Photo Flash: Will Swenson and More in Rehearsal for Vassar Powerhouse's MURDER BALLAD

by BWW News Desk Jul. 20, 2012

Vassar & New York Stage and Film present the 28th Powerhouse Theater season workshop MURDER BALLAD, starring Tony nominees Daniel Breaker (Passing Strange; Shrek: The Musical) and Will Swenson (Hair; Priscilla Queen of the Desert) as well as Dee Roscioli (Wicked) and Rebecca Naomi Jones (American Idiot; Passing Strange). The indie rock musical Murder Ballad is written by award-winning playwright Julia Jordan (Tatjana in Color; Sarah, Plain and Tall) and Juliana Nash (frontwoman for the indie rock band Talking to Animals), directed by Trip Cullman (Lonely, I'm Not; Assistance; A Small Fire). The show plays July 27 through July 29, 2012.

See below for photos of the cast and creative team in rehearsal!

The workshop features musical direction by Justin Levine, sound design by Leon Rothenberg and choreography by Doug Varone. With Thomas Juliano (lead guitar), Josh Myers (bass), and Seth Faulk (drums)

A love triangle gone wrong, Murder Ballad centers on Sara, an Upper West Side mom who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. This sexy, explosive, new Sound rock musical explores the complications of love, the compromises we make, and the small betrayals that can ultimately undo us.

Each summer Vassar & New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Theater presents new plays and musicals in development, many of which go on to reach wider audiences, including Stephen Karam's Sons of the Prophet (Roundabout Theater); Michael Mayer and Peter Parnell's re-imagining of Lerner & Lowe's On A Clear Day You Can See Forever ( ); Seminar by Theresa Rebeck ( ); Gabriel Kahane & Seth Bockley's new musical February House ( ); and Storefront Church, John Patrick Shanley's final installment to his "Church and State" trilogy that began with Doubt ( ). Other projects developed at the Powerhouse include the Tony Award-winning Side Man and Tru; the multi-award-winning Doubt; the groundbreaking Broadway musical American Idiot, and A Steady Rain, produced on Broadway in 2009 with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig.

The result of a unique collaboration between New York Stage and Film and Vassar College, the Powerhouse program consists of an eight-week residency on the Vassar campus during which more than 250 professional artists and 40 apprentices live and work together to create new theater works.

Visit powerhouse.vassar.edu for tickets, scheduling and other information.

Photos © Vassar & New York Stage and Film / Buck Lewis Photography