SPRING AWAKENING's Michael Arden & Gabe Violett Featured on Season Premiere of SOMETHING NEW

The fourth season of "Something New" -- a podcast that interviews multifaceted theatre artists and premieres original songs by Joel B. New -- premieres January 4th.

In Episode 401, award-winning musical theatre writer Joel B. New sat down with performer and director, Michael Arden.

Michael Arden recently directed Deaf West's production of SPRING AWAKENING at both the Wallis and Inner-City Arts in Los Angeles, which has subsequently become that musical's first Broadway revival, now playing at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre thru January 24th. Other directing credits include L.A. RONDE and FOR THE RECORD: JOHN HUGHES. As an actor, he has appeared in Deaf West's BIG RIVER and PIPPIN, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN', BARE, and ASPECTS OF LOVE. His film and TV credits include SOURCE CODE, BRIDE WARS, THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN and ANGER MANAGEMENT on FX. He is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and is artistic director of the LA-based, site-specific theatre company, The Forest of Arden.

For the live song portion of the episode, Gabe Violett (SPRING AWAKENING, original Broadway production) performed "The Corpse Danced At Midnight" from Joel B. New's upcoming solo EP Cabot Cove, a collection of songs inspired by referenced book titles in the TV series Murder, She Wrote, starring Tony Award winner Angela Lansbury. Gabe's performance can also be found on YouTube.

Mr. Arden's interview was recorded at the Music Hall, furnished by the Dramatists Guild Fund. Providing the Music Hall at DGF for writers to use at no charge is one of the many ways the Dramatists Guild Fund supports writers. Find out more about DGF by visiting their website at www.dgfund.org or on Twitter @DGFund.

"Something New" is available on iTunes, Stitcher, and TuneIn.

Joel B. New is the proud recipient of a 2008 American Theatre Wing Jonathan Larson Grant for his music and lyrics. His stage projects include TO HELL AND BACK, MACKENZIE & THE MISSING BOY, AWAKENING (book: Jenny Stafford, music: J. Oconer Navarro), STANDALONE, AGATHA IN THE ATTIC, and RSVP. Joel's work has been seen and developed at Ars Nova, Lincoln Center, 54 Below, New York Theatre Barn, Prospect Theater Company, Musical Theatre Factory, and the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival. For more info, visit joelbnew.com.

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