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In Transit is honored to have received a 2010 Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award.
STAFF FOR IN TRANSIT
Assistant Stage Manager
Associate Set Designer
Associate Costume Designer
Assistant Costume Designer
Assistant Lighting Designer
Associate Sound Designer
Props Master
Assistant Director
Production Carpenter
Associate Carpenter
Production Electrician
Associate Electrician
Production Audio
Audio Associate
Light Board Operator
Sound Board Mixer
Light Board Programmer
Wardrobe Supervisor
Draper
Wardrobe Intern
Rehearsal PA
Production Assistants
Kelly "Kiki" Hess
Aimee Dombo
Paul Carey
Sydney Maresca
Zach Blane
Jason Strangfeld
Samuel Froeschle
Kenneth Ferrone
John Martinez
Tom Goehring
Tom Dyer
Robert Murray
David Arnold
Erin Ballantine
Jessica Ferguson
Sean Luckey
Jonathan Dunkle
Laura Bowman
Alicia Oas
Michelle Ridley
Jacob Halpern Weitzman
Kristin Loughry,
Amanda Johnson,
Amanda Kosack
synopsis
New York is the city that never stands still...
too bad, since there's so much to notice if you only take the time! You can see NYC through fresh eyes at In Transit , an innovative take on the modern musical which celebrates life in the greatest city in the world, as well as the power and versatility of the human voice.
Seven performers take on multiple roles--an aspiring actress, a fledgling financier, a street-savvy beatboxer, a cab driver, and many more--giving us a vivid tapestry of ordinary (or not-so-ordinary) people finding their way in New York City. Their stories are told through an eclectic score that mixes pop, rock, reggae, hip hop, and even country. It's like a theatrical "shuffleplay" on your iPod!
And since it's the people that create New York's magic, In Transit has taken that message to heart...the show's music is performed entirely without instruments, with every note and sound effect created by the actors' own vocal chords. It's a rich theatrical experience unlike anything you've ever seen (or heard) on stage before.
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In Transit was mounted Off-Broadway this Fall (2010) by Primary Stages, one of New York City's premiere Not-for-
profit theaters at their 59 E59 Theatres space. The limited-run engagement began previews on September 21, 2010, and
the show officially opened October 5. Though the original
run was only through October 30, 2010, commercial
producers are currently in talks regarding possibilities for
an extended run in NYC.
Check back here for updates! As soon as we know anything more definite, you will too.
Click on any logo below for full reviews.
Original artwork courtesy of Primary Stages.
Kristen Anderson-Lopez ( Lyrics/Book ) wrote book and lyrics for a musical version of Finding Nemo for Disney/Pixar with her husband, Bobby Lopez ( Avenue Q ), which is currently playing five times a day in Disney World. She and her husband are now working on a new full-length musical ( Up Here ) for the Roundabout Theatre. Kristen is a staff writer for The Wonder Pets, the critically-lauded pre-school-age show on Nick, Jr. featuring singing baby animal superheroes. For adult audiences, she is working with Julia Jordan, Kate Whoriskey and Lisa DeSpain on an original full-length musical, Storyville , which landed her a Dramatists Guild Fellowship. She wrote book and lyrics for Theatreworks/USAs Condensed Classics , Diary of a Worm and Fancy Nancy . Kristens TV credits include several songs for Disney Channel's Bear in the Big Blue House as well as several pop songs for Joan of Arcadia, Dawsons Creek and Queer Eye. . .. Kristen is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop (Advanced) and received the Harrington Award for outstanding creative achievement.
James-Allen Ford ( Music/Book ) James-Allen's work was recently featured in NEO, an evening at the York Theatre Company celebrating the work of emerging musical theatre writers. He had his Off-Broadway writing debut with the production of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Other Storybooks at the Lucille Lortel Theater in Summer 2006. His contribution to the show entitled Master Man , had lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton & Erik Weiner ( Bomb-itty of Errors ). Mouse/Cookie is currently touring natinally for Theatreworks/USA. Martha! The Unauthorized Musical , his much anticipated show about the life of a certain famous domestic diva from Connecticut by the same name, earned him international buzz and local tabloid attention. His a cappella musical for highschool students, Condensed Classics , toured nationally for TheatreWorks/ USA. A member emeritus of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Advanced Workshop, James-Allen received the Harrington Award for outstanding creative achievement in musical theater songwriting. His work has been featured at the BMI Industry Cabaret, the Century Centers New Artists Festival, the Donnell Library Songbook series, the York Theater Developmental
Reading Series, The New York Fringe Festival, the New York
Musical Theater Festival and on nationally syndicated XM Radio.
Russ Kaplan ( Music/Book ) has written scores for numerous theatre and modern dance productions, including Assisted Living , The Wake (4_15 at York Theatre), West Moon Street (Prospect Theater Company), Baal (Columbia University), As You Like It (Luna Repertory Company), The House of Jasmine & Bone, Seatbelts, and Screaming Shrubbery (Third Rail Dance). He is currently writing a jazz-rock ballet called The Ulysses Cycle , and an alt-rock musical with lyricist Sara Wordsworth ( In Transit ) and playwright Daniel John Kelley. Russ is the leader of the jazz-rock collective Russ Kaplan + 6, and keyboardist for Americana band The Randy Bandits (led by playwright Jim Knable). He currently studies jazz piano with Erik Deutsch (Charlie Hunter Trio, Norah Jones, Trevor Dunn band). Russ is also the founding Artistic Director of New
Sounds Theatre, a company dedicated to exploring and
redefining the role of music in contemporary theatre.
Sara Wordsworth ( Lyrics/Book ) has written book and theatre/cabaret/pop lyrics for The NY Fringe Festival, the NY Musical Theater Festival, The Eugene ONeill National Music Theatre Conference, DCs Theater Alliance, Dillons, Carolines on Broadway, the York Theatre Developmental Reading Series, the Duplex Cabaret, Big Night Out, the Algonquin Salon, nationally syndicated XM Radio, the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop Compilation CD, No More Revivals Vol. I, and NEO4, a concert celebration showcasing emerging musical theatre writers and supporting the award-winning York Theatre Company. Other credits include the family musical Changuita Perla (University of Texas, Austin) The Wake (York Theatres 4_15 Festival), and The Mitzvah on Madison (Musical Mondays Theatre Lab). Sara is currently developing several full-length musical theatre projects with composers Linda Dowdell and Russ Kaplan, and her first screenplay, Winter Rose , was honored by Upstream Productions Original Screenplay competition. Sara is a founding member of a cappella group Bob Ross Juice Box, and a
former member of Redline a cappella . She served as a consultant
for the NJ State Board of Educations Arts Curriculum Development Committee, and was a writers assistant for Good Morning
America as well as a freelance field reporter for The Gayle King
Show. Sara is also an accomplished musical theatre actress
and freelance recording artist. She is a proud member of the
Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., the Actors Equity Association,
and the Tony-Honored BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre
Workshop (Advanced). Please visit
www.sarawordsworth.com .
Greg Christopher ( Additional material ) Originally from Albuquerque, NM, Greg was a founding member of Redline, Columbia Universitys graduate a cappella group. His award-winning vocal percussion arrangements have been featured at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and have been performed in cabaret and concert throughout the New York City area. He is also a full-time architect, and holds a graduate degree from Columbia University.
In Transit is based on an original concept by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Gregory T. Christopher, James-Allen Ford, Russell M. Kaplan, Karla Lant & Sara Wordsworth
Karla Lant ( Additional material ) hails from Phoenix, AZ and is a former member of New York City a cappella group Redline. She is a published author, working on several creative and academic projects, and has written sketch comedy for Columbia Television. Theatrical credits include The Vagina Monologues , which was a 1999 NY Times Critics Pick. Karla has also performed at the BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and has written and performed activist street theatre all over the country.
Joe Calarco (Director) OFF BROADWAY- Playwrights Horizons: The Burnt Part Boys, Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky ; Primary Stages: Boy ; Second Stage: in the absence of spring (writer/director), The Transport Group: The Audience (contributing book writer), Bury the Dead ; Dream Light Theater Company: Fugitive Songs; The Lucille Lortel: Sarah, Plain and Tall, The Summer of the Swans ; Shakespeares R&J (adaptor/director. Lucille Lortel Award, also the West End and Tokyo). NATIONAL TOUR- Ring of Fire. REGIONAL- The Old Globe: Lincolnesque , The Glass Menagerie ; Barrington Stage Company: The Memory Show, The Burnt Part Boys, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (book writer/director); Signature Theatre: Assassins, (Helen Hayes Award), Urinetown (Helen Hayes Award), Side Show (Helen Hayes Award), Nijinskys Last Dance (Helen Hayes Award), Nest ; Philadelphia Theater Compay: The Last Five Years (Barrymore Award Best Musical), Elegies (Barrymore nomination), M. Butterfly, The Light in the Piazza (Barrymore nomination). The Oneill Musical Theater Conference: Sarah Plain and Tall,
In Transit, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Yale Institute for Music Theater: sam i was .The Shakespeare Theatre: A Midsummer Nights Dream ; Disney Creative Entertainment: Twice Charmed. UPCOMING: Walter Cronkite is Dead (playwright /director, Signature Theater). Drama League Directing Fellow. Executive Board Member
Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).
Many thanks to all
involved in the Primary Stages production for your hard work and dedication!
The human voice is pretty awesome.
It's the original musical instrument, and it can do absolutely anything you want it to... conjure any emotion, capture any mood, even imitate animals and other instruments. So why does the term a cappella automatically make people think of Doo-Wop, Barbershop quartets or Gregorian chants? There are some other genres that can be performed a cappella...for example, ALL of them! And fortunately for you, audience, we have attempted to cover as many as possible in this show. Never tell anyone we're not ambitious.
The four of us originally came together to harmonize in the now-defunct a cappella pop group Bob Ross Juice Box which we hope will someday be considered "legendary" despite a total of five paying gigs. Modern a cappella groups typically build their identities on pop covers, and we were no different. We sang Madonna, Peter Gabriel, Prince, all performed with an enthusiastic "look ma no instruments" grin hoping to impress people. But at some point --perhaps after our head-scratching gig at the Miss Manhattan Pageant--we realized that we had something to say.
Our big idea at the time was to write and perform a show called Along the Way, which included eleven original a cappella songs about ourselves and the people we know. Jobs, relationships, life, the MTA, etc. The songs and stories really struck a chord with people--pun totally intended--and we realized that with our new "theatric-capella" hybrid we'd found an original way to connect with audiences. The past nine years of developing the show (yep, nine) have been filled with little triumphs, huge set-backs, and a lot of laughs. There were definitely times when we felt we should give up and move on, but something or someone always pulled us back. So we just kept singing. And writing. And drinking $5 margaritas from Chipotle.
We know you're wondering: "Why a cappella?" The easy answer of course is that we were an a cappella group. But it's funny how themes can emerge over time, and over the years our musical convention has evolved into a metaphor for the struggles of life in New York. The characters of In Transit, like most New Yorkers, are goal-oriented, tunnel-visioned, and will do anything to avoid eye contact or a connection with a stranger. But New York is a community that thrives and depends on those connections, whether we realize it or not. Your story can't happen without the energy of the other eight million Gothamites, and their stories can't happen without you. Or in more musical terms, if you're Diana Ross then New York is the Supremes and you are always a Pip to someone else's Gladys Knight.
We would like to thank Primary Stages for their courage to take a chance on a new musical from unknown writers. Likewise, many thanks goes out to the wonderful audiences we've had during this run--your outpouring of enthusiasm and support has made our experience a joy. And if you haven't had a chance to get to the show yet, we look forward to seeing you at 59E59, or wherever the next stop is along the way...because this ride isn't over just yet.
We're still in transit!
− Kristen, James-Allen, Russ and Sara
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