Benjamin Velez and Joel Perez's Lost City Radio to Receive Staged Reading

Benjamin Velez and Joel Perez's Lost City Radio to Receive Staged Reading

The new work is adapted from a novel by Daniel Alarcón, about a South American country where all radio is propaganda.

April 06, 2026 By Margaret Hall

The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (RWR), in partnership with NEW NEXT NOW, will host a staged reading of the new musical Lost City Radio next month.

With book by Joel Perez (Fun Home) and music and lyrics by Tony nominee Benjamin Velez (Real Women Have Curves), Lost City Radio is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Daniel Alarcón. The piece follows Norma, a radio host in a country where radio is the only source of media. Ten years after a failed attempt to overthrow the military regime, what started as a radio show meant to find people who have disappeared during the war has become a propaganda machine for the state. Norma's own husband was one of the "disappeared," but when a young orphan named Victor shows up at her radio station with a clue to her husband's whereabouts, the two must work together to learn the truth and perhaps form their own family in the process.

The reading will be directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman (Suffs), with music direction by PJ Ju (Big Gay Jamboree). The musical has been selected for RWR’s Triple R Program, with the staged reading produced by the two organizations presented on May 14.

“We were blown away by Benjamin and Joel’s piece—both the artistry of their writing, and the urgency of the story they are telling,” says RWR Executive Director Erica Rotstein and NEW NEXT NOW co-founders Jesse Kissel and Jeff Whiting in a joint statement. “Because our organizations share a commitment to offering emerging theatre writers safe, artist-driven spaces where they feel supported and inspired to create bold new works, we’re especially excited to partner in supporting Benjamin and Joel, and hope this marks the beginning of many collaborations together.”

The reading will be cast by Andrew Fem, with general management by Sing Out, Louise! Productions. Casting will be announced at a later date.