Philadelphia Natives Kerrigan & Lowdermilk to Preview THE MAD ONES in P.A.

Hometown musical theatre duo Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk are giving local audiences an exclusive treat - a preview of their musical The Mad Ones, about to debut Off-Broadway in New York.

Philadelphia Theatre Company will present this evening that will include two stars of the upcoming musical and a chance to hear the talents of one of the hottest young acts in musical theatre today.

Joining the writers are Broadway's Krystina Alabado (American Psycho, American Idiot) and Emma Hunton, who made her Broadway debut at 16 in Spring Awakening. Also joining is Philly artist Zachary Altman.

This one-night only event is Monday, October 23 at 7 p.m. at Philadelphia Theatre Company's stage at the SuzAnne Roberts Theatre (480 S. Broad Street). Tickets are on sale for $25-$50, by visiting philatheatreco.org, in person at the box-office, or by calling 215-985-0420.

"I first saw the show at the NAMT (National Alliance for Musical Theatre) last year when I was part of the festival selection committee," said PTC Producing Artistic Director Paige Price. "I tried to produce it at my previous theatre, but it got a New York production. We're thrilled to showcase it here, especially since the artists are from the area. We want people in Philadelphia to see it first and to start the buzz that will make their show in New York a hit!"

In The Mad Ones, Samantha Brown balances on the edge of her future, car keys in hand. Will she take the dare of her impetuous best friend and chart a new path? When every choice feels like life and death, how do you turn the key? This is an intimate, one-night-only, two-act, fifteen song "look and listen" preview of this upcoming new musical. The evening will also include songs from the duo's other musicals, giving audiences a chance to get to know their work.

Kait Kerrigan (words) and Brian Lowdermilk (music) made their off-Broadway debut in 2006 with their adaptation of Henry and Mudge, still touring nationally. In 2011, they released their first album, Our First Mistake, which charted at #1 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart. Their second album, Kerrigan-Lowdermilk Live, documents a concert tour that resulted from their breakout $35K kickstarter campaign and released in spring 2013. Their sheet music is available digitally at NewMusicalTheatre.com and MusicNotes, and a print songbook, published by Hal Leonard, is available on Amazon. Their other musicals include The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, Tales from the Bad Years, The Woman Upstairs, Wrong Number, The Freshman Experiment, Republic, Unbound, and Flash of Time. Their songs have been recorded and performed internationally and their musicals have been produced and developed at the Aurora Theatre, the Kimmel Center, Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre, Theatreworks Silicon Valley, La Jolla Playhouse, Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival, ASCAP/Disney Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, York Theatre, the Lark, CAP21, and Primary Stages. Together, they received the 2006 Larson Award and 2004-2005 Dramatists Guild Fellowship, and they have held residencies at the Orchard Project, Running Deer Lab, the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, and the MacDowell Arts Colony.

Kerrigan received the 2009 Kleban Award for libretto-writing. As a playwright, she has written Disaster Relief (developed by Page 73), Imaginary Love (Midtown Direct Rep workshop), and Transit (Chautaqua Theater Company workshop, Lark Playwrights Week 2010) and she was a 2013 member of Interstate 73. She teaches libretto writing at Primary Stages.

Lowdermilk composed music for The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog (with playwright Lauren Gunderson at the Kennedy Center 2011) and Red (with librettist Marcus Stevens), which received the Alan Menken Award and 2005 Richard Rodgers Award. He was the writer-in-residence at Temple Shalom, during which he scored a full Shabbat service.

Both are alumni of the BMI Musical Theatre Writing Workshop, co-founders of the digital sheet music company NewMusicalTheatre.com, and proud members of the Dramatists Guild and ASCAP.

Kerrigan and Lowdermilk (on piano) are joined by Krystina Alabado, Emma Hunton and local artist Zachary Altman. Alabado most recently performed on Broadway as Vanden in American Psycho. She made her debut in the First National Tour of Spring Awakening. She also was in David Bowie's Lazarus, alongside Michael C. Hall. She made her Broadway debut in Green Day's American Idiot and she played Peron's Mistress in the 2013 National Tour of Evita. Hunton recently appeared in Freaky Friday the Musical in California and performed on Broadway as Natalie in Next to Normal and Ilse in Spring Awakening.

Tickets for The Mad Ones are on sale now staring at $25, or starting at $19 with a new PTC theatre membership. Membership and ticket info is available by visiting philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/on-stage/current-season.

"We want to support new theatrical work, in different stages of development," added Price. "We want to give a larger platform to Philadelphia artists. We want to bring attention to the amazing local talent that comes from or lives in our amazing city. The Mad Ones is a shining example of of our festival-style season supporting new local works for shorter runs - and gives audiences in New York a chance to say we saw it first in Philadelphia!"

Philadelphia Theatre Company continues its commitment to sharing the unique American experience and presents an exciting festival-style theatre season under the leadership of new Producing Artistic Director Price. The ambitious 2017-2018 line-up includes plays, music, comedy, and political commentary and features top local and national voices. With Price at the helm of the company, PTC begins a bold new chapter for the ground-breaking organization.

The season began with the World Premiere of Bob Garfield's Ruggedly Jewish, and Kathleen Turner's cabaret debut. Aaron Davidman's Wrestling Jerusalem opened October 18 and runs through November 5. The season continues with Mike Daisey's This Is Not Normal and The End of Journalism, two provocative new monologues (November 9-11), with an added special event November 11 at 6 pm featuring major theatre journalists from New York, Chicago and Philadelphia); We Know How You Die!, a fully improvised comedy show performed by members of the Upright Citizens Brigade (December 1 - 2); a sing-along A Dream Is A Wish: Princess Concert (December 17); Musical Thrones: A Parody, a giddy and raucous parody of the Emmy Award-winning HBO show (February 9 - 10); and the Off-Broadway hit play, Small Mouth Sounds (March 13 - April 1).

Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) is a leading regional theater company that produces, develops, and presents entertaining and imaginative contemporary theater focused on the American experience. PTC balances its Philadelphia roots with a national point of view that combines a taste for adventure with a dedication to new American plays and musicals.

Founded in 1974, PTC has presented 140 world and Philadelphia premieres. More than 50 percent of PTC's world premieres have moved on to New York and other major cities, helping to earn Philadelphia a national reputation as a hub for new play development. PTC has received more than 180 nominations and 53 awards from the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre. In 2007, PTC was instrumental in expanding Philadelphia's thriving cultural corridor by opening the SuzAnne Roberts Theatre on the Avenue of the Arts.

PTC believes in the importance of education programs that support its artistic mission and its award-winning education programs have introduced hundreds of students to contemporary American theater through in-school and at-the-theater workshops, residencies, student matinees and summer camp experiences.

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