Musical Drama Soon of a Mornin' Plays NYMF, Sept. 13-24

Andrea Frierson-Toney's new musical Soon of a Mornin' will have it's world premiere at the NY Musical Theatre Festival beginning September 13 through September 24 at Theatre Row's Lion Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street.

Produced by Robert Carreon and inspired by the Gee's Bend quilters and Library of Congress 1941 Field recordings of their Alabama community, the musical follows an African-American family of tenant farmers beginning in 1934 as they struggle to re-build their lives. Originally commissioned by Musical Theatre Works in 2004, the musical won the 2004 Library of Congress Parsons Fund Award in Ethnographic Research. An excerpt from Soon of a Mornin' was performed at the Kennedy Center as part of the 'Page to the Stage Theatre Festival.' The show will be choreographed by Gerry McIntyre (Side by Side by Sondheim at the 2005 Berkshire Theatre Festival).

Frierson-Toney (book/music/lyrics) has played leading roles in 9 Broadway shows including The Lion King, Once on This Island, Bring in 'Da Noise/Funk, Eubie!, A Christmas Carol, Marie Christine and Juan Darien. The first musical she wrote, Lady Be Good, featured the music of Ella Fitzgerald and was work shopped at Lincoln Center, winning a 1999 NYS Council on the Arts Development Grant as well as a New Professional Theatre's Writers Festival 2000. She has also written for the Nickelodeon TV series 'Allegra's Window' in which she also starred as 'Miss Melody.'

Milton Craig Nealy (Once on This Island, Caroline, or Change) heads the cast as Isom with Carole Denise Jones (Chicago, Forum) as Sarah Mae, Megan Magill (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) as Annie, Fred Rose (Phantom, Cabaret) as Freidberg, Jason Veasey as Frank, Richard E. Waits (Dreamgirls 20th Anniversary concert/CD) as Reverend Paul and Bianca Jazzmine Otley as Patsy. Michael Bottari and Ron Case will design sets and costumes with lighting design by Richard Lotta and Sound design by Adam Goins. Bill Vanaver is Musical Director with Andy Teirtein as Assistant Musical Director.

Soon of a Mornin's performance schedule is Tuesday, Sept. 13th at 8 PM, Saturday, Sept. 17th at 1 PM, Sunday, Sept. 18th at 8 PM, Monday, Sept. 19th at 4:30 PM, Tuesday, Sept. 20th at 1 PM, and Saturday, Sept. 24th at 4:30 PM.Dedicated to discovering new work and new artists, The New York Musical Theatre Festival celebrates the diversity, creativity, and future of musical theatre. NYMF is a flagship program of the National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is America's largest annual musical theatre event. NYMF is produced in association with Virgin Megastores and proudly supported by amNewYork, Village Voice, WB11, Dodger Stages, Receptasign, King Displays, Rosco, Scharff Weissberg, TheaterMania.com, BroadwayWorld.com and Manhattan Living.

$15 tickets are available via www.nymf.org or (212) 352-3101 or Toll Free at (866) 811-4111. They will also be available at Virgin Megastore in Times Square for cash/credit card sales. Remaining tickets will be available one hour prior to each performance at the Lion Theatre Box Office.