Rhinebeck Writers Retreat will present an invitation-only reading of the new musical Starstruck May 8.

Written by Fun Home Tony nominee Beth Malone, Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, and Mary Ann Stratton, the cast will feature Malone, Jeb Brown (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Claybourne Elder (Company), Ann Harada (Into the Woods), Marc Kudisch (Girl From the North Country), and Krysta Rodriguez (Into the Woods).

Sherri Eden Barber will direct with musical direction by Cynthia Meng. 

In the new musical, Cyd DeBerg crusades for International Dark Sky status stirring up a political firestorm and attracting the attention of the NPR podcast, Far Out! with Roxanne Cooley. Roxanne's magnetism knocks Sawtooth out of its orbit, including Cyd’s right-hand man, Chris.

Starstruck was selected for Rhinebeck Writers Retreat’s Triple R program, where the writers receive two readings and a residency for development of their musical. The process started with a table read in Manhattan, followed by a residency in Rhinebeck to revise the script and score. The final step is the forthcoming reading.

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Founding Executive Director Kathy Evans says, “We are so excited to give these talented writers the chance to do a lot of development on their first musical and to see it with a live cast of Broadway veterans for the first time.”

The general manager is Dailey-Monda Management.

Since its creation in 2011, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat has supported over 200 musical theatre writers. Visit RhinebeckWriters.org.