Campbell, Emick, Kelly to 'Drift' into New NYMF Musical

The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Matt Wolf will present the world premiere of Drift, a new musical by Jeremy Schonfeld (music and lyrics) and Craig Pospisil (book), which will presented as part of the third annual New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Directed by Jeremy Dobrish (The Joys of Sex), Drift will begin performances on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 at the Sage Theatre (711 Seventh Ave., between 47th and 48th Sts.).

Drift will star Christian Campbell (Reefer Madness, Trick) as David, Tony Award Winner Jarrod Emick (Damn Yankees, Ring of Fire) as Peter, Tari Kelly (Little Shop of Horrors national tour) as Laura, and five-year-old newcomer Indy Tanner as Maddie. The production will also star Dennis Holland as Ethan, Karla Mosley as Nicki, Joe Ricci as Mike, Ric Ryder as Thomas and Michael Turner as Justin.

The show "is the story of David Harris, a struggling musician and songwriter in the middle of a devastating divorce.  His break-up is complicated by the fact that David and his wife Laura are the parents of a young child, who they both desperately want to protect," state press notes.  "To deal with the emotional blow, David joins a therapy group and is introduced to a variety of men – some of whom are in the middle of their own separations or custody battles, and some of whom have already gone through what David is now experiencing."

"A heart-wrenching, affecting and often humorous show about the effects divorce has on everyone who goes through it, Drift is one man's story of overcoming life's various hurdles as he struggles to be a good father, pick up the pieces and forge a new life." 

The show will feature choreography by Tricia Brouk, scenic design by Dustin O'Neil, costume design by Becky Lasky and lighting design by Michael Gottleib. The musical is based on an original concept album, also titled Drift, by Jeremy Schonfeld (2001, Sh-K-Boom Records).

The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesday, September 13 at 8 p.m., Friday, September 15 at 1 p.m., Friday, September 15 at 4:30 p.m. ,Saturday, September 16 at 1 p.m., Saturday, September 16 at 10 p.m., and Sunday, September 17 at 1 p.m.

Beginning September 1, 2006, individual tickets for Drift are available online at www.NYMF.org or by calling 212-352-3101. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Sage Theatre Box Office 30 minutes before show time.  Tickets are $20 each.