Rock Musical Emerald Man to Tilt at NYMF in September

The new rock musical Emerald Man - billed as "a modern day Don Quixote tale, based on a true story" will run as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. It will play the 37 Arts Theatre (450 W. 37th St.) for 6 performances, beginning September 12th.

Presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Kim Vasquez/Gray Lady Entertainment, Inc., the show will feature the work of a number of Los Angeles-based newcomers. Emerald Man includes book and lyrics by Janet Cole Valdez, and music by Marc Bosserman and Tom Valdez.   The three have various pop music, TV and film credits among them.  Josh Prince, who has been seen on Broadway in Little Me and Saturday Night Fever, will serve as director and choreographer.

"Murder, Intrigue, and Comic books all set to a contemporary pop-rock score - Emerald Man, the modern-day Don Quixote tale based on a true story, centers around comic-obsessed Duncan who accidentally witnesses a murder by his stepfather and then flees his hometown. Realizing quickly that no one is coming to his rescue, he dons an emerald ring, his one legacy from the father he never knew, and dubs himself 'Emerald Man,' righter of the world's evils!," according to press notes.

Emerald Man will feature a cast which includes LaDonna Burns, John Ashley Brown, Christian Kaneko Carter, Sincee Daniels, Stephen Graybill, Elena Gutierrez, Jaygee Macapugay, Kathleen McCann, Jessie Novotny, Ben Rauch, Christian Whelan and Dashaun Young. 

Emerald Man will have set designs by Donyale Werle; costume designs by Lisa Zinni; lighting design by James Milkey; and sound design by Yoshi Lee, with musical direction by Shawn Gough.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival, now in its third year, is a three-week event in NYC that has premiered over 70 musicals in its first two years, becoming the largest musical theatre event in American history. Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," it is now widely regarded among the entertainment industry as the key source for new material and talent discovery.

Performances will run Tuesday, September 12 at 8:00pm; Friday, September 15 at 8:00pm; Saturday, September 16 at 4:30pm and 8:00pm; Sunday, September 17 at 1:00pm; and Friday, September 22 at 4:30pm at the 37 Arts Theatre (450 West 37th Street). Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or by visiting online.

For more information, visit www.nymf.org, www.EmeraldMan.com or www.myspace.com/emeraldman.