J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera Spins Through NYMF, 9/25-10/1

The New York premiere of J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera, a musical based on an Old Testament story, will play as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival from September 25th through October 1st at the 45th Street Theatre (354 W. 45th St., between 8th and 9th Avenues).

Presented by NYMF in association with Alex Kruglov & FDLT Productions, J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera features  book and lyrics by Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion, and music by Jerome Sable, Eli Batalion and Joe Barrucco.  The production is co-directed by Stefan Novinski and Hassan Christopher. The LA Premiere was recently nominated for three LADCC Awards, three LA Weekly Awards and three Ticketholder Awards.

The musical "spins around Hoover Records, the producer of the biggest, baddest hip-hop in the west. Here label president J. Hoover is pitted against his right hand man Job in a test of loyalty and friendship. Meanwhile in the jingle department, it's MC Cain against his brother and fellow rapper MC Abel in their struggle for success. It's the Old (School) Testament retold as an allegory of contemporary corporate life in the music biz. Two stories. Two turntables. Ready? Remix...," state press notes.

J.O.B. The Hip-Hopera will star Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion in dual roles with support from an ensemble of breakers (Hassan Christopher, Marissa Labog and Aimee Zannoni), an R&B vocalist and a scratch DJ. The production will feature choreography by Hassan Christopher, sets by Donna Marquet, lighting by Steven Young, and sound by Joe Barrucco.

Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion (aka Sable & Batalion) are a writing/performing duo who have known each other since kindergarten and have been collaborating creatively for the last 13 years. The duo is best known for their award-winning work in musical theatre and hip-hop-based comedy. Originally from Montreal, they have performed all over the world at such places as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland), the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Just For Laughs Festival.

Performances will be presented on the following schedule: Mon. Sep. 25 at 8pm , Weds. Sep. 27 at 8pm, Thurs. Sep. 28 at 4:30pm, Fri. Sep. 29 at 8pm and 10:30pm, and Sun. Oct. 1 at 1pm. Tickets are $20, available at www.nymf.org.  Visit www.sableandbatalion.com for more information on Sable and Batalion.