Casting Announced For Village Theatre's FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS

With The 19th Annual Festival of New Musicals taking place this upcoming weekend, Village Theatre is excited to announce the casting for XY, an uplifting musical about identity and coming to terms with your past; Cold Turkey, a wild and funny satire; Modern, an inspiring tale about a group of Amish teenagers; Eastbound, an poignant story about Chinese brothers in search of a home they've never known; and Cowboy Bob, an adventurous rock musical about a bank-robbing woman. The Festival will take place in Issaquah August 9-11, 2019 and provides an essential platform for writers to develop new works. Past Festival shows include Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning shows such as Next to Normal and Million Dollar Quartet, as well as Broadway and Off-Broadway hits: It Shoulda Been You, Desperate Measures, Lizzie, and many more.

The five new musicals will feature some of the most talented directors, musicians, and actors in the country, including: Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked, RENT, Come From Away), Dexter Darden (20th Century Fox's The Maze Runner series), Sara Porkalob (creator of Dragon Cycle), and Zachary Noah Piser (Dear Evan Hansen). Joining them is....

XY
Book, Music, & Lyrics by Oliver Houser (Stephen Schwartz Award)

Developed with & Directed by Hunter Bird

Music Directed by Michael Nutting

On the advice of doctors, Chris' mother took the leap to subject her intersex child to genital surgery as an infant and raise him as a girl. Now 26 years later, Chris has transitioned back into being a man and is navigating his first romantic relationship while he is haunted by his eleven-year-old self, Christine.

Peter Smith (Peter Pan at SummerScape) - Chris
Merek Jarocki - Christine
Kendra Kassebaum (Wicked, Come From Away) - Beth
Sara Porkalob (Dragon Lady at ART in Boston) - Nuni
Mikayla Sanchez - Rebecca
Chris Shea - Jonah/Dr. Albert
Vincent Milay - Stage Directions

COLD TURKEY
Book by Andrew Russell (Stu for Silverton)
Music & Lyrics by Rich Gray
Directed by Brandon Ivie (Lizard Boy, Jasper in Deadland)
Music Directed by Nathan Young

A wild and funny satire based on the 1971 Norman Lear film of the same name, Cold Turkey tells the story of a beleaguered small town which responds to an advertising gimmick to win a $25 million challenge to quit smoking for 30 days.

Eric Ankrim (First Date on Broadway) - Reverend
Alexandra Tavares - Natalie
Jason Kappus (American Idiot on Broadway) - Merwin
John X. Deveney - Mayor
Jayne Muirhead - Edna
Iris Elton - - Mrs. Proctor
Matt Wolfe (Scandalous on Broadway) - Doc Proctor
Shermona Mitchell (Gregory Award, Last Days of Judas Iscariot) - Letitia
Bobbi Kotula (Iron Curtain) - Cissy
Vincent (VJ) Orduna - Amos
Laura Kenny - Odie
Sarah Rose Davis (A Christmas Story) - Quartet
Molli Corcoran - -Quartet
Danny Kam (Jasper in Deadland) - Quartet
Mikko Juan (Urinetown at The 5th Avenue Theatre) - ..Quartet
Karen Skrinde - Ensemble
Jalá Harper - Ensemble
Kate Jaeger - Ensemble
Terence Kelley - Ensemble
Greg McCormick Allen (The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes) - Ensemble
Tony Lawson (Lone Star Love) - Ensemble
Ethan Carpenter - Ensemble

MODERN
Book & Lyrics by Selda Sahin
Book & Music by Derek Gregor (Unlock'd)
Directed by Jessica Spencer
Music Directed by R.J. Tancioco (The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes)

A new-grass, post-rock musical, Modern is the inspiring story of a group of Amish teenagers on their Rumspringa. Witness their brief period of freedom as they struggle to find the balance between love, tradition, progress, faith, and who they'll become.

Kody Bringman - Isaac
Eliza Palasz (Beautiful) - Hannah
Frederick Hagreen (Jasper in Deadland) - Willis
Hannah Schuerman (The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes) - Grace
Rachel Guyer-Mafune - Emma
Patrick Shelton - Jeremiah
Dexter Darden (The Maze Runner franchise and Joyful Noise) - Maurice
Cassi Q Kohl - Rebecca/Ensemble
Arika Matoba - Vee
Becca Orts (The Little Mermaid national tour) - Abigail
Jeremy Steckler - Elijah
Tyler Rogers - John
Fune Tautala - Cop/Ensemble
James Schilling - Kyle/Ensemble

EASTBOUND

Book & Music by Cheeyang Ng (2018 Drama League Fellow)
Book & Lyrics by Khiyon Hursey (Netflix's upcoming MIXTAPE)
Directed by Desdemona Chiang

Music Directed by Steven Tran

Two worlds. Two cultures. One question: how far are you willing to go to find family? Chinese-American adoptee Calvin travels to China in search of his birth mother. Unbeknownst to him, his biological brother, Yun, travels to America, seeking to break free of family traditions. Their quests in search of their own identities force them to evaluate whether family is chosen or biological.

Zachary Noah Piser (Dear Evan Hansen) - Calvin
Cheeyang Ng - Yun
Beth DeVries - Caroline
Shuyan Yang - Tian
Ya Han Chang - ..Qing
Daniel Le - -Alec

COWBOY BOB
Created by Molly Beach Murphy, Jeanna Phillips, & Annie Tippe

Music & Lyrics by Jeanna Phillips

Book & Additional Lyrics by Molly Beach Murphy (Drama League Beatrice Terry Resident)

Directed by Annie Tippe (Octet, Ghost Quartet)

Additional Music & Music Directed by Alex Thrailkill

Peggy was a good neighbor, a good daughter, and a great bank robber. Disguised as a man in a fake beard and a ten-gallon hat, "Cowboy Bob" evaded detection for more than a decade. In a score that's equal parts Riot Grrrl and Texas two-step, the small-town legend inspires a local waitress to take life by the reigns and let it ride.

Andi Alhadeff (Jasper in Deadland) - Peggy Jo Tallas
Alexandria Henderson (Gregory Award winner, Dreamgirls) - .Rena
Suzy Hunt - Ma Tallas
Nathaniel Tenebaum - Stan
Antonia Darlene - Kathy/Tanya
Adam Fontana - Cop Billy
Rico Lastrapes - Cop Roy
Cobey Mandarino (Streamers, Roundabout Theatre) - Manager Bill

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