Jeff Blumenkrantz, Dorsey and Carter Team To Bring Philly's THE RED ROSE GIRLS To Broadway For 2011-2012 Season

Inspired by Alice A. Carter's acclaimed and luminously illustrated Biography, The Red Rose Girls, producer/entrepreneur Brian Dorsey has commissioned a musical event based on the lives of four of the most fascinating, rule-breaking, determined, acclaimed, accomplished and renegade artists of the early 20th century.

Also entitled, "THE RED ROSE GIRLS", the project's music and lyrics are being written by Jeff Blumenkrantz whose wondrous assignment involves the musical foundation and interpretation of the combined lives of four women who turned "turn-of-the-century" Philadelphia upside down in their undaunted quest for the abject right to create immortal art.

Press notes state, "The first three were called Violet Oakley, Jessie Wilcox Smith and Elizabeth Shippen Green. They were about to become the most acclaimed artists and illustrators in the country; against all odds.

The fourth was called Henrietta Cozens. The musical begins in 1906. Theodore Roosevelt has just started his second term in the White House, the first radio broadcast of voice and music is about to blast forth, the forward pass has been legalized in football, Anheuser Busch has proclaimed Budweiser the "king of beer," tuition at Harvard University is $150 a year, Norwegian women have won the vote, Chicago has introduced the "hot dog," San Francisco is ravaged by an earthquake and Philadelphia's Society is about to be shanghaied by four of the most determined women in the country. They are told that women are not designed to create art for money. The Red Rose Girls disagree. They are told that they are not to compete for coveted assignments at national magazines from men. The Red Rose Girls disagree. They are told that the grandest architectural and artistic commissions are not to be competed for by women. The Red Rose Girls disagree. They are abruptly reminded that the polite mores of the day socially prohibit women from acquiring real estate except within the partnership of a conventional marriage. The Red Rose Girls vow never to marry as they promise to be each other's family with Henrietta accepting the conventional role of "wife", drawing the domestic blueprint for the home that would house their collective genius.

Their nomenclature is given to them after they successfully move into the famous 17th century Red Rose Inn in the village of Villanova. A paradise-perfect venue for four determined creative pioneers who are seeking the solace needed to change the world, as Philadelphia knows it.

The neighbors are outraged at "artistic types" in their midst. The Red Rose Girls refuse to acknowledge such bigotry. They are told they may not study nude models. They get their own. They are then told they may not accept lucrative work from the world's major periodicals. Soon, they are making most of their hard-earned money from the covers of international magazines whose female readership begins to skyrocket in a direct correlation to their vision and talent. They continue to create art and illustrate life until the Philadelphia Press Corps
begins to review them as the geniuses they are and the elitist Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
showers them with rose petals and awards. Then things begin to change. A reporter insists on attending their Fourth of July Party given annually for their neighbors as well as the Artistic Community. His frankly probing questions about the "family's" private arrangement infuriate Violet who explodes publicly. Her outburst does not go unnoticed. This newfound scrutiny builds untold pressure on the two couples. Elizabeth Shippen Green decides it is time to shatter their sacred vows. She accepts a proposal of marriage from the architect Huger Elliott. What happened next is history. "THE RED ROSE GIRLS" is being readied for Broadway."

Brian J. Dorsey is a writer, creative producer, and executive consultant involved in a wide range of political and philanthropic fundraising activities. Dorsey is a principal owner of Sellers Dorsey, Sellers Dorsey is a national healthcare consulting firm that provides strategic consulting services to state government, private sector companies, and advocacy organizations and has been nationally recognized for its work in over 30 states and with national stakeholders in the healthcare arena. At Sellers Dorsey, Brian works directly with the CEO and senior management of the firm and plays an integral role in the design of its corporate mission and the on-going creation of concepts to improve the delivery of strategic services to clients. The focus of his philanthropic activities include: The Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee, Victory PA, The Gill Foundation, the Allen's Lane Art Center of Philadelphia and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Mr. Dorsey currently sits on the Board of Directors of The Trevor Project.

Alice A. Carter is an award-winning illustrator and professor in the School of Art and Design at San Jose State University. She has had numerous commissions from clients such as LucasFilm Ltd., Rolling Stone, ABC Television, and The New York Times, and she is the author of The Art of National Geographic. She graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art and received an M.L.A degree from Stanford University. Carter lives in Stanford, California.

Jeff Blumenkrantz received a Best Original Score Tony Award nomination for his songs in "Urban Cowboy." He is a recipient of the BMI Harrington Award and the Dramatist Guild Jonathon Larson Memorial Musical Theatre Fellowship. Mr. Blumenkrantz has received song commissions from both Carnegie Hall and the Guggenheim's "Works and Process Program." Most recently, his songs have been recorded by Sutton Foster, Megan Mullally, Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, and Lauren Kennedy. A longtime member of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop, he published a songbook of his music in 2005 and simultaneously produced The Jeff Blumenkrantz Songbook Podcast, which featured live performances of these songs. The podcast episodes can still be heard by visiting iTunes or www.jeffblumenkrantz.com. Jeff also produced and hosted the BMI Workshop Songbook Podcast, featuring never-before available music by members and alumni of the workshop. It, too, can be found on iTunes or at www.bmiworkshopsongbook.com

Pre-Broadway Video Trailer Go To www.RedRoseGirlsTheMusical.com