Jeannette Bayardelle, Fred Inkley & More Star in METRA Audio Drama

New York theatremakers Ned and Emily Hartford have expanded their climate justice musical into an audio drama series starring Tony-nominee Jeannette Bayardelle and a Broadway and NYC theatre cast. 

All 9 episodes are now live on all podcast platforms for Metra: A Climate Revolution with Songs, a climate change musical. Originally a stage musical, Metra received concert performances at Judson Memorial Church in 2024 and an initial production by Flux Theatre Ensemble at Abrons Arts Center in 2022.

Set in the year 2043, Metra tells the story of a group of outsiders who demand a new future. In a world close to ours (only worse), where billionaires continue to profit off climate catastrophe, Metra aims to rewrite the narrative by reinventing the myths that keep us from making real change.  

The musical features a cast of Broadway and Off-Broadway stars including Tony-nominee Jeannette Bayardelle (Broadway: Girl From the North Country, & Juliet, The Color Purple), Fred Inkley (Broadway: The Addams Family, Les Miserables Tale of Two Cities), Cherrye J. Davis (The Loophole at The Public Theater; Hope Speaks at La Mama), Corinna Schulenburg (World Builders and Metra at Flux Theatre Ensemble), Alia Munsch (Motown the Musical national tour), Cristina Obando Sanchez (DOT DOT DOT, first national tour), and Sierra Rein (Fleishman is in Trouble), and many more.

The show is written by Emily and Ned Hartford, directed by Emily, with original music, sound design, and production by Ned. Emily Hartford, Creative Partner with Flux Theatre Ensemble and Drama League Directing Fellow, spent the past seven years building the Metra world with her partner Ned Hartford, pulling from her favorite myths – Ovid’s Metamorphoses. 

"Metra is a story about radical transformations—from shape-shifting magic, to reincarnation, to the courage to step into your true self. It’s a show about our power to change the story that’s been handed to us. We wanted to make a show that’s honest about the systems fueling the climate crisis and the danger we’re in, but that's also bold in its vision for the world we deserve," says Emily.

Ned Hartford, a songwriter and performer, has crafted original music and an immersive soundscape for Metra. His work has been produced at The Gym at Judson, Theater Row, and The Barrow Group.

Ned shares: “For at least 50 years, fossil fuel industry billionaires and execs have systematically—in plain sight—engineered the world’s economy to gain unimaginable wealth and power, in exchange for decimating our global climate, our democratic systems, our livable societies, and our collective safety. Emily and I wrote Metra because we want to tell the truth about the climate crisis. And I want to tell that truth with music and the voices of brilliant artists, because for now we’re still alive on this miracle of a planet, and we still have the chance to take the power back.”

Metra is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcast apps. Listen to the trailer below.