Blackbird Theatre Mounts World Premiere of MYTH Musical

After four critically acclaimed seasons, Nashville's Blackbird Theater (winner of the 2013 First Night Award for outstanding theater company) opens what company founders Greg Greene and Wes Driver call their "magnum opus," the new musical Myth, opening this Friday night, July 17, running through July 26 at the Hillsboro High School Theatre in Green Hills.

Set in the world of Greek mythos, this is the story of how and why the gods were cast from Mt. Olympus. Written by Blackbird founders Driver and Greene, with music composed by Michael Slayton, chair of composition at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music, Myth will have its world premiere in Music City USA, featuring an all-star cast of Nashville performers.

The show's plotline is described by its creators: "The princess of Athens and the prince of Thebes are to be married. But an oracle portends doom. The mortals challenge the Fates. The gods intervene. And what follows is an impassioned tale of surprising romances, unlikely heroes, and, of course, the incomparable gods in all of their majestic, decadent glory."

Since its founding in 2010, Blackbird Theater has earned critical and audience acclaim, gaining a reputation for theatrically and intellectually adventurous works in collaboration with some of the region's top theatre talent, presenting rarely produced plays and musicals by some of the stage's greatest writers and creating bold original works.

"Finally staging Myth is a bucket list achievement for Wes, Michael, and me," says Greene, Blackbird's managing director. "We've poured years of thought, scripting, and scoring into this show, and in many ways, it's the epitome of what we've done with this theatre company. The fact is, we created Blackbird so we could create Myth."

"This is undoubtedly our most ambitious production yet," says Driver, artistic director. "It's an epic musical that explores the wondrous world of Greek mythology while winding between outrageous comedy and harrowing tragedy. Our hope is that the production not only entertains and ultimately inspires but proves that original works of this scale can be successfully developed with the talented collaborators, actors, and theatre artists we have right here in Nashville."

Tickets for this limited engagement of Myth are available at blackbirdnashville.com. This production is recommended for ages 13 and above.

Blackbird's past productions include: Twilight of the Gods, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, G.K. Chesterton's Magic, Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures (Nashville Scene's Best Musical 2012), John Logan's Red (First Night Awards' Outstanding Play of 2012), Peter Shaffer's Amadeus (Nashville Scene's Best Drama 2013), David Mamet's Oleanna, George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman, and Roger's Version (Nashville Scene's Best Original Drama 2014), based on the novel by John Updike. Driver's stage adaptation of Roger's Version has been nominated for the American Theatre Critics Association's ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award.

Driver and Greene's comedic thriller Twilight of the Gods-which has been staged twice in the Memphis area since its 2010 premiere-received its fourth and fifth productions this spring: It was presented by The King's Players, April 17-19, at King's College in New York City, and by Four and Twenty Blackbirds Productions April 23-25, in Jefferson City, Missouri.

About the cast and crew: Among the principals for Myth are: Corrine Bupp, Darci Wantiez, Winston Harless, Ronnie Meek, Tony Nappo, Brad Brown, Scott Stewart, Will Miranne, Patrick Kramer, Preston Orr, Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva, Caroline Davis, David Arnold, JJ Rodgers, Mallory Mundy, Kristopher Wente, Catherine Birdsong and Tadd Himelrick. Members of the chorus include Ashley Glore, Taylor Chew, Melissa Garner Campbell, Morgan Lamberth, Leslie Marberry, Elizabeth Wuellner, LaDarra Jackel, Jocelyn Kasper, Tyler Osboure, Randal Cooper, Scott Patrick Wilson, Elijah Wallace, Jess Darnell and Brad Forrister.

Myth features a book and lyrics by Wes Driver and Greg Greene, with music by Michael Slayton. Jason Tucker is music director; Andy Bleiler is scenic designer; David Hardy is lighting designer; costume design is by Hannah Schmidt; wig and mask design is by Aria Darling; and sound design is by Andy Tomlinson and DL Freeman. Production stage manager is Kat Hanrahan.