Sideshow Carny Musical Premieres
THE UNKNOWN
World Premiere Sept. 23- Oct. 1 at The Barrow Group Theatre
New York Musical Theatre Festival and P73 Productions, Inc. presents THE UNKNOWN beginning September 23 at The Barrow Group Theatre. Based on the 1927 cult film by Tod Browning (Freaks), this dark new musical is directed by Jean Randich with book and lyrics by Janet Allard and Jean Randich, and music/ musical direction by Shane Rettig. Recipient of the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award and workshopped as part of The Public Theater’s New Work Now Festival, it will be presented on the following schedule:
Friday, 9/23 at 8pm
Saturday, 9/24 at1pm
Thursday, 9/29 at 4:30pm
Friday, 9/30 at 8pm
Saturday, 9/1 at1pm and 4:30pm
The Barrow Group Theatre is located at 312 West 36th Street, between 8th & 9th Aves (accessible from the A,C,E trains at 34th St.). For ticketing information visit nymf.org.
At the center of the sleazy sideshow world of THE UNKNOWN stands Alonzo The Armless Wonder, a carnival knife thrower who is madly in love with Joan, his luscious and mysterious target. Alonzo’s love gives birth to an obsession so powerful that it tests the limits of sanity and drives him to the brink of madness and murder. Twists and turns come flying at full speed in this freak show of dreams, where nothing is what it seems and where love can be twisted by hatred in an instant. THE UNKNOWN is fast-paced and suspenseful from its opening chords to its gruesome conclusion. It is a thrilling carnival ride about the madness that can ensue when love comes your way.
Tod Browning’s 1927 silent film (lost and re-discovered in 1968) is not only noteworthy for its spell-binding story, but also for its stars: Lon Chaney and very young Joan Crawford. This musical breathes new life into the cult film by melding Browning's stark expressionism with edgy rock, honky tonk, Latin, blues and jazz music.
Janet Allard’s works include Vrooommm! A NASComedy, Salmonboy, Loyal, Untold Crimes of Insomniacs, and The Swim. Her work has been seen at The Guthrie Lab, The Kennedy Center, Playwrights Horizons, Yale Rep, The Women’s Projects, Theaterworks and Perseverance Theatre. She is a Macdowell Colony Fellow, a Fulbright Fellow, and recipient of two Jerome Fellowships
Shane Rettig is a musician, composer and sound designer whose credits include crooked at SPF, Joanna P. Adler’s Request Concert at Mabou Mines/Suite, Everything Will Be Different at Soho Rep, Learning Curve (directed by Michael Sexton), Elmina’s Kitchen (directed by Marion McClinton) and The Civilians’ Nobody’s Lunch at P.S 122, as well as shows at Actor’s Theater of Louisville, La Jolla Playhouse, Dallas Theatre Center, Yale Rep, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. He teaches sound design at Rutgers University.
Jean Randich’s NYC directing credits include Drawn to Death by Art Spiegelman and Phillip Johnston, Girl Under Grain (winner: Best Drama, NY International Fringe Festival 2000); He Who Says Yes He Who Says No (NAATCO), and J.P. Morgan Saves the Nation (En Garde Arts). Regionally she has directed shows at Contemporary American Theater Festival.Yale Rep, Portland Stage Company, Magic Theatre, and Dallas Theatre Center. Randich is a professor of Drama at Bennington College.
Founded in 1997 by Nicole Fix, Liz Jones, Asher Richelli, and Daniel Shiffman, P73 Productions, Inc. is committed to developing and producing the work of emerging playwrights. Since its inception, P73 has helped develop works by numerous artists including Peter Ackerman, Peter Morris, Julia Jordan, Karen Hartman, and Michael Friedman. Works developed by P73 have moved on to productions at Primary Stages, New York’s Women’s Project and Productions, Baltimore’s Center Stage and San Francisco’s Magic Theater. In 2003, the company launched the P73 Playwriting Fellowship, which is awarded to one emerging writer annually.Their production of Monica! The Musical will also be presented in the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival. For more information visit p73.org.
Dedicated to discovering new work and new artists, The New York Musical Theatre Festival celebrates the diversity, creativity, and future of musical theatre. NYMF is a flagship program of the National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is America’s largest annual musical theatre event. NYMF is produced in association with Virgin Megastores and proudly supported by amNewYork, Village Voice, WB11, Receptasign, King Displays, Rosco, Scharff Weissberg, TheaterMania.com, BroadwayWorld.com and Manhattan Living. For more information, visit nymf.org.