabarti to write 3 mini musicals A Very Desi Christmas, Soonderella, and Who Killed Mr. Naidu First? A Very Desi Christmas has grown into a full-length musical, called Bakwas Bumbug, which has been workshopped with Desipina, receiving a workshop production at the Wild Project in 2011. He has also worked as an accent/dialect coach. Audiobooks: Audible.com and Brilliance Audio. Titles include: Confessions of a Thug, Alif The Unseen, The Truth About Me and Amitav Ghosh's River of Smoke.

MERCEDES MURPHY (Director) is a veteran of the Theater business as a Director, Artistic Director, Writer, and Designer. She has directed theater and dance at various venues including the prestigious Moscow Art Theater, Lincoln Center, PS 122, the Vineyard Theater, the Market Theater, the C. Walsh Theater and The American Repertory Theatre. In addition, her works have also toured throughout EuropE. Mercedes has worked as an Art Director for music videos and collaborated with artists including Coleman Hough, Jody Oberfelder, RoBert Woodruff, Jay Scheib and John Bucchino. For two years, she was the resident director at the New Opera and Musical Theater Initiative in Boston. She is the Founding and Artistic Director of Théâtre Trouvé and has taught at the New York Film Academy and Harvard University. Currently, Mercedes is a professor at Montclair State University's Department of Theatre.

LAUGHistan is a Production Company dedicated to bringing contemporary works of theater and film into the mainstream with a strong emphasis on preserving authenticity.

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