THE LION Begins 11/11 as Part of Fielding Studio Series

The Fielding Studio Series kicks off on November 11 with the award-winning musical The Lion, written and performed by Benjamin Scheuer and directed by Sean Daniels.

A true story of love, loss, family loyalty, and the redemptive power of music. Following award-winning runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, London's West End, and Off-Broadway, writer/performer Benjamin Scheuer shares his gripping coming-of-age musical journey from boyhood to manhood, through pain and healing. The Lion is a candid, poignant, and charming new solo musical from a next-generation troubadour.

Benjamin Scheuer is the recipient of the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and a 2015 Theatre World Award for Exceptional Off-Broadway Debut, as well as a nominee for two Outer Critic Circle Awards, a Lucille Lortel Award, and an additional Drama Desk for Outstanding Lyrics. Scheuer has toured with Mary Chapin Carpenter, and has performed at venues including Lincoln Center in New York and the Royal Albert Hall in London. He records and performs with his band Escapist Papers, whose second album, The Bridge (produced by Geoff Kraly), was released in 2014. Scheuer is currently at work on an album called Songs from THE LION. He has been a writer-in-residence at the Goodspeed Theatre, the Weston Playhouse, and the Johnny Mercer Songwriting Workshop. He has been commissioned to write a new show by Williamstown Theatre Festival. Additional awards include the 2013 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award for songwriting and the 2013 Musical Theatre Network Award for Best Lyrics. The animated music videos for Scheuer's songs "The Lion" and "Cookie-tin Banjo" have won prizes at the Annecy Film Festival, the Crystal Palace Festival, and the British Animation Awards (director/animator Peter Baynton). With photographer Riya Lerner, Scheuer is co-creator of the book Between Two Spaces, from which 50% of proceeds go to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. www.BetweenTwoSpaces.com

Sean Daniels is the Artistic Director of Merrimack Repertory Theatre and returns to Geva where he previously served as Artist-at-Large and where he directed productions of Women in Jeopardy!, Little Shop of Horrors, The 39 Steps, Bob, and the world premieres of All Your Questions Answered, Tinker to Evers to Chance and Informed Consent. He spent four years at the Tony Award-winning Actors Theatre of Louisville as the theatre's Associate Artistic Director (where he directed 17 productions including five Humana Festivals). Mr. Daniels is the former Associate Artistic Director/Resident Director of the California Shakespeare Theater and before that spent a decade as the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Dad's Garage Theater Company in Atlanta. He has directed at Manhattan Theatre Club (NYC), Lynn Redgrave (NYC) The Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), St. James (West End, London), Actors Theatre of Louisville, Portland Center Stage, Playmakers Rep, Cleveland Play House, Alliance Theatre, California Shakespeare, Dad's Garage Theatre Company, Swine Palace, Neo-Futurists, Aurora Theatre, Crowded Fire and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His direction and shows have won "Best New Musical" in London, the Drama Desk Award in NYC, and "Best Play" and "Best Director" in the Bay Area, Rochester and Atlanta. His shows have also been nominated for the Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards in NYC. Sean has been named "one of the top fifteen up & coming artists in the U.S., whose work will be transforming America's stages for decades to come" and "One Of 7 People Reshaping And Revitalizing The American Musical" by American Theatre magazine.

The Lion is a true story and was a sell-out at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It premiered Off-Broadway in June 2014 at Manhattan Theatre Club and later returned to NYC in a commercial run at the Lynn Redgrave Theatre. Scheuer has performed the show at the St. James Theatre in London and The Lion has since been touring the United States, including a recent sold-out runs at Portland Center Stage and Merrimack Repertory Theatre. Additionally, the show will be seen at venues such as Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Arena Stage and Pittsburgh throughout the 2015-2016 Season.