'Serenade' Offers Student Matinees Dec. 5 & 12

Jaradoa Theater presents Serenade, a new musical, through December 15 at Teatro La Tea, 107 Suffolk Street (between Delancey & Rivington).  Book and lyrics are by Rachel Sheinkin, winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  She also co-authored Off-Broadway's Striking 12, which recently launched a nationwide tour.  The kinetic score for Serenade, composed by Nils Olaf Dolven, mixes electronica, pop and classical elements. 

Jaradoa Theater is making two special matinees available at no cost to students participating in their outreach programs.  These performances have been scheduled at noon on both Wednesday, December 5 and Wednesday, December 12.  Middle schoolers who have been working with Jaradoa's literacy program are being invited to these matinees, as well as teenagers with BronxConnect, a community-based alternative-to-incarceration program.

The Serenade cast and creative team will also be on hand to offer talkbacks, answering questions from the students following these special performances.  Post-show talkbacks have also been scheduled after the performances on Sunday, December 9 at 7PM and Saturday, December 15 at 2PM.

"Serenade follows a young silhouette maker on his odyssey of discovery after arriving in the big city.  The musical journey propels him through all the adventures, struggles, and the first flush of love he experiences in this new and strange metropolis," explain press notes.

The playing schedule for Serenade is Wednesday December 5 at noon & 8PM, Sunday December 9 at 7PM, Monday December 10 at 8PM, Wednesday December 12 at noon and 8PM, Thursday December 13 at 8PM, Friday December 14 at 8PM and Saturday December 15 at 2PM & 8PM.

Tickets are $18 and are available through www.SmartTix.com (212) 868-4444.  For more information, visit www.jaradoatheater.org.

Anika Larsen and Joshua Henry head the 18-member cast, under the direction of April Nickell.  The choreographer for Serenade is Luis Salgado and the musical director is Jared Stein.

Anika Larsen's Broadway credits include Xanadu, Rent and All Shook Up.  She appeared Off-Broadway in Zanna, Don't!, Miracle Brothers and How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes.  Joshua Henry was in the hit musical In the Heights, which is transferring to Broadway this season.  He also played Judas in the Paper Mill production of Godspell and he appeared in Being Alive at Westport.

Jaradoa (Just a Roomful of Artists Doing Outreach And) Theater is proudly presenting SERENADE as its debut production.  The company is a member-based group of theater artists – actors, directors, writers and designers – who have come together to promote mercy, beauty, and truth through performance and service.  Jaradoa Theater is dedicated to compassionate action, authentic storytelling, collaboration, diversity, and play.  They are committed to creating theater while serving the community at large through theater outreach and partnerships with relief organizations.  Jaradoa is currently developing outreach programming for public schools and afterschool programs, with an eye toward expanding their theater outreach to hospitals, veteran centers and prisons.

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