WE START IN MANHATTAN: A NEW QUEER MUSICAL Will Receive Industry Presentation at 54 Below

Vassar's Powerhouse Theater will present an industry reading of We Start In Manhattan: A New Queer Musical on November 3rd at 1pm at 54 Below in New York City. Directed by Ellie Heyman, the reading will feature the writers of the piece, Ariella Serur (1776) and Sav Souza (1776), with music direction by Jeremy Robin Lyons.

We Start In Manhattan is a two person, 90-minute, rom-com musical that follows two queers whose lust catapults them from a one night stand into a cross-country road trip, where they sloppily learn how 3,000 miles, 30 days, and 1 strap-on will push them to get deep with each other and, ultimately, themselves.

Real life couple, Serur and Souza accidentally started writing We Start In Manhattan on a date in late 2021. They developed the piece while making their simultaneous Broadway debuts in the revival of 1776, and then while traveling the country with the national tour. Serur & Souza have performed two sold-out concerts in NYC - in 2022 at The Green Room 42 (which lead to them developing an online audience via TikTok) and in 2023 at 54 Below, in a concert featuring fellow cast members from 1776. In the summer of 2023, Powerhouse Theater presented the first workshop of We Start In Manhattan as part of their 37th season, and later Serur & Souza developed the show at Live and In Color's 2023 Fall Retreat (Artistic Director Devanand Janki).

Having recently completed its 37th Season, Powerhouse Theater (Ed Cheetham, Michael Sheehan, Producing Directors) is dedicated to both emerging and established artists in the development and production of new works. For five weeks every summer, the Powerhouse Theater Program comes to life on the Vassar College campus to provide a nurturing environment in which passionate theater lovers from students to professional practitioners and audience members learn from one another. The Powerhouse Theater Training Program provides aspiring theater professionals a chance to immerse themselves in acting, directing, and playwriting.

Recent projects that have received developmental support from Powerhouse include: We Start in Manhattan: A New Queer Musical (Ariella Serur and Sav Souza), Call Fosse at the Minskoff (Mimi Quillin), Skyward: An Endling Elegy and Luna/">Luna and the Starbodies (Truth Future Bachman), The Chevalier (Bill Barclay), Behind the Attic Wall (Peggy Stafford), Culture Shock (Gloria Majule), birthday birthday birthday (Johnny G. Lloyd), Useful People (Peter Gil-Sheridan), Canaan Unremembered (Judson Jones), annA (Matt Minnicino), Funnie; Or, the Most Lamentable Comedie of Jane the Foole (Jessica Moss) and Final Boarding Call (Stefani Kuo). Other projects developed at the Powerhouse include the Tony Award-winning Side Man and Tru; the multi-award-winning Doubt by John Patrick Shanley; the groundbreaking Broadway musical Hamilton; and Stephen Karam's The Humans.

Artist Bios:

Ariella Serur (they/she) Ariella is a composer, writer, and performer. Select performance credits: 1776 (Broadway, National Tour, A.R.T.), RENT (The RedHouse); Grand Concourse (Theatre Horizon). Pre-1776, Ariella was in high demand as a Queer Dating Coach, helping queer folks date more joyfully and authentically, appearing on dozens of podcasts and talk shows. Highlights include: NPR's All Things Considered, Coffee Meets Bagel, Curious Fox Podcast. @ariellaserur, ariellaserur.com

Sav Souza (they/them) Sav is a queer and trans performer and writer living in Brooklyn. Their musical Retrograde, with music by Sarah Flaim, had a concert production in 2018 in The Polyphone Festival of New Works. Their play Father//Daughter was developed at Fresh Ground Pepper's 2021 BRB Artists Retreat. Select performance credits include: 1776 (Broadway, A.R.T., Nat'l Tour); Other World (World premiere, Delaware Theatre Company), Lempicka (Williamstown Theatre Festival). @saaaavv, www.savsouza.com

Ellie Heyman (she/her) is a director of theater and film. Recent credits: The Great Work Begins, featuring Glenn Close, Paul Dano, and Brian Tyree Henry (Drama League Award; NYT Best of 2020); Space Dogs (MCC); Eschaton (PGA Award Nomination); (Still) Asking For It (The Public Theater); The Tattooed Lady (Philadelphia Theater Company); Beardo (Drama Desk Nomination; Pipeline Theater), They, Themself, and Schmerm (Under the Radar); This (Bessie Nomination for Outstanding Production; NYLA), The Traveling Imaginary with Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel) rated "Top 5 shows of the year" by NPR. Ellie is a graduate of Northwestern University and Boston University. She is a former WP Theater and Drama League Directing Fellow. Ellieheyman.com

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