" IDOL: THE MUSICAL "
A NEW MUSICAL BASED ON THE WORSHIP OF CLAY AIKEN
BEGINS PERFORMANCES OFF-BROADWAY
JULY 5TH
45TH STREET THEATRE
DIRECTED BY DANIEL TURSI
FEATURING
BABS RUBENSTEIN, JENNIE RIVERSO, NIKITA RICHARDS,
COURTNEY ELLIS, JON BALCOURT, RYAN SPRAGUE, JOELLA BURT, JOE WALKER, ROY GEORGE-THIEMANN
After playing to sold-out houses and receiving great reviews in Syracuse, producer TODD ELLIS and BIPOLAR PRODUCTIONS are opening "IDOL: The Musical" Off-Broadway at the 45th Street Theatre (354 West 45th Street - Eighth & Ninth Avenues).
The new musical, which is based on the worship of Clay Aiken, begins performances on THURSDAY, JULY 5th.
"IDOL: The Musical" is a satirical musical comedy that focuses on the outrageous and delusional fan base of the hit television show. The musical takes place in Steubenville, Ohio where a group of misfit students are preparing for their high school graduation after which they are determined to drag themselves out of the dregs of the middle-of-nowhere. There are nine of them; all belonging to the same cult-like club that meets daily in a garage that doubles as a shrine to Clay Aiken. They are viciously ridiculed by the rest of Steubenville; a humiliating situation that doesn't deter their quest for all things CLAY. They are victims of A.D.D., Ritalin, their misguided obsessions and their innocent longing for their elusive "15 minutes". One of them pumps gas. One of them is home-schooled. One of them is a walking encyclopedia. And one of them is a basketball phenom who would rather be a Chippendale dancer. The other five have equally bizarre back-stories too complicated to tell here; but suffice it to know that the real bad-guy of the piece is a total harpy, prima donna named Adrienne. She gives new meaning to the word villain. The story heats up when the mid-American leg of the "IDOL TOUR", starring Clay Aiken, is announced to be playing Chicago, Memphis, Louisville, Scranton, Charleston, Greensboro, Roanoke and Steubenville. STEUBENVILLE ! Let the worship begin.
Based on the original concept by TODD ELLIS and directed by DANIEL TURSI, "IDOL: The Musical" has music and lyrics by JON BALCOURT with book and lyrics by BILL BOLAND. The choreography is by JOE WALKER and JASON BUMPUS.
The new musical has been designed by BRIAN HOWARD (scenery), CHARLES SHATZKIN (lighting) and KEITH AXTON (costumes).
THE SONG LIST
ACT I
Idolize, Small Town Blues, Fifteen Minutes, Discipline,
Chip & Dale Days, Prima Donna Fabulous, Quakin' For Aiken
ACT II
Burnin' Hunk of Clay,
Simon Says, Distance, Family of Misfits, Realize
THE PLAYERS
Featured in the cast are BABS RUBENSTEIN (42nd Street, Beauty and the Beast, Footloose, Titanic, Once On This Island) who plays 'Adrienne' the real bad-guy of the piece; JENNIE RIVERSO (Once Upon A Mattress, Bye Bye Birdie, Cats, The Diary of Anne Frank, A Christmas Carol) who plays 'Alex' a brutally combative diamond-in-the-rough who fights all of her battles with her two fists; NIKITA RICHARDS (Cats, Peter Pan) who plays 'Cass' a Goth-chick whose voodoo doll is named 'Willard'; COURTNEY ELLIS (Sound of Music, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Miracle Worker) who plays 'Cicaida' a child prodigy with an encyclopedic knowledge of the world; JON BALCOURT (The Wiz, Good News, Babes In Toyland, Anything Goes, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls, Last Five Years, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Chess) who plays 'Connor' the home-schooled kid; RYAN SPRAGUE (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Giver, Proof, The Shape of Things, Romeo & Juliet, Once Upon A Mattress) who plays 'Duncan' a loveable goofball obsessed with Western apparel; JOELLA BURT (The Wizard of Oz, Grease, Footloose, Annie) who plays 'Emily' the alpha-misfit; JOE WALKER (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof, Guys and Dolls) who plays 'J.D.' the basketball phenom who longs to be a Chippendale dancer and ROY GEORGE-THIEMANN (Seussical, The Wiz, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, The Sound of Music, 42nd Street, Once on This Island, Crazy For You) who plays 'Kodi' a self-appointed celebrity waiting to happen.
THE DIRECTOR
DANIEL TURSI, a three-time recipient of a S.A.L.T. (Syracuse Live Theatre Award) for directing, has directed in such cities as Washington, DC, Lexington, KY, Alexandria, VA, Phoenix, AZ, Chicago IL, and Los Angeles, CA. Favorite directing credits include: Chicago, The Laramie Project, Closer, Sordid Lives, The Crucible, Never The Sinner, Copacabana, Pageant, Clue: The Musical, Quilt: A Musical Celebration, To Whom It May Concern and West Side Story. Dan is the co-founder and artistic director for Rarely Done Productions. (www.rarelydone.org)
THE PRODUCERS
BIPOLAR PRODUCTIONS, a newly formed company as of 2007, combines the talents of Jon Balcourt, Bill Boland, Todd Ellis, and Dan Tursi. It involves the creation and production of original productions, including plays, musicals, film, and other entertainment ventures. "IDOL: The Musical" represents the first product of this talented collaboration. Within the company, Jon handles composing and musical direction of pieces, while Bill writes the pieces, and creates and executes the marketing plan for them. Dan is involved in the directing of the first premiere of the projects, and on the business side he handles the accounting of the company. Finally, Todd acts as producer of the products, develops creative concepts, and handles business management.
THE QUOTES
"The fact that a group of New Yorkers has announced plans to pour time and energy into staging an Off-Broadway musical about a group of small-town kids who've built a barn shrine to former American Idol Clay Aiken is truly the stuff of which Vulture dreams are made. "
Brett Amelkin
Vulture, New York Magazine
"Imagine, if you will, a combination of elements from 'Bye, Bye Birdie,' 'A Chorus Line,' 'Fame,' 'The Breakfast Club,' and 'High School Musical' - with a higher quotient of sexual humor. Further imagine such elements mixing in a story concerning the socials effects of Clay Aiken and you pretty much have a fix on 'Idol: The Musical.' which kept a mainly young audience entertained, laughing and sufficiently diverted to refrain from text-messaging for nearly two hours -quite an achievement for any enterprise in mid-2007."
Chuck Klaus
Post-Standard, Syracuse
"What we have here is a transforming ordeal of fire that turns out the considerable strength of performers rising to their best."
James MacKillop
Syracuse New Times
THE THEATRE
45th STREET THEATRE
354 West 45th Street
(between 8th & 9th Avenues)
THE PLAYING SCHEDULE
Wednesdays at 3:15 pm & 8:15 pm
Thursdays & Fridays at 8:15 pm
Saturdays at 3:15 pm & 8:15 pm
Sundays at 3:15 pm & 8:15 pm
TICKET PRICES
General Admission - $60
Student Rush - $25
BOX OFFICE INFORMATION
SmartTix 212-868-4444
WWW.SmartTix.COM
