Am Anne Hutchinson described as a “concept opera” by Broadway songwriter Andrew Lippa has its world premiere today, starring Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth.

She performs alongside Lippa April 23-24 at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, MD, just outside of Washington, DC.

She is joined by Ward Billeisen, Sam Bolen, Derrick Cobey, Roosevelt Credit, Carlos Encinias, Nick Gaswirth, Matt Gibson, Justin Greer, Nicholas Rodriguez, Michael Lowney, Michael McCorry Rose, Alex Puette, Heath Saunders, Nicholas Ward, Noah Zachary, Matt Zimmerman and The Alexandria Harmonizers (Joseph Cerutti, Jr., director).

They are to be accompanied by The National Philharmonic (Piotr Gajewski, music director).

The new piece tells the story of the colonial-era woman who clashed with the Puritans in what was then the Massachusetts Bay Colony, striking a blow for both women clergy and religious freedom in the nation's earliest days. She is the namesake of the Hutchinson River and the parkway named for it in Westchester County, NY.

I Am Anne Hutchinson will be performed on a double bill with Lippa's other oratorio about a “transformational social activist,” I Am Harvey Milk (2013), about the San Francisco gay activist who was assassinated. The two hour-long pieces will be performed back to back.

I Am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk features music and lyrics by Lippa (The Addams Family, The Wild Party, Big Fish), direction by Noah Himmelstein and music direction by Joel Fram.

The creative team includes choreographer Larry Keigwin, projection designer Andrew Lazarow, costume designer Clint Ramos, lighting designer David Lander, sound designer Walter Trarbach, orchestrator August Eriksmoen and production stage manager Shari Moxley.

The Music Center at Strathmore is located at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD.

For tickets and more information, visit Strathmore.org/events-and-tickets/harvey-milk.