SHOW ME ETERNITY Makes Off-Off-Broadway Premiere This Month

The award-winning musical Show Me Eternity will premiere Off-Off-Broadway at Culture Lab LIC this fall from November 30th - December 4th, 2023. $30 Tickets are available at https://ShowMeEternityMusical.eventbrite.com. A video stream is also available at $20.

Written by NYC-based duo Dillon & Caps, Show Me Eternity unveils a romance hidden for over a century and reveals the intimate conflict that led to the all too literal erasure of names, pronouns, and queer identity from the record of Emily Dickinson’s life. While preparing Emily’s poems for posthumous publication, Sue, Emily’s longtime lover and confidante, enlists help from an unlikely ally with motives of her own. Together, they embark on a mesmerizing journey through Sue’s shared past with Emily, unearthing a story of enduring love and difficult choices told through bewitching poetry and an ethereal folk-pop score. This is a spellbinding exploration of a forgotten chapter in queer history.

“Erasure exists in the shadow of a doubt that’s always cast over queer history,” says Annie Dillon of Dillon & Caps. “The idea that every historical figure is straight until proven queer, the insistence that because queer folks of the past didn’t use the same language as we do for our queerness, their experience can’t be compared to ours. Scholars question the nature of Emily and Sue’s well-documented romance, let alone the endless number of queer stories that didn’t end up on paper. An extra burden of proof is always placed upon history’s abundant examples of queer love, joy, pain, and existence, whenever we try to say we have always been here.”

Dillon continues, “We need stories that explore the whole breadth of human emotion through the lenses of queerness, womanhood, and artistry. In telling a story about erasure, I want to challenge it in the here and now.”

Show Me Eternity was awarded the Eric H. Weinberger Emerging Librettists' Award from Amas Theatre Company and won the 2022 Broadway World Off-Off-Broadway Awards for Best Score of a Musical and Best Book of a Musical.

The cast includes Mia Angelique (she/her), Anne Elizabeth Miele (they/she), Tyler Dobies* (he/him), Ray Elizabeth Wilson (they/she), Isabel Gray (she/her), Rachael Chau (she/they), Joshua Credle (he/him), Milo Longenecker* (he/him), and Aliza Ciara (she/her). *Actors are appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association in this Equity Approved Showcase.

The all-women, trans, and non-binary creative team includes book & lyrics by Annie Dillon (she/they), music & lyrics by Sam Caps (she/her), direction by Daniella Caggiano (she/they), music direction & orchestrations by Shane Dittmar (they/them), with Laura Mock (she/her) serving as Assistant Music Director. Choreography by Angelina Benitez (she/they) with Associate Choreography by Milo Longenecker (he/him). Lighting Design by 10Kproductions, Costumes by Laura Dillon (she/her), and Sound Design by Sarah Goodman (she/her). Production Stage Manager is Monica Athenas (she/her) and Associate Producer is Gracie Elliott (she/her). Andrea Prestinario (she/her) serves as creative producer.

Performances are Thursday, November 30th, Friday, December 1st, and Saturday, December 2nd at 7:30 PM; Saturday, December 2nd and Sunday, December 3rd at 3PM and Monday, December 4th  at 7:30PM. Culture Lab LIC is located at 5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, NY 1110.

To purchase tickets and for more info, visit https://ShowMeEternityMusical.eventbrite.com.

This project was developed as a part of Culture Lab LIC's 2023 Emergence Artist Residency. Culture Lab LIC is a 501(c)(3) formed to be the arts and culture umbrella for Western Queens. They present local, national, and international art of all genres, while supporting New York artists and other nonprofits by providing space, resources and a sense of community. Learn more at www.culturelablic.org.

This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall.

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