THE CALICO BUFFALO Set for NYMF, Now thru 7/16

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) in association with Bosc Publishing Company, Inc. presents The Calico Buffalo a new musical fable with book, music and lyrics by EJ Stapleton, and music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning composer Peter Stopschinski. Craig J. George directs a cast of ten, including Jennifer Apple, Rachel Coloff*, Rhys Gilyeat*, Zachary Infante*, Stephen Mark, Anthea Neri*, Rachel Rhodes-Devey*, Brooke Shapiro*, Kevin Sims*, and Max Wilcox*. The Calico Buffalo is being staged at PTC Performance Space, 555 West 42nd Street (bet. 10th & 11th Avenues) in NYC for five performances from tonight, July 8 through Thursday, July 16, 2015. *Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Based on EJ Stapleton's critically acclaimed book, The Calico Buffalo is a compelling theatrical experience. When the first-born son to the Queen & the Chief of all buffalo arrives covered nose-tip to tail with the markings of a calico kitten, the entire buffalo nation is catapulted into the adventure of a lifetime. The Calico Buffalo is the story of this nation's journey to find out what to do about so unusual a child. A journey on which they will discover the value of tolerance and acceptance, and the unparalleled power of forgiveness. From the first musical moment, Grammy Award-winning composer Peter Stopschinski lets us know we are in for one wonder-filled ride. The Calico Buffalo will clutch your heart even as its villain, Thorn, catches your imagination.

The Calico Buffalo is an Official Selection of the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival and is presented by The New York Musical Theatre Festival. Director: Craig J. George; Music Director: Jesse Warkentin; Choreographer: Billy Sprague, Jr.; Lighting Design: Isabelle F. Byrd; Costume Design: Claire Aquila; Set Design: Robert Mark Morgan; Stage Manager: Abigail Strange; Casting Director: Michael Cassara, CSA; General Manager: Simpson & Longhorne Theatricals; Assistant Stage Manager: Marta Roncada; Publicist: Paul Siebold/Off PR.

The Calico Buffalo plays for five performances on the following schedule: Wednesday, July 8 at 8:00 pm; Friday, July 10 at 9:00 pm; Saturday, July 11 at 1:00 pm; Sunday, July 12 at 4 pm; Thursday, July 16 at 5:00 pm.

Tickets are $27.50 and can be purchased online at nymf.org or by calling 212-352-3101. For more information, please visit nymf.org.

The runtime for The Calico Buffalo is 105 minutes, with one intermission.

EJ Stapleton (Book, Music & Lyrics) EJ is a writer-illustrator who has written works for both theater and film as well as books for children. The Calico Buffalo, A Musical is inspired by his first children's book, The Calico Buffalo. EJ is a proud member of Actors Equity and The Authors Guild.

Peter Stopschinski (Music and Lyrics) has composed music for Madeleine George's Pulitzer Prize nominated play The Watson Intelligence, string arrangements for Grupo Fantasma's Grammy Award winning album El Existential, and the film score for two-time Academy Award winning director Al Reinert's film RaRa Avis: The Life of John Audubon. His operas and musicals have been performed across the country from Arena Stage (DC) to Playwrights Horizons (NYC) to Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theater (LA).

Craig J. George (Director) Off-Broadway: Taming of the Shrew: Extreme (The Duke on 42nd Street) and over a dozen world premieres, including: Titus: A Grand and Gory Rock Musical (Cleveland Public Theatre), God's Country (NYMF),The Aperture (FringeNYC). Regional: Measure for Measure, Standing on Ceremony (Cleveland Public Theatre) Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew (Hamptons Shakespeare Festival). Other theaters worked at include South Coast Repertory, George Street Playhouse, The New Group, and York Theatre Company. www.craigjgeorge.com

The New York Musical Theatre Festival nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theatre.

Now in its twelfth year, the Festival is the premier musical theatre event in the world. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theatre fans. More than 90 Festival shows have gone on to productions on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters in all 50 states, and in more than 20 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theatre, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2015 is sponsored by Fuzzrocket, PRG, TheaterMania, Clear Channel Spectacolor, and The Village Voice, and is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and from The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

The NYMF PASS is a great way to experience The New York Musical Theatre Festival. With a NYMF PASS, you can get into the theater before individual ticket holders. Passes also offer the exclusive ability to book tickets before they go on sale to the public. NYMF Passholder ticket booking begins June 1. Individual tickets go on sale June 15.

The 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival will take place July 7-27. For more information, please visit: www.nymf.org.