Climate crisis musical Dear Everything will play a three-city U.S. tour this fall. The upcoming performances follow a sold-out, one-night-only concert presentation of the work at NYC's Terminal 5 earlier this year. Tony winner Diane Paulus is directing.
The tour is currently scheduled to visit Miami Beach, Florida's Miami Beach Bandshell (September 28); Los Angeles, California's El Rey Theatre (September 30); and Salt Lake City, Utah's Union Event Center (October 3).
Starring will be Crystal Monee Hall, YDE, Paravi, Luke Ferrari, Michael Williams, Brittany Campbell, Javier Muñoz, and Terence Archie. Each city will also include a narrator, with V (formerly Eve Ensler) handling the Florida performance and conservationist and activist Terry Tempest Williams taking on the Utah performance. The Los Angeles narrator is to be announced. All performances will also incorporate local youth choirs.
Dear Everything (formerly known as WILD) follows a group of young people in a small town whose determination to save their local forest endows them with powers they never knew they had, reminding audiences of our connection to the earth and the power of collective action. The work was developed at the A.R.T., where it was showcased in a 2021 concert premiere.
The work features music by Justin Tranter, Caroline Pennell, and Eren Cannata; and lyrics by Tranter, Pennell, and V. The musical also features contributions by Idina Menzel. Orchestrations are by Daniel Crean.
"It is an urgent and thrilling time to be on the road in America with Dear Everything coming together with audiences in dialogue, community, and action," says V in a statement. "With rousing music and wild story telling, this piece is an homage to youth activists fighting for our futures."
“From its very first moments at A.R.T., Dear Everything has embodied the power of theatre to build community," adds Paulus. "I am thrilled that audiences across the country will experience the galvanizing energy of this musical to connect with one another and with our planet. Dear Everything is more than a show—it’s a passionate cry for protecting our future.”
Says Tranter: “Since I was a kid, I’ve always been drawn to art that was trying to start larger conversations. Political folk singers, feminist songwriters, and radical playwrights. Getting to create something speaking to climate catastrophe with such amazing artists like V, Diane Paulus, Caroline Pennell, and Eren Cannata has been an honor.”
Tickets are at DearEverythingOnStage.org.