Jason Robert Brown to Host Series of Talkbacks After Select '13' Performances

Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown, composer/lyricist of the new musical 13, to host "13 Questions" - a series of audience Q & A's - immediately following the 7pm performances on Tuesday, October 21, Wednesday, October 22 and Thursday, October 23, 2008. Special co-hosts to include 13's casting director, Mark Simon, "fabulous" members of Broadway's first all teenage cast and band and other members of 13's creative staff. (Star Ledger) All audience members with tickets for that evening's performance are permitted to stay for that evening's talkback for free.

Get the chance to get your "13 Questions" answered: How did they find and cast an all teenage cast & band? How do I audition? How did Jason Robert Brown come up with the idea for 13? How did he get his start? How do you develop a new musical and get it on Broadway? What is it like for the actors to have their dream jobs before they even turn 20 years old? What was it like for Jason to have his dream job before he turned 30? And the opportunity to ask many more…

Previews for 13 began on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 with the official opening at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th Street) on Sunday, October 5, 2008. With a book by award winning children's author & songwriter Dan Elish ("Born Too Short, Confessions of an 8th Grade Basket Case") and veteran writer for TV and film Robert Horn ("Designing Women"), 13, A New Musical is directed by Tony Award nominee Jeremy Sams (The Sound of Music in the West End) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee Christopher Gattelli (South Pacific). Tom Kitt (High Fidelity) is the Music Director.

Evan Goldman has it all - he's popular, has the perfect family and lives in the greatest city in the world - New York. That is until his parents get divorced and he's forced to move with his Mom… to Indiana. Uprooted from his old life, he has to make new friends and somehow manoeuvre his way through the minefield of High School to become part of the "in-crowd". A grown-up story about growing up, featuring the only all-teenage cast ever to hit Broadway! With an explosive score by Tony Award-winning composer
Jason Robert Brown, 13 is a hilarious musical "filled with radioactive energy" for all ages about discovering that cool is where you find it, and sometimes where you least expect it. (New York Times)

The "captivating" (Variety) cast features Al Calderon as Eddie, Eamon Foley as Richie, Caitlin Gann as Molly, Ariana Grande as Charlotte, Aaron Simon Gross as Archie, Elizabeth Egan Gillies as Lucy, Malik Hammond as Malcolm, Joey La Varco as Simon, Delaney Moro as Kendra, Eric M. Nelsen as Brett, Graham Phillips as Evan, Allie Trimm as Patrice, Brynn Williams as Cassie. Also in the cast are Riley Costello, Henry Hodges, Mary Claire Miskell, LiAna Ortiz, Max Schneider, Corey J. Snide and the on-stage teen band members are Lexi Bodick on bass, Zac Coe on percussion, Adam Michael Kaufman on keyboard, Zach Page on guitar, Chris Raymond on guitar, Charlie Rosen (swing musician).

The production features scenic & costume design by Tony Nominee David Farley (2008's Sunday in the Park with George), lighting design by Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (The Coast of Utopia Part I) and sound design by Jon Weston (The Color Purple).

13, A New Musical earned the LA Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Production and Best Musical Score for its world premiere production at Center Theatre Group/The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles (December 22, 2006 - February 18, 2007) and enjoyed a successful run at Goodspeed's Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT (May 8, 2008 - June 9, 2008).

The 13 Original Cast Recording, which was recorded before performances began, was released in digital form on Tuesday, September 30th and impressively debuted at #2 on the iTunes Soundtrack chart and number #38 overall. The CD version will be available in stores beginning November 25th. It is produced by Jeffrey Lesser, composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown, and Executive Produced by Sh-K-Boom / Ghostlight Records President Kurt Deutsch and Bill Rosenfield. www.sh-k-boom.com

The musical is produced on Broadway by Bob Boyett, Roger Berlind, Tim Levy, Ken Davenport, Ted Hartley, Stacey Mindich, Jane Bergère, Broadway Across America, Sharon Karmazin, Carl Moellenberg, Tom Miller, True Love Productions/Olympus Theatricals, Center Theatre Group in association with Shorenstein Hays Nederlander and The Araca Group.

Tickets for 13, A New Musical can be purchased through Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or http://www.telecharge.com/ and at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th Street) Box Office. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7pm, Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm and Sunday at 2pm & 7pm. Please note that there is no performance on Tuesday, November 4th. A performance has been added on Monday, November 3rd at 7pm.

For more information, cast videos and a free download of the title track, visit: http://www.13themusical.com/.
To join the 13 community, visit: www.13fans.com.
For images of the cast, visit: http://www.barlowhartman.com/.

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.