La Muse Venale Presents Honestly Abe, Closes 4/24

La Muse Venale presents a musical tale of dreams, possibilities and heartbreak in Robert L. Hecker's Honestly Abe, which shines a spotlight on a little-known early chapter in the life of President Abraham Lincoln. Directed by Joshua A. Kashinsky, Honestly Abe will begin performances at the Mint Theater at 311 West 43rd Street. Honestly Abe will run in repertory with La Revolucion and Moctezuma, both shows written and directed by M. Stefan Strozier. Members of the press are invited to all performances.

Set in Indiana in the late 1820s, and based on historical fact, Honestly Abe presents the young Abe Lincoln as a lanky, pranksterous boy who loves to read and who can tell a yarn with the best of them. Close to both his mother and sister, while never quite seeing eye-to-eye with his father, Abe dreams of the day he can quit the family farm, leave his life of "rail-splitting" in the past and become a riverboat pilot. But family tragedies, a desire for revenge and the advice of a close friend will cause him to change his plans, setting him on the path toward the law and politics, but not before leaving someone very special behind.

Featuring a five-piece onstage band, the cast of Honestly Abe features Ethan Angelica*, Roy Anthony*, Ashleigh Awusie, Jake Boyd, Richard Brundage*, Leigh Ellen Caudill*, Amber Coartney, Jessica George*, Peter Gosik*, Dennis Holland*, Cassie Okenka*, Bridget Ori*, Zak Risinger*, Antoine L Smith*, Jeremy Zoma.* The Scenic Designer is Joseph C. Heitman, Lighting Designer: Duane Pagano, Costume Designer: David Moyer, Production Assistant: Danielle Pedraza. Musical Direction is by Nehemiah Luckett, Choreography is by Amy Klewitz, and Stage Management is by Gwyndolyn Kay. The production is an Equity Showcase.

Running in repertory with Honestly Abe are La Revolucion and Moctezuma, both written and directed by M. Stefan Strozier, plays that illustrate the bitter irony of change via revolution, bloodshed and shattered dreams. In La Revolucion, a musical play about Mexico's Revolution of 1910, two lovers can only watch as the fortunes of war and political necessity change the essence of just what the Revolution means. Based on historical events, the musical features the songs and corridos of the period as well as elaborate dances and historical costumes. In Moctezuma, a dramatic clash of two civilizations takes place when a conquering army uses their enemies own prophecies and beliefs against them, told with elaborate costumes and dance routines as well as original songs. The casts of La Revolucion and Moctezuma feature Alexandra Turshen, Carolina Santos Read, Gustavo Heredia, Louis Martinez, Angelko Mar, Daniel Ramos, Marlene Villafane, Suellen Romani, Ash Goldeh, Ronnie Armani, Alex Montaldo, Lexi Marcero, Joyce Elwick, Jennymar. Stage manager is Reanna Muskovitz, costume designer is Rebecca Love and choreographer is Alexandra Turshen.

Robert L. Hecker enlisted in the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor. He completed thirty missions as a lead bombardier on B-17s and was awarded six Air Medals, four battle stars, a Unit Citation and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Shortly after the war ended, he began a free-lance writing career for radio and television. He eventually gave up his day job, working for the Mutual Broadcasting System in Los Angeles, to write full time, specializing in business, education and documentary films. His documentary film awards include: San Francisco Film Festival's Golden Gate Award, Atlanta Film Festival's Gold Award, five Information Film Producers of America "Cindy" Awards, and four United States "Cine" awards. He also has had 12 novels published and five stage plays produced. Honestly Abe is his first musical. Robert Is a graduate of the Pasadena Playhouse and the Westlake College of Music and a member of the WGA, the Dramatists Guild, and the Alliance of LA Playwrights.

Joshua A. Kashinsky's recent projects include the drama Anna by Nancy P. Moss (Dorothy Strelsin Theatre), a reading of Dead and Buried by James McLindon (Luna Stage) and producing The Mad 7 by Yehuda Hyman (dir. Mara Isaacs) in the NY International Fringe Festival. Other directing credits include McCarter Theatre's Youth Ink! Festival and MCC Theatre's Youth Company. Josh was recently a Directing and Producing Assistant at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ where he assisted Des McAnuff, Amy Morton and Nicholas Martin. As a playwright, his work has been seen in California, New York, Maine and Ontario. Most recently his play Heels in the Sand had a reading at Woodie King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre. He is the recipient of the Lipkin Prize and is a Corwin Award winner. Josh is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.

M. Stefan Strozier is the founder and artistic director of La Muse Venale Acting Troupe. His plays, Guns, Shackles & Winter Coats, The Whales, The Tragedy of Abraham Lincoln, and The Green Game, were performed in lengthy runs, off-off and Off-Broadway, and in the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival and other festivals and locations. Additionally, he has written Belzac December Night (a one-act play; the first of 8 plays about America), and La Revolucion (the first of 4 5-act plays about Mexican history; he is working on the first play in the series now, called The New World). He has directed seven plays and two staged readings of a musical, and produced twenty-one plays. His novels, short stories, poems, essays, plays, and blog are on his Web site at www.mstefanstrozier.org. He has been published in literary journals (online and in print), magazines, and newspapers. He is the founder, CEO, and publisher of World Audience Publishers, and the editor-in-chief of Audience Magazine.

Founded in 2004 by M. Stefan Strozier, La Muse Venale Acting Troupe is a 501c3, tax-exempt, professional, non-profit theater company dedicated to creating art through theater. La Muse seeks to bring excellent theater to those who do not normally experience theater. For more information, go to www.lamusevenale.org.

Honestly Abe, La Revolucion and Moctezuma will be performed in repertory at the Mint Theater Space, located at 311 West 43rd Street on the 3rd Floor.

Honestly Abe will close on April 24.   

La Revolucion will be preformed from April 6-23. Show times are Wednesday. April 6th at 8pm, Thursday, April 7th at 8:30pm, Saturday, April 9th at 8:30pm, Sunday, April 10th at 3:30pm, Monday, April 11th at 8pm, Tuesday, April 12th at 8pm, Wednesday, April 13th at 8:30pm, Thursday, April 14th at 2pm, Saturday, April 16th at 8:30pm, Sunday, April 17th at 3:30pm, Monday, the 18th at 3:30pm, Wednesday April 20th at 8:30pm, Thursday, April 21st at 2pm, Saturday, April 23rd at 8:30pm

Moctezuma will be performed from April 8-23. Show times are Friday, April 8th at 4pm, Saturday, April 9th at 6pm, Sunday, April 10th at 1pm, Monday, April 11th at 6pm, Wednesday, April 13th at 6pm, Friday, April 15th at 3pm, Sunday, April 17th at 1pm, Wednesday, April 20th at 6pn and Sunday, April 23rd at 6pm.

All tickets are $18.00, $15.00 for students and seniors. Reservations: 866-811-4111 or https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/806425 (Honestly Abe), https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/806455 (La Revolucion), https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/806485 (Moctezuma).

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