THE ORCHARD PROJECT DEVELOPS ‘THREE POINTS OF CONTACT’

May 31, 2017

World renowned writer’s haven The Orchard Project has announced RSO as one of its 2017 writers-in-residence..

RSO will work in its brand new Cabaret and Musical Theatre Program, which launched last year in partnership with Putnam Den. This year, the Orchard Project has made annual favorite Julian Fleisher Director of Cabaret and Musical Theatre and will host new work by a slew of the most exciting artists around, including RSO.

While at the Orchard Project, RSO will begin work on THREE POINTS OF CONTACT, the conclusion of the Dogs Trilogy (begun by WE FOXES and continued by ROPE).  ‘3PC’ tells the story of newlyweds Pooch and Amy Harvey, and is a contemporary piece about love, sex, and marriage.

Find out more about the Orchard Project’s 2017 season here.

 

 

 

PHOTO FLASH: ‘DARLING’ IN CONCERT 9/19

September 24, 2016

Check out the gallery below from ‘DARLING’ in concert, presented at Le Poisson Rouge on September 19, and find out more about the event here.

Photo credit: Evan Zimmerman

About the evening

Hamilton’s Nicholas Christopher played Peter in a concert presentation of Darling, Ryan Scott Oliver’s dark deconstruction of Peter Pan, September 19 at Le Poisson Rouge in New York.

Darling was the first musical recorded for The Score, a podcast series focused on new musicals.

The evening also included the talents of Kerstin Anderson (Maria in the latest Sound of Music tour) as the eponymous heroine, plus Ethan Carlson (Rope), Chris D’Amico (History Boys), Jeff Heimbrock (Book of Mormon), John-Michael Lyles (Jasper in Deadland), Jackson Perrin (NYMF’s Ludo’s Broken Bride), Daniel Quadrino (Wicked) and Daniel Yearwood (Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series) as the Lost Boys. Talya Groves (Motown), Gerianne Perez (Vocalosity, NYMF’s Fable), Catherine Ricafort (Holiday Inn, Allegiance) and Emily Rogers (If/Then) played Lily’s Dolls; P.J. Griffith (Giant) was featured as The Captain and other roles.

Darling features a book, music and lyrics by Oliver and was conceived by Brett Ryback. The musical, according to press notes, tells the story of “a nameless girl called Darling who is rescued from an asylum for ‘troubled youngsters’ by the provocative rent-boy Peter. The young man steals her to the Second Slum, a seedy underground of jazz, sex, and a mysterious white powder called Dust.”

The concert evening featured musical direction by Rodney Bush and a seven-piece orchestra. Orchestrations were by Oliver, with additional orchestrations by Solomon Hoffman and Ryan Fielding Garrett. Fernanda Douglas served as music assistant.  Nessie Nankivell served as Associate Producer, Ari Raskin as additional Producer, Stephen Ravet was the Stage Manager and Kaleb Tank the Associate Director.

The Score is a new podcast series created and produced by Michael Kimmel, John DeLore and Allison Bressi.

Darling is produced by WalkRunFly.

 

‘JASPER IN DEADLAND’ Album to be Released May 20

May 20, 2016

300_jasperRSO’s ‘Jasper in Deadland’ (with a book by Hunter Foster) will release a Cast Album on May 20, 2016.

The album is distributed by Sh-K-Boom Records, which also distributed his ’35mm: A Musical Exhibition.’

MATT DOYLE as the title character, with SYDNEY SHEPHERD, LOUIS HOBSON, ANDI ALHADEFF, BRANDI MASSEY, BONNIE MILLIGAN, F. MICHAEL HAYNIE, JOHN-MICHAEL LYLES and KYLE CARTER are featured as the nine-person cast on the album.

The album is produced by Oliver and John Clancy (orchestrator), with Nessie Nankivell, Kailey Marshall and Solomon Hoffman as associate producers.

The album will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and more.

Jasper in Deadland was developed as a commission for the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program in 2011. Prospect Theater Company presented the New York City premiere, which featured Matt Doyle (The Book of Mormon) as Jasper, Allison Scagliotti (Off-Broadway debut, SyFy’s “Warehouse 13”) as Gretchen and Ben Crawford (Big Fish, Shrek The Musical) as Mr. Lethe. Performances ran through April 13 at the West End Theatre in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew. In May of 2015, Jasper in Deadland opened at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. David Armstrong, 5th Avenue Theatre’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director said, “Ryan Scott Oliver and Hunter Foster are two of the most exciting young talents working in the theatre today and The 5th has a very successful track record in providing emerging theatre artists like these with a large scale playing field in which they can thrill and amaze us. What Rent is to La Bohème, this show is to the Orpheus myths and legends.”

Jasper in Deadland tells the story of 16-year-old Jasper, who journeys into the Afterlife to rescue his recently deceased best friend, Agnes.  But in this version of the hereafter – known as “Deadland,” a hybrid of mythology, religion, and superstition – the dead forget Life…  And so, too, will Jasper, if he can’t get past the seven circles of Deadland, fearsome Cerberus, heavenly Beatrix, mysterious Mr. Lethe, and ultimately himself.  Can Jasper bring his best friend back from the dead, or will he join the dead forever?

The cast album is made possible by a generous contribution from Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff, Angela Hardy, Diane Finston, Kevin Montgomery, and Frank and Linda Damon.