| Out of the Box Theatrics announces cast and creative team for Starstruck industry showing | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 04:48 pm EDT 04/24/24 | |
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| OUT OF THE BOX THEATRICS IN ASSOCIATION WITH KEVIN RYAN ANNOUNCES CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM FOR INDUSTRY PRESENTATION OF NEW MUSICAL STARSTRUCK STARRING BETH MALONE AND ELIZABETH STANLEY MUSIC AND LYRICS BY EMILY SAILERS OF THE INDIGO GIRLS BOOK BY BETH MALONE AND MARY ANN STRATTON (April 24, 2024 – New York, NY) – Out of the Box Theatrics (Liz Flemming , Founding Artistic Director) in association with Tony and Olivier Award-winning producer Kevin Ryan is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for an industry presentation of Starstruck, a new musical by Beth Malone (Fun Home, Angels in America) and Mary Ann Stratton, with music and lyrics by Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. The invitation-only presentations will take place on May 31, 2024 at the company's new home at 154 Christopher Street (formerly the New Ohio Theatre). Starstruck stars Tony and Grammy Award winner Beth Malone (Fun Home, Angels in America, Britney Runs a Marathon) as Cyd DeBerg, Tony Award nominee Elizabeth Stanley (Jagged Little Pill, On the Town, Cry-Baby) as Roxanne Cooley, and Claybourne Elder (Company, Sunday in the Park with George) as Chris. Where the universe meets Sawtooth, Idaho, Cyd DeBerg (Malone) is on a mission to save her sliver of sky. She crusades for the first International Dark Sky Reserve in the United States, attracting the attention of NPR journalist Roxanne Cooley (Stanley). Roxanne's magnetism knocks all of Sawtooth out of orbit, including Cyd's right hand man, Chris (Elder). In Cyrano fashion, Cyd begins a courtship on his behalf. When words come too easily and feel uncomfortably true, Cyd is forced to concede the world as she knew it. Cyd and Roxanne are upended by the mysterious universe, truths hidden in darkness, and a collision course of love. The cast of Starstruck also features Danielle Lee Greaves (Parade, Hairspray, Rent ) as Sunny, Murray Hill ("Life & Beth," "Somebody Somewhere") as Crash, Paolo Montalban (Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella) as Woody, Sydney Patrick (National Tours of Kinky Boots, Tangled) as Linda, and Dan Sharkey (Amazing Grace, Bridges of Madison County, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) as JD. Additional casting will be announced at a later date. The creative team of Starstruck includes director Sherri Eden Barber (Tour: Hamilton), Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award-winning music supervisor Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, Jagged Little Pill), music director Bryan Perry, copyist and music assistant Chloe Geller, casting by Geoff Josselson: JZ-Casting, stage management by Kelly Martindale (Slave Play, Matilda the Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar), assistant stage management by Misha Fristensky (Durango Arts Center), and production assistance by Maddie Lentz. This industry reading of Starstruck is produced by Out of the Box Theatrics in association with Kevin Ryan. Special thanks and support to Liz Armstrong and IRT Theater. Starstruck also received a 2021 residency and 2023 Triple R at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. BIOGRAPHIES BETH MALONE (Cyd DeBerg/Book) is the co-book writer of the musical Starstruck. Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Fun Home (Tony nominee), Angels in America (revival), Ring of Fire, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Award nominee, Outer Critics Circle honoree). TV credits include "City on Fire," (Apple), "Gaslit" (Hulu), "All Rise," "Brainded," "Bull" (all for CBS), "Chicago Med," "Bluff City Law" (NBC), "The Baker and The Beauty" (ABC). Film credits: Tick, Tick… Boom, The Comedian, Brittany Runs a Marathon. ELIZABETH STANLEY (Roxanne Cooley) most recently received acclaim for her performance as Vera in New York City Center's gala performance of Pal Joey (NYT's "Best of 2023"). Broadway and National tour credits include: Mary Jane in Jagged Little Pill (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics nominations, Grammy Award winner), Claire de Loone in On The Town (Drama Desk nomination), Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County, Dyanne in Million Dollar Quartet, Kira in Xanadu, Allison in Cry-Baby, and April in the 2007 Tony Award-winning revival of Company. Other favorite stage credits include Faye Apple in Anyone Can Whistle opposite Vanessa Williams and Santino Fontana with Master Voices at Carnegie Hall, Mother in Ragtime with the Boston Pops and Keith Lockhart, Gussie in Merrily We Roll Along with James Lapine for Encores!, and the Nurse in Hello Again with the Transport Group. Equally present on screen, Elizabeth was a recurring guest star on the FX series "Kindred" and Season 2 of HBO Max's "Gossip Girl". Other guest appearances include "The Equalizer," "New Amsterdam," "Younger," "Blue Bloods," "N0S482," "FBI," "The Get Down," "The Affair," "Black Box," "Made in Jersey," "Fringe," and Company (PBS Great Performances). Elizabeth is a graduate of Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. IG: @El.Stans CLAYBOURNE ELDER (Chris) currently plays John Adams on HBO's hit series "The Gilded Age" and was most recently seen on Broadway as Andy in the Tony Award-winning revival of Company. He is a Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominee and is known for his performances on Broadway in Bonnie and Clyde, Sunday in the Park with George, Torch Song and Sondheim on Sondheim at the Hollywood Bowl. He began his career originating the role of Hollis in Sondheim's Road Show, he also originated the role of Ollie in Tennessee Williams's One Arm. Other credits include: Do I Hear A Waltz? at City Center, Allegro at Classic Stage, Venice at the Public Theatre, Georgio in Passion, Tony in West Side Story, Joe in Angels in America. He also played Pete O'Malley in the CW's "The Carrie Diaries." @claybourneelder. DANIELLE LEE GREAVES (Sunny). Broadway: Parade, A Streetcar Named Desire , Rent, Hairspray (OBC), Sunset Boulevard, Show Boat (OBC). New York: Parade, Public Works' Hercules, Civil War Voices, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Purlie, The Wizard of Oz. National Tours: Once on this Island, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, The Lion King, Rent. Regional: Mamma Mia, Sweat, The Crucible, Ain't Misbehavin', Fences, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, A Woman Called Truth, All Shook Up, Ethel Waters - His Eye is on the Sparrow, Caroline, or Change, Working, Swinging on a Star. Film: Rio Uphill, Cubby, Growing Up (And Other Lies). Television: "East New York," "The Blacklist, Blue Bloods," "The Affair," "The Americans," "Elementary," "BrainDead," "Show Me A Hero," "Nurse Jackie," "Smash," "The Big C," "Rescue Me," "Damages," "Whoopi," "100 Centre Street." Voiceover: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer "Linda" (cdc.gov), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Print: Gain Mango Tango "Dancing Lady". @msdanielleleegreaves MURRAY HILL (Crash) is a NYC legend, comedian, TV host, emcee, and international entertainer. He plays Fred Rococo in Bridget Everett's "Somebody Somewhere" (HBO) and hosts the competition show "Drag Me To Dinner" (Hulu). He can be seen on Amy Schumer's "Life & Beth" and "Welcome to Flatch" (FOX) and in Paul Feig's upcoming movie "Grand Death Lotto" (Amazon Studios) starring John Cena and Awkwafina. Murray was a special guest correspondent for ABC News and Hulu's live historic "Pride Across America" which featured Pride marches in SF, NYC, and Chicago. NBC News selected him as one of the 30 most iconic and influential drag performers in modern history. His memoir will be published in June 2025 with Simon & Schuster. PAOLO MONTALBAN (Woody) is best known for his portrayal of Prince Christopher in the much beloved Disney produced TV movie musical Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. The groundbreaking production featured a diverse cast starring Brandy, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg and Jason Alexander among others. It broke records when over 60 million viewers tuned in for all or part of ABC's television event of the year. He continues his royal role, now as King Charming, in the upcoming Disney+ film Descendants 4: The Rise of Red, and reunites with Brandy as Cinderella. Paolo is also recognizable as Earthrealm's defender and Mortal Kombat champion, Kung Lao a.k.a. the Great Kung Lao in the TNT live action series "Mortal Kombat: Conquest," based on the famed video game franchise. All 22 episodes are available on HBO Max. Montalban's other TV credits include featured and recurring roles on network favorites "Madam Secretary," "The Blacklist," "Nurse Jackie," and "Law & Order: SVU." His other film credits include Just Wright, American Adobo , The Great Raid and the independent movie musical, The Girl Who Left Home. His most recent film, the rom-com Asian Persuasion, starring alongside Dante Basco, was shot entirely on location in New York City. Its world premiere was held at the 2023 Soho International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Feature Length Film and had its wide release debut in the Philippines and Guam later that year. Last year Paolo played the legendary theater impresario, Florenz Ziegfeld, in Funny Girl on Broadway starring Lea Michele. Early in his career, he made his New York debut in The King & I. He also collaborated with Stephen Sondheim in the Broadway revival of Pacific Overtures at Studio 54 as Manjiro and worked on Richard Greenberg's adaptation of Breakfast At Tiffany's starring Emilia Clarke. He's played numerous stages off-Broadway, in regional theaters, and in national touring houses. He garnered a Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical in Bella: An American Tall Tale and is also a Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship recipient. In 1998, Montalban was chosen as One of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World." He was selected as a 2004 Awit Award finalist for Best Performance By A New Male Recording Artist for the song "She" from his self-titled album on Vicor Records. He can also be heard in the Off-Broadway revival cast recording of The Unsinkable Molly Brown, the studio cast recording of Madame Clicquot: A Revolutionary Musical, and the original cast recording of White Rose: The Musical, in which he originated the role of Kurt Huber in the 2024 Off-Broadway world premiere. When he was 19, Montalban graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Psychology and a focus in pre-med. As an activist, he is a supporter and guest facilitator for AAJC-Advancing Justice and Hollaback! for their Bystander Intervention training. He currently serves on the National Board of Trustees for the Educational Theatre Foundation. Paolo has always welcomed diversity in mainstream entertainment. It was his dream to take part in an inclusive landscape, where it would be widely accepted for Asian actors to play memorable leading and character roles. He's glad to participate in this ongoing movement and looks forward to the expansion of opportunities for all artists to represent their communities. SYDNEY PATRICK (Linda) she/her is a Brooklyn-based artist. She leads the indie synth-pop-rock band, pop kiss, as the singer/songwriter/guitarist alongside her sibling, Nicole (album coming soon! @popkisstheband). Select credits include: the National & International Tour of Cyndi Lauper's Kinky Boots (Lauren), founding member of premier vocal group RANGE, guest feature on "The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon," development of new works such as TL;DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix (T), new punk musical Run Bambi Run! written by Gordon Gano of The Violent Femmes (Bambi), Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater's Alice By Heart, World Premiere of Alan Menken/Disney's Tangled and is the voice of Peppa for the popular cartoon, Peppa Pig (US). When not performing, Syd is a dedicated & highly trained mindfulness & yoga teacher specializing in loving-kindness & compassion (UC Berkeley), a graphic designer and is absolutely wild for the outdoors. Most of all, Syd is full of gratitude to be exploring the galaxy with this extraordinary Starstruck family. Syracuse University grad. @sydneypatrick_ sydneypatrick.com DAN SHARKEY (JD) is an actor, singer, director based in New York City and holds a B.A. in Theater Arts from Montana State University. Broadway credits include: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (where he played the Green Goblin). Susan Stroman's revival of The Music Man, Amazing Grace, The Bridges of Madison County and Hal Prince's Show Boat on London's West End. Sharkey's National Tours include: Tommy Tune's The Will Rogers Follies (where he took over the role of Will Rogers from Keith Carradine at The Pantages Theater in Los Angeles) Grand Hotel, also directed by Tommy Tune. Dan played Captain Von Trapp opposite Marie Osmond in the James Hammerstein III production of The Sound of Music and was featured in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers directed by Scott Schwartz. He has performed in ten Off-Broadway shows (including over 1,100 performances as Hucklebee in The Fantasticks) and many regional productions at theaters including The Guthrie, The Long Wharf, Actors' Theatre of Louisville and The Shakespeare Theater of D.C. He can be heard on numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway recordings. As a singer, Dan opened for Juice Newton and toured China, the Philippines and Europe as a vocalist performing for Heads of State. He performed Sunday Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. As a director Dan's productions of The Will Rogers Follies and Grand Hotel won the Denver Critics Award for Best Musical in two consecutive years. He has also directed productions of Bonnie and Clyde, On Golden Pond, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas to name a few. Dan plays the character Avery Duggans in Grand Theft Auto Five-Diamond Casino. TV credits include: "As the World Turns" (Hunter), "Boardwalk Empire" (Herb Crocker), "Prodigal Son" (Gary), "Girls5Eva" (Cowboy), "Livin' On A Prairie" (Bonnet Head) and he plays Jimmy in the soon-to-be-released film You Can't Run Forever directed by Michelle Schumacher and starring J.K. Simmons. Dan is proud to sit on the board of the N.F.P. Amazing Place Music, a production company based in Whitefish, Montana, that brings national talent to the Flathead Valley to interact and perform with the local talent and community. Sharkey is also a two-time gold medalist in swimming at the Montana Senior Olympics and an avid skier and hiker. NINI CAMPS (Cyd Standby) Nini Camps, a first-generation Cuban American, holds a theatre degree from Hofstra University. Initially touring with regional theatre companies, she later found her passion in music, emerging as a singer/songwriter. Her accolades include winning Billboard's Songwriter Award and earning Spin's Top 5 Singer/Songwriter recognition for her self-released album "So Long." Nini has toured globally as a solo artist and as lead singer of her band, Antigone Rising. Alongside her touring career, Nini writes for film and TV with over 100 placements, including notable shows like "Nashville" and "Grey's Anatomy." Currently signed to Concord Music Publishing, Nini returned to the stage in 2022 with a featured role in Jill Sobule's off-Broadway hit "F@ck 7th Grade." and joined the cast of "TL; DR: Thelma Louise; Dyke Remix" for a New York workshop presentation at Out of the Box Theatrics in 2024. EMILY SALIERS (Music and Lyrics) is a founding member and one-half of the Grammy Award-winning duo Indigo Girls. Indigo Girls have sold over 15 million albums worldwide since being signed to Epic Records (Sony) in 1989 and were inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Emily holds a BA in English from Emory University. In addition to her work with Indigo Girls, Emily co-owned the restaurant Watershed in Decatur, Georgia whose chef won the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Southeast U.S.A. Emily is co-author of the book A Song to Sing a Life to Live: Music as Spiritual Practice written with her father, Professor Don Saliers. She has written soundtrack music for films, including the Sundance short film One Weekend a Month, among others. Her first full-length solo album, Murmuration Nation, was released in 2017. Emily is currently working on a musical with Broadway's Beth Malone and Mary Ann Stratton, as well as a musical with the Elliot/Larsen Musicals team and one based on The Gospel of Eureka with director Jeremy Cohen and writer Mfoniso Udofia. Her newfound love of musical theater has become an obsession. Emily adores her family, dogs, good food, and the sea. MARY ANN STRATTON (Book) is a retired English teacher currently working on a memoir and co-writing the book for the musical, Starstruck. As a spoken word poet, she's been featured in numerous events performing her poetry throughout Colorado and has won top honors garnering her invitations to perform alongside the state's Poet Laureate. Mary Ann resides in Colorado with her cat and shares custody of three sweet dogs with her ex-wife. SHERRI EDEN BARBER (Director) is a director, Artistic Director of Ricochet Collective, and Resident Director of Hamilton (And Peggy Company). Recent productions: Tiny Beautiful Things with Nia Vardalos (Pasadena Playhouse), To Let Go and Fall (Theater Latté Da), Esperanza Spalding's Emily's D+Evolution (Development on European Tour), Happily After Ever (Ricochet Collective – 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe), good friday (The Flea Theater), Only You Can Prevent Wildfires (Ricochet Collective – Teatro Circulo), Gordy Crashes (Ricochet Collective – IRT), Mr. Landing Takes A Fall (The Flea), Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis (The Beckett), 24 Hour Plays on Broadway with Pablo Schreiber, Laverne Cox, and Melanie Griffith (American Airlines Theatre). Sherri is a recipient of The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Directors Fellowship, a Drama League Directing Fellow, and recipient of the US/UK Exchange Award. RicochetCollective.com | SherriEdenBarber.me TOM KITT (Music Supervisor) is a two-time Tony, two-time Emmy, Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winner. As a musical theater composer, he has written the music for six Broadway shows: Next to Normal (Tony Award), If/Then (Tony nomination), Almost Famous (Tony nomination), Flying Over Sunset (Tony nomination), High Fidelity and Bring It On, The Musical. His work for the stage has also been seen Off-Broadway at Second Stage (Next to Normal, Superhero), The Public Theater (The Visitor, Shakespeare in the Park) and he has worked at some of the most prestigious regional theaters including The Old Globe, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, The Signature Theater, and ART. In addition, Tom's Broadway credits as an orchestrator include: Next to Normal (Tony Award), The SpongeBob Musical (Tony nomination), Jagged Little Pill (Tony nomination), Almost Famous, Head Over Heels, Everyday Rapture, American Idiot and currently, Hell's Kitchen. Tom has also been active in the world of film and TV. As one of the vocal arrangers working on the Pitch Perfect films, Tom most notably helped create the classic "Riff-off." Tom also served as music supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator for "Grease Live," and contributed songs for "Royal Pains," "Penny Dreadful," and "Sesame Street." He also provided music supervision for the NBC series, "Rise" and served as a Supervising Music Producer on the Bobby Lopez/Kristen Anderson-Lopez/Steven Levenson/Thomas Kail musical television series Up Here. He is known for his two original opening numbers for The Tony Awards, "Live" in 2019, written with David Javerbaum for James Corden, and the Emmy Award-winning "Bigger" in 2013, written with Lin-Manuel Miranda for Neil Patrick Harris. Tom is also proud that his musical adaptation of Freaky Friday, co-written with Bridget Carpenter and Brian Yorkey was turned into an original movie musical for Disney Channel. Tom is a Sony Masterworks artist, with whom he recorded his debut album, Reflect in 2021. BRYAN PERRI (Music Director) is currently music supervisor/co-orchestrator for The Lonely Few at MCC. Recently he served as music supervisor for and conductor for Broadway's Almost Famous. He was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for the world premier cast album of Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots. Other credits as music director/conductor include the Broadway productions of Jagged Little Pill, Wicked, Chaplin and the Broadway National Tour of Next to Normal. Bryan music directed/conducted Superhero, Dogfight and Vanities all at 2nd Stage Theater. He was also music supervisor for Disney's Freaky Friday premiering at the Signature Theater in D.C. as well as Limelight at the La Jolla Playhouse. Bryan received the Craig Noel Award for outstanding music direction for Almost Famous at San Diego's Old Globe Theater. Along with his husband Daniel C. Levine, Bryan is a proud founding member of ACT (A Contemporary Theater) of Connecticut - a regional Equity theater located in Ridgefield, Connecticut where he also serves as their Resident Music Supervisor. KELLY A. MARTINDALE (Stage Manager). Broadway: KPOP; Slave Play; Linda Vista; Amélie; Doctor Zhivago; Matilda, the Musical; Jesus Christ Superstar (revival); Guys and Dolls (revival); The Farnsworth Invention; Dracula the Musical; Baz Luhrmann's La Bohème; 42nd Street (revival), The King and I (revival), The Who's Tommy. Off-Broadway: Boseman & Lena; Jerry Springer the Musical; Let Me Down Easy; Hedwig & the Angry Inch. Regional: Many productions at La Jolla Playhouse: recently Babbitt, The Outsiders and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. MISHA FRISTENSKY (Assistant Stage Manager). Off-Broadway: Spiritus/Virgil's Dance (Rattlestick Theater) Regional: Babbitt (La Jolla Playhouse), Dames at Sea (Henry Strater Theatre), Always Patsy Cline (Durango Arts Center). Film/TV: "The Gilded Age" (HBO), "Girls5Eva" (NBC Universal). He's thrilled to be working with this amazing team! When not in a theatre, he's creating and sharing music playlists, baking, and listening to Stevie Wonder. KEVIN RYAN (Producer) is a Tony (Parade) and Olivier (Dear England) Award-winning producer whose producing credits include Gavin Creel's original musical, Walk on Through; the new original musical Elephant Shoes in association with Deaf West, directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun; and the new original musical Plastered directed by Tony winner Jerry Zaks. On Broadway this season, he is co-producing The Outsiders, Suffs, Enemy of the People, Merrily We Roll Along and Cabaret. This Spring in London, he is co-producing People, Places and Things and Kiss Me Kate. In addition, Kevin is co-producing the international touring production of Macbeth starring Ralph Fiennes, currently in Washington, D.C. Kevin co-founded one of Broadway's largest annual charity events, the "Stage & Screen Sleep Out," which supports housing for children and youth facing homelessness across North and Central America through Covenant House. OUT OF THE BOX THEATRICS (Producer) was founded in 2016 by Liz Flemming, a legally blind artist, to create space for artists who have been historically underrepresented and undervalued. The company stages innovative and site-specific productions of new and classic plays and musicals while challenging audiences to experience these works outside of their expectations. By casting without regard to gender, race, creed, ethnicity, or disability, OOTB seeks to create a more inclusive and equitable theatre industry. OOTB has earned recent attention for its critically acclaimed streaming co-production of Jason Robert Brown's The Last 5 Years (New York Times' Critic's Pick, 2021 Drama League Nominee for Outstanding Digital Theater, 2022 Antonyo Award winner for Best Digital Theater Production), and its new production of the 1983 Broadway musical Baby (2022 Drama Desk Award nominee, Outstanding Revival of a Musical). OOTB's programming of 154 has been made possible by an arrangement with ChaShaMa. Since 1995, ChaShaMa has partnered with property owners to transform unused real estate for 30,000 artists and over 150 small businesses, hosted 4,000 public art events, provided 1,500 classes in under-served communities, and reached audiences of nearly a million. WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA Website: ootbtheatrics.com Facebook: facebook.com/ootbtheatrics Instagram: instagram.com/ootbtheatrics |
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