What happens when you marry the outrageous machinations of Wall Street executives to a soundtrack of Gilbert & Sullivan tunes?
Total. Irrational. Exuberance.
The winner of the Academy for New Musical Theatre’s 2010 Search for New Musicals, Gilbert & Sullivan on Wall Street will be presented in concert at the Colony Theatre in Burbank on Monday, November 15th at 7:30 p.m.
It’s a tale of passion, betrayal, global domination, and office romance! A loving tribute to the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan, the score is set to the music by Arthur Sullivan with original book and lyrics by Charles Veley. Gilbert & Sullivan operettas are arguably still the most widely-performed on the planet, more than a century after delighting their first audiences. A recent viral video mashup of G&S and President Obama has entertained internet audiences and caught the attention of major news outlets like the Huffington Post. This tribute also follows happily in the G&S tradition, taking a lighthearted view of contemporary follies and foibles. Like the G&S stories, Gilbert & Sullivan on Wall Street starts with a somewhat absurd premise, propelling the characters through topsy-turvy turns of events and arriving at a logical but hilarious conclusion.
The concert will be directed by director & choreographer Allison Bibicoff (Xanadu) with musical direction by Ross Källing and will feature members of ANMT’s Academy Repertory Company and others, including Ellen Dostal, Johanna Kent, Christopher Maikish, Sean Smith, Peter Welkin, Elise Dewsberry, Michael Downing, Elizabeth Greene, Evelyn Halus, David Holmes, Sara Stuckey, Mona King, Andrea Press, Jeremy Sage, David Scales, Tedd Szeto, Jennifer Winkler, and Paul Wong. “This is a valuable opportunity for the author to hear his show performed by 18 strong voices, and to hear live audience feedback, which will help him make important choices as he continues to develop this new work,” expresses director Allison Bibicoff.
First Prize in the Academy for New Musical Theatre’s Search for New Musicals is the concert reading, preceded by a workshop last spring, and detailed feedback and dramaturgy. “We were initially drawn in by how well the contemporary language of the Wall Street lexicon marries comically to this classical score and have delighted in its further development,” says Artistic Director Elise Dewsberry.
Gilbert & Sullivan on Wall Street will be performed in concert at the Colony Theatre in Burbank on Monday, November 15th at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10.00.
For more info or to purchase tickets online, please visit www.ANMT.org.
Author: Elise Dewsberry
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Artistic Director of New Musicals Inc., Elise has been involved in the development of new works for over forty years: as an actor/singer, as a director, as a dramaturge, and as a writer. While living in Toronto, Elise served as the Assistant Artistic Director of the Muskoka Festival; the Co-Ordinator of the festival’s annual Musical Theatre Writer’s Colony, the Associate Dramaturge of the Canadian Stage Company; the Resident Dramaturge of the Smile Theatre Company; and was the co-founder of Toronto’s Script Lab. Elise spent many years touring Canada with Nine Months – a one-woman musical which she commissioned from writers Carl Ritchie and Stephen Woodjetts. Elise and Carl also co-wrote Any Body Home?, which was produced by the Cordova Bay Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia, and published by Dramatic Publishing. Elise joined ANMT as Associate Artistic Director in 2003; joined Founding Artistic Director John Sparks as Co-Artistic Director in 2010; and became Artistic Director of New Musicals Inc. in 2013. Elise is also the author and evaluator of the Book Lab and the Outlining Lab, offered online through www.writingmusicaltheatre.com, and publishes a monthly blog on the craft of musical theatre available at https://nmi.org/elises-video-blog/.