The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has announced complete casts and creative teams for the three musicals that will be developed during the 2022 National Music Theater Conference.
The musicals (Siluetas, The Jordan & Avery Show, Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice) will be developed by the Connecticut theatre company as a part of their annual conference, which has developed new musicals since 1978. Previous musicals developed by the conference include In The Heights, Nine, Violet, The Wild Party, Avenue Q, and In Transit.
“We couldn’t be happier with the creative teams, casts, and musicians we selected for the three conference musicals this year,” said Artistic Director Alexander Gemignani. “Filled with familiar faces alongside new ones, not only are the three companies immensely talented, but they are generous and collaborative human beings that will be invaluable to these fantastic writers realizing their visions.”
The first musical of the conference will be Siluetas, with book and lyrics by Erlina Ortiz and music and lyrics by Robi Hager. The show shares stories of immigrants and refugees as conservative ex-housewife Dinora and activist-artist Khalilah move in together amidst the charged 2016 presidential campaign, the loosening of the Cuban embargo, and the escalation of the Syrian Civil War. Public readings will be held July 16 at 7 PM, July 20 at 8 PM, and July 22 at 7 PM.
The cast will include Angel Alzeidan as Khalilah, Daníel Colón as Ancestor 1, Johanna Carlisle-Zepeda (Americano!) as Mama, Florencia Cuenca (A Never-Ending Line, Children of Salt) as Ancestor 3, Tony Winner KO (In the Heights, Moulin Rouge!, West Side Story) as Dinora, Eliseo Roman (On Your Feet, Leap of Faith, In the Heights) as Ancestor 2, Guillermo Jemmott (Kringle Time) as Richard, and Garrick Vaughan (Hair) as Ian.
Raphael Torn will play percussion with additional musicians still to be announced. Siluetas will be directed by Rebecca Aparicio, with music direction by Abel Garriga and dramaturgy by Lexy Leuszler.
The Jordan & Avery Show, with book, music, and lyrics by Jay Adana, will be the second musical of the conference. The show follows a pair of roommates as they struggle to stay afloat when their comedy song career takes off just as an eviction tries to tear them apart. Public readings will be held July 23 at 7 PM, July 27 at 8 PM, and July 29 at 7 PM.
The Jordan & Avery Show will feature Ally Bonino (Suffs) as Jordan and Zeniba Now (Beloved) as Avery. The band will include Skyler Fortgang on drums and Darren Lucas on guitar with additional musicians to be announced. It will be directed by Jess McLeod, with music direction by Emily Whitaker and dramaturgy by Carrie Chapter.
Tony Winner Gavin Creel's Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice will be the final musical of the conference. The show, for which Creel wrote the book, music and lyrics, and will also star, is a theatrical concert inspired by hours he has spent wandering the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public readings will be held July 30 at 7 PM, August 3 at 8 PM, and August 5 at 7 PM.
In addition to Creel, Walk on Through will feature Ben Moss and Ximone Rose as vocalists, and Dominic Dorset, Chris Peters, Corey Rawls, Sherisse Rogers, and Meg Toohey in the band. Walk on Through will be directed by Linda Goodrich, with music direction by Madeline Benson and dramaturgy by Zeina Salame.
For more information please visit TheONeill.org.
