Prospect Theater Company Announces 2017-2018 Season
Featuring Premieres By
Kait Kerrigan & Brian Lowdermilk
and
Jason Grote & Marisa Michelson
plus continued IGNITE Series Concerts
Memberships and Tickets Now On Sale
(New York, NY, July 27, 2017) Prospect Theater Company (Cara Reichel, Producing Artistic Director / Melissa Huber, Managing Director) has announced its 2017-2018 season, featuring premiere productions of Kait Kerriganand Brian Lowdermilk’s The Mad Ones, and Jason Grote and Marisa Michelson’s One Thousand Nights and One Day. The company will also continue its ongoing concert initiative, The IGNITE Series, which kicks off with a one-night-only presentation of Jason Ma’s Gold Mountain, presented in partnership with the National Asian Artists Project.
About The Mad Ones
The Mad Ones, an original musical by Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk, and directed by Stephen Brackett(The Lightning Thief, Buyer & Cellar), will be presented from November 7 – December 17, 2017 at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, NYC). This production launches Prospect Theater Company’s new three-year residency at 59E59 Theaters, premiering one new musical each fall until 2019.
Samantha Brown balances on the edge of her future, car keys in hand. As she sits in the driver’s seat, she faces a choice: will she follow in her mother’s footsteps, or take the dare of her impetuous best friend and chart a new path? This contemporary and compelling score from one of NYC’s most exciting new songwriting teams immerses audiences in the complex inner life of a young woman on the brink of change. When every choice feels like life and death, how do you turn the key?
Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk are an award-winning musical theater writing team. With two fan-driven albums to their name, their songs have over 7 million views on YouTube. They made their off-Broadway debut withHenry and Mudge. Other musicals include Republic, developed by the York Theatre and the Arden Theatre; andThe Bad Years, developed by CAP21 and Theatreworks / Silicon Valley.
Under the title The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, The Mad Ones was previously staged by the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, GA (2014) and had a developmental production at Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theatre (2011). It also received developmental workshops and readings at Orange County Performing Arts Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Perry-Mansfield, the ASCAP/DisneyWorkshop, MTC, and the Makor.
About One Thousand Nights and One Day
One Thousand Nights and One Day, featuring book and lyrics by Jason Grote and music by Marisa Michelsonwill be presented April 2 – 29, 2018 in The Mezzanine Theatre at the A.R.T./New York Theatres (502 West 53rd St., NYC). The production will be directed by Erin Ortman.
One Thousand Nights and One Day is based on the play 1001 by Grote, which Time Out New York named one of the Year’s 10 Best New Plays of 2007, and of which it said: “People and their passions fly off the page in Jason Grote’s dynamic, intellectually agile 1001, a postmodern epic about the cultural narratives that shape our lives.” This kaleidoscopic musical reinvention of “The Arabian Nights” wraps stories within stories, deconstructing and examining narrative, the Middle East, and identity through a 21st-century lens: the love story of a Jewish man and Palestinian woman in New York City.
Michelson is a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award, and writes experimental musicals, choral works, and interdisciplinary music-based pieces. Her music for Tamar of the River, produced by Prospect in 2013 (two Drama Desk Nominations) was highly praised as “one of the most extraordinary scores in years” (Jesse Green –New York Magazine). Jason Grote’s plays include Shostakovich, or Silence (ACT New Play Award); Civilization; Maria / Stuart; and the performance texts for David Levine’s Habit (2013 OBIE); En Garde Arts’ Basetrack; and Radiohole’s Tarzana. One Thousand Nights and One Day has previously been developed with the support of the Weston Playhouse Writers’ Retreat, the York Theatre Company, Montclair State University, and New Dramatists.
The production is sponsored in part by the Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund.
About Gold Mountain and the IGNITE Series
The first concert presentation in Prospect’s 17-18 IGNITE Series will be Gold Mountain, featuring book, music, and lyrics by Jason Ma, and directed by Alan Muraoka. Presented in a return partnership with the National Asian Artists Project (co-founded by 2017 Tony Awardee Baayork Lee), Gold Mountain will be presented on October 21, 2017 at 8pm at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st Street, between 7th & 8th Avenues). This original musical spins an epic love story, set against the backdrop of the 1860s construction of The Central Pacific Railroad, built by thousands of Chinese immigrants.
The IGNITE Series is an ongoing concert initiative featuring today’s new voices shaping tomorrow’s musical theater. Prospect members will enjoy showcase evenings premiering new work by award-winning writers, cutting-edge creations from the company’s musical theater lab, and concert presentations of new musicals. Prospect’s IGNITE Series is sponsored in part by the Ford Foundation, Good Neighbor Committee. Additional IGNITE Series Concerts for Spring 2018 will be announced.
Prospect Membership
Purchase a 2017-2018 Prospect Membership and SAVE 40% or more on productions and concert events throughout the Season!
Prospect’s annual Membership Program offers valuable discounts, insider access, and flexible ticketing to meet the needs of audiences who are passionate about the company’s mission to bring to life the next generation of the American musical. Memberships are valid for events between September 1, 2017 – August 31, 2018. Members also receive exclusive exchange privileges (up to 48 hours before the performance), invitations to behind-the-scenes events with artists, and online ticketing surcharges are waived for member ticket purchases.
Individual Memberships are $50 and offer benefits including a savings of 40% or more on Prospect’s regular and premium ticket prices, including tickets to the IGNITE Series at The TimesCenter. (Regular ticket prices typically range from $20 to $70.) Or, select a Dual Membership for $75 and purchase two member-priced tickets to each show.
To purchase memberships and Prospect member tickets for The Mad Ones or Gold Mountain, visit www.ProspectTheater.org or call 212-352-3101. Email [email protected] with questions.
About Prospect Theater Company
Prospect Theater Company (founded in 1998) is dedicated to fostering and showcasing today’s new voices shaping tomorrow’s musicals. Since 2000, the company has fully produced more than 30 premiere musicals in New York City, in addition to new plays and numerous re-inventions of classic works. Reflecting its investment in the future of the field, Prospect leads a variety of developmental initiatives, including an annual Musical Theater Lab for emerging writers, and the IGNITE Series of concerts at the TimesCenter. In recognition of its enterprising and risk-taking new musical theater, the company received a 2016 OBIE Award grant. Their work as a community anchor for emerging artists that strengthens the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theater was also honored with a 2013 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing.
Notable productions include: the Drama Desk Award-winning Working (2012), Death for Five Voices (2016), Long Story Short (2015), Jasper in Deadland (2014), the Drama-Desk nominated Tamar of the River (2013), Unlock’d(2013), Iron Curtain (2006, 2011), Myths and Hymns (2012), With Glee (2010), The Blue Flower (2008), Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge (2009), The Hidden Sky (2010), Illyria (2002, 2008), and the Drama-Desk nominated The Pursuit of Persephone (2005).
About 59E59 Theaters
59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director / Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is a non-profit dedicated to bringing the very best of American and international playwriting and performance to premiere in New York. Conveniently located in the heart of Midtown, just east of Central Park, this Off Broadway destination boasts a spectacular, modern theater complex including three spaces and a year-round curated program of theatrical productions.
Since 2004, our Drama Desk Award-winning venue has been dedicated to offering highly-subsidized rental space to emerging and established not-for-profit theater companies eager to share their work in New York City. In addition to production, marketing and press support, companies get to keep 100% of the box office net sales.
About A.R.T./New York Theatres
The A.R.T./New York Theatres are a project of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York), which provide state-of-the-art, accessible venues at subsidized rental rates, plus free access to top-line technical equipment, so that the city’s small and emerging theatre companies can continue to experiment, grow, and produce new works. Founded in 1972, A.R.T./New York is the leading service and advocacy organization for New York City’s 375+ nonprofit theatres, with a mission to assist member theatres in managing their companies effectively so that they may realize their rich artistic visions and serve their diverse audiences well. We accomplish this through a comprehensive roster of real estate, financial, educational, and community-building programs, as well as research, advocacy, and field-wide initiatives that seek to improve the long-term health and sustainability of the industry. Over the years, A.R.T./New York has received numerous honors, including an Obie Award, an Innovative Theatre Award, a New York City Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture, and a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. For more information, please visit www.art-newyork.org.
