Transgender BUSTED: THE MUSICAL Plays Laurie Beechman

Theatre Askew will present the World Premiere of BUSTED: The Musical, written and performed by Bianca Leigh. Directed by Theatre Askew artistic director Tim Cusack, it features original songs by Tony-winner Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), Obie-winners Taylor Mac (The Lily's Revenge) and Ellen Maddow (The Talking Band), Jeff Domoto (Cornbury: The Queen's Governor), Super Buddha (Debbie Harry, Scissor Sisters), Matty Pritchard and Isam Rum (The Din), and William TN Hall. The production, which was workshopped last year under the title A Night at the Tombs, features musical direction by William TN Hall and costuming by Arthur Oliver. Performances begin September 26 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre.

Chicago meets TransAmerica in BUSTED, actress Bianca Leigh's recounting of the events surrounding her arrest for alleged solicitation against the backdrop of the "Black Monday" stock market crash of 1987. While cooling her 6-inch heels in the clink awaiting arraignment, Bianca looks back at her past and tries to make sense of how a skinny Jersey boy with dreams of becoming a great Shakespearean actress ended up as a high-priced dominatrix. In a tour-de-force performance both hilarious and moving, Bianca revisits her past as a young transwoman in early transition and brings to vivid life more than a dozen characters -- from her disappointed mother to the sadistic corrections officer who enacts the ultimate humiliation.

Bianca Leigh is one of downtown theatre's leading lights, "an expert actress and exquisite personality" (NYTheatre.com). Her New York stage roles include Time in Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge, and Margareta in William M. Hoffman's Cornbury: The Queen's Governor and Livia in Theatre Askew's I, Claudius, Live (the latter two directed by Tim Cusack). Bianca most recently played Virginia in Talking Band's New Islands Archipelago; Frannie Halcyon in the workshop production of the new musical Tales of the City at ACT in San Francisco; and co-narrated Young Jean Lee's Untitled Feminist Multimedia Technology Show at The New Museum. Movie roles include Mary Ellen in the groundbreaking film TransAmerica. Miss Leigh has also worked extensively in nightclubs and cabarets such as Bar d' O, Arci's Place, and Don't Tell Mama.

For Theatre Askew, Tim Cusack conceived, co-adapted, co-directed and appeared as Caligula in the company's six-part serial adaptation of I, Claudius, and directed the world premiere of William M. Hoffman's Cornbury: The Queen's Governor with David Greenspan and Everett Quinton. Other recent productions include Hairspray at Lehman College and Linda Simpson's The Emperor's New Codpiece at the Laurie Beechman. He has appeared on stage for Askew in Bald Diva! (Notable Performance of the Year-TheaterMania), The Tempest, and i google myself. He is a Next magazine "Future Legend," and a 2007 nytheatre.com Person of the Year. BFA NYU/TSOA.

William TN Hall is the resident composer for The American Bard Theatre Company where he most recently scored music for four little-known Tennessee Williams one acts. He is also a proud member of the BMI Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop where he is developing two new musicals. He is a member of MAC (shortlisted for 2011 best entertainer) and co-director of TNT Music, an organization committed to developing new musical theatre in the United States

THEATRE ASKEW under the direction of Tim Cusack is New York City's premiere producer of alternative queer theatre. Since the company's first production in 2004, it has twice been nominated for GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Off-off Broadway Play (for Bald Diva! and i google myself), and Bald Diva! was also named one of the best productions of 2004 by both Theater Mania and nytheatre.com. The company is currently in the midst of a multi-year project tracing the history of queer culture in New York City. In addition to its mainstage programming, the company runs the Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE), the only theatrical education program by a professional theatre company in the tri-state area specifically geared to LGBTQ youth.

BUSTED runs September 26 - October 10, Mondays at 7:00 PM. The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located at 407 W. 42nd St, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues -- accessible from the A, C, E trains to Port Authority. Tickets are $18 and available at 212-352-3101 or www.SpinCycleNYC.com

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