The first song and video has been released from Will Shishmanian’s new musical The Regulars, which is set to be the headline show for the 2022 Turn On Fest, Hope Mill Theatre’s spotlight on works by and for the LGBTQIA+ community. Check out Tony winner Laura Benanti singing “Edie’s Reckoning,” which follows a mother as she comes to accept her son and accept her misgivings, with Shishmanian above.
The Regulars explores the nature of community, identity and self-love, and has music, lyrics and book by Shishmanian, who also stars in the piece as Mark Howard. It has been developed with and is directed by Miss Hazel Jade.
The work will be presented as a concert January 29 at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, England, before getting a workshop production in 2023. The theatre will also be collaborating with Trans Creative to double bill The Regulars alongside new Trans writing.
Starring alongside Shishmanian in the concert are Aiesha Pease, Natalie Paris, Idriss Kargbo, Matthew Facchino, Teddy Hinde, Mark Lockhart, Amy Fleur, James Markham, and Jordan Walker.
The creative team for the presentation also features music director George Strickland, arrangements Anessa Marie, sound engineer Josh Evans, and festival stage manager Tom Sutcliffe, with casting by Pearsion Casting.
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