Chad Kimball to Star in Retrop Productions' JULIAN PO at NYMF, 7/8-14

The New York Musical Theatre Festival and Retrop Productions will present JULIAN PO, a new musical with book and lyrics by AnDrew Barrett and music by Ira Antelis, from July 8 to 14, 2013. JULIAN PO, which mixes comedy and drama, opens in New York after a critically-acclaimed, sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it was nominated for "Best Book of a Musical." JULIAN PO, based on the book La mort de monsieur Golouja by Branimir Š?epanovi? and the screenplay "Julian Po" by Alan Wade, features elements of pop, rock, country, bluegrass and gospel. JULIAN PO is an official selection of The New York Musical Theatre Festival's "2013 Next Link Project." The show is directed by Kirsten Sanderson with music direction by Mark Hartman.

JULIAN PO stars Chad Kimball (Tony Award nominee for Memphis) and features Malcolm Gets (Tony Award nominee for Amour, "Caroline in the City"), Luba Mason (Chicago, The Capeman), Jon Fletcher (Giant), Jason Gotay (Bring It On: The Musical) and Corbin Reid (Rent). Additional casting will be announced soon.

JULIAN PO is a darkly-humorous, modern-day musical myth that follows a mysterious drifter as he enters a sleepy small town and causes a sensation with his novel aspirations of taking his own life. But his encounters with the townspeople and a young woman looking for love threaten to change his mind and alter his ultimate destiny.

The show features costume design by Lara de Bruijn, scenic design by Stephen Dobay, lighting design by Driscoll Otto and orchestrations by StEve Cohen. The show is produced by Jacob S. Porter of Retrop Production with Alan & Judi Altman, John & Kelly Waller, Cheryl Sloane, Jackie Garrido, Katie Sloan, andJoel & Jennifer Allan. The show has also been presented by National Alliance of Musical Theatre Festival and had a reading earlier this season at the Blank Theatre in Los Angeles.

All performances will be at The Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street in New York). The schedule is Monday, July 8 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, July 10 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, July 13 at 5:00 PM; and Sunday, July 14 at 5:00 PM and 9:00 PM. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at www. NYMF.org or by calling (212) 352-3101. For more information, please visit www.NYMF.org.

For more information and song samples, please visit www.JulianPo.com.

AnDrew Barrett (Book & Lyrics) is a native New Yorker who completed his MFA at the Iowa Playwrights Workshop. Subsequently, he was selected by The Royal Court Theatre in London as the American playwright for their International Residency for Emerging Playwrights. His play "and/or" was presented in the New Works Now Festival at The Public Theater in NYC. That play was selected as the winner of Frank Basille Emerging New Playwright Competition at The Phoenix Theater in Indianapolis, IN. As a librettist, he wrote with his longtime composer/collaborator, Ira Antelis, "Julian Po" and they are currently developing a new musical based on the works of Kurt Vonnegut called "Between Time and Timbuktu." Andrew was on the writing staff for the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Showtime series, "Sleeper Cell." He developed and sold several original one-hour drama TV series with Mandalay Entertainment, Scarlett Fire and The Tommy Mottola Company. Andrew holds a BFA in musical theatre from The Boston Conservatory.

Ira Antelis (Music) has enjoyed 25 years of success as a composer and a music producer. He has written and produced songs for and worked with a wide array of artists such as Marc Anthony, Patti LaBelle, B.B. King, Lifehouse, Etta James, Shawn Colvin, Cheap Trick, and many tribute records for the "House of Blues" label. He composed the music for many major ad campaigns for brands such as McDonald's, Allstate, and Gatorade, and also wrote the music for Disney's 50th anniversary "Remember the Magic," and their millennium celebration "Celebrate the Future." That song was sung by Enrique Iglesias and Christinia Aguilera at the Super Bowl. Presently, his company Artists and Brands has partnered with McDonald's to find emerging new artists in a national talent competition. In addition, Ira cofounded "Music Dealers" which has become one of the top music licensing companies in the US and has deals with MTV and Coca Cola. Ira has written three stage musicals with his longtime collaborator AnDrew Barrett including "Julian Po" and "In Sarajevo." These works have been seen and lauded in New York, Chicago and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Kirsten Sanderson (Director) has directed new works for the stage by Michael John LaChiusa, Craig Lucas, Shel Silverstein, Steven Schwartz and Blake Edwards, among others. Her work has been seen at The New York Shakespeare Festival, PS 122, Circle Rep, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Director's Company, The New York Theatre Workshop, The Blank Theatre Company, Theatreworks USA, The Women's Project, The HBO Comedy Arts Festival, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Town Hall. Her long running Off Broadway production of Todd Robbin's "Carnival Knowledge" at Soho Playhouse was recognized as Best of the NY Fringe Festival in 2003 and was nominated for a 2004 Drama Desk Award. She directed the Obie Award winning original production of Michael John LaChiusa's "First Lady Suite" at the New York Shakespeare Festival, and the original production of his "Lucky Nurse" at Playwrights Horizons. The cast album of her Blank Theatre Co. production of LaChiusa's "Little Fish" starring Tony Award Winners Alice Ripley and Greg Jbara was released by Ghostlight Records. She has served as Director in residence at New Dramatists, as Director of the Ensemble Studio Theatre's National Theatre Colony, and as Director of Musical Development for Metropolitan Entertainment. On television her work has been seen on The Food Network, The History Channel and A&E's "Biography." She has taught Music Theatre Performance at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, at NYU, at the Eugene O'Neil Center's National Theatre Institute and at AMDA Los Angeles. Kirsten has spent the last 17 years as a directing and producing associate to her mentor the late filmmaker Blake Edwards. She is currently the Director of New Works at the Blank Theatre in Hollywood.

THE NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL, now in its tenth year, has premiered more than 320 new musicals since 2004. The largest musical theater event in America, NYMF has been hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," and is widely regarded as the key source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is produced in association with [insert key sponsors, information to be found on www.nymf.org], and proudly supported by [insert other sponsors, information to be found on www.nymf.org].

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.

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