Bridgetown Conservatory to Present Premiere Production of LUDLOW LADD: The Poor Little Orphan Boy

Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre is mounting the premiere of the first complete production of the Off-Broadway holiday musical LUDLOW LADD: The Poor Little Orphan Boy. With libretto by Michael Colby and music by Gerald Jay Markoe, Bridgetown Conservatory's production will be what Michael Colby describes as the 'fully realized new version' of the all-sung musical. Part Dickens, part Gilbert and Sullivan, part Fractured Fairy Tale, this family operetta evolves through mock-Christmas carols.

Rick Lewis, Artistic Director and Founder of Bridgetown Conservatory said: "We are extremely excited and proud to premier this new version of LUDLOW LADD! It's a great musical for Bridgetown students; it's a bit of a musical theatre unicorn - it's wacky, musical and highly original. Our cast of young performers and adults will have the opportunity to create characters for themselves, rather than mimic the performances of the past in a junior or high school version of a mainstream theatre piece. We're delighted. Michael Colby will be joining us the last week of the run, as well. Our performers will have the opportunity to meet and interact with the creator of their story."

Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre prides itself in being the premier training ground for young performers with an eye on a professional musical theatre career. Bridgetown offers "triple-threat" training (Acting, Dance and Vocal Performance) for young professional ages 12-19, preparing for college entrance into top-tier musical theatre programs and professional careers in musical Theatre. Bridgetown Conservatory's musical theatre triple-threat program is taught by former Broadway and NYC professionals, providing experienced and thoughtful insight into the training of young performers.

Over the past few years, Bridgetown Conservatory's graduating high school seniors have garnered spots in such prestigious musical theatre programs as: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London), The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Manhattan School of Music, Marymount Manhattan, NYU/Steinhard, NYU/Tisch, Boston Conservatory, Chapman University, Pace University, SCU Dramatic Arts, AMDA, Molloy College/CAP21 among others.

LUDLOW LADD (libretto by Michael Colby; music by Gerald Jay Markoe) has had an illustrious history. In December 1979, it began as an elaborate staged reading written expressly for off-off Broadway's Lyric Theatre of New York. Framed as an all-sung, all-rhymed operetta, its screwball plot unfolds entirely in the style of Christmas songs, with overtones of Charles Dickens and Grimm's Fairy Tales. This presentation was so successful, most of the same cast performed a radio version on WBAI-FM the following year (1980, repeated in 1981). In 1982, Colby and Markoe wrote a sequel, CHARLOTTE SWEET, that won raves as an off-off Broadway showcase, moving on to an Off-Broadway run that garnered three Drama Desk Award nominations (including "Outstanding Lyrics" and "Outstanding Music" for Colby and Markoe). CHARLOTTE SWEET has just been optioned for revival.

The first regional production of LUDLOW LADD, in December 1982, was at The New American Theatre (Rockland IL). It was so popular, it returned there the following December in repertory with CHARLOTTE SWEET. Subsequently, there have been various versions, often in concert, featuring such future TV and Broadway stars as Kristen Chenoweth and Donna Lynne Champlin. The musical itself has evolved from an hour-long original version to a full-length edition, with many new songs and an expanded second half. A lauded concert version of the expanded LUDLOW LADD was presented two years ago at Urban Stages in NYC. The Bridgetown Conservatory will premiere the first complete production of what Michael Colby describes as the fully realized new version.

The Bridgetown production will be directed by Del Lewis, with music direction by Rick Lewis. Bridgetown student Aliyah Lamb serves as assistant director. Complete casting and staffing will be announced at a later date.

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