theAtrainplays, vol. xx, a celebration of New York created on the subways, will be performed at the Neighborhood Playhouse (340 W. 54th St.) as part of the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival from Tuesday, September 13th through Saturday, September 24th.theAtrainplays, vol. xx were created by six teams while traveling the entire route of the A train from 207th Street & Broadway to Far Rockaway. "On Monday evening, September 12th, six librettists will hop on the A train at 207th Street and begin writing the books for six 15-minute musicals, all set on the A train. Before each of the teams begins their journey they pick a number between 3 and 5 to set the number of characters, then choose that number of headshots through a blind draw to determine who is in each piece. When the librettists reach the Far Rockaway stop, they randomly select, through another blind draw, their collaborative lyricists, composers and choreographers, who have been awaiting their arrival at a nearby McDonalds. Six directors meet the creators at 207th Street and they all proceed to Columbus Circle where they meet the pre-selected pool of actors, decipher their scribbles, copy the scripts and begin rehearsals. They have until show time the next day, Tuesday night, September 13th at 8:00 p.m. to develop these works into six exciting new musical experiences to be shared with the audience at the Neighborhood Playhouse," according to a press article.
Over the past three years, such people as Ashlie Atkinson (Fat Pig), Ryan Duncan (Altar Boyz), Sherie Rene Scott (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Tracie Thoms (Rent, the Movie), Alice Ripley (Side Show), Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich (Junie B. Jones), Hope Clarke (Caroline or Change), Natalie Douglas (5 time MAC Award Winner), Christine Pedi (Forbidden Broadway), Donovan Patton (Emmy-nominee, "Blues Clues"), Kevin Townley (Shockheaded Peter), Lanny Myers (6 Time Emmy-winner), Anika Larson (All Shook Up), Eli Wallach, Tony Randall, Anne Jackson and many more have participated in the Atrainplays either as a performer, writer, lyricist, composer, choreographer or director.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, Receptasign, King Displays, Rosco, Scharff Weissberg, TheaterMania.com, BroadwayWorld.com and Manhattan Living. For more information, visit www.nymf.org.
The show runs Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm, with a Saturday matinee at 3 pm. Tickets can be purchased on line through TheaterMania.com 24 hours a day or by calling 212.352.3101 during extended business hours. To view a video, visitwww.beginllc.com/projects/atrain.html.
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