New Musical Inspired by Alexsei Navalny to Premiere in Concert at Don’t Tell Mama

A bold new musical inspired by the life and legacy of Russian opposition leader Alexsei Navalny will receive its first concert presentation at Don’t Tell Mama Cabaret Theater (343 W. 46th St., New York) on Tuesday, October 21, at 9:30 p.m.

Created by George Pfirrmann and Jamie Allen, the piece uses Navalny’s story as a lens to explore Russia’s long struggle with autocracy and democracy. “We are making a statement with this production … a political statement,” said the creators.

The musical imagines Navalny’s afterlife, beginning in what appears to be Heaven—until walls close in, transforming it into a prison cell. Guided by the merciless Kostya and the mischievous Vadima, Navalny must undertake a quest to uncover why freedom and democracy have proven so elusive in Russia. Failure will condemn him not only to eternal confinement, but also jeopardize the safety of his family left behind.

Through encounters with myths and histories that continue to shape Russian identity, the piece dramatizes the forces that resist democracy’s rise. “Alexsei Navalny represents the best that a man can be in this life, a truly inspiring human,” Pfirrmann and Allen said.

Cast

• Sean Seamus Thompson (Funny Girl First National Tour; Sunset Boulevard Broadway 2017)

• Jared Bybee (Metropolitan Opera, Dutch National Opera, appearances at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center)

• Autumn Hurlbert (Broadway: Tammy Faye, Legally Blonde)

• Eric Michael Gillett (Broadway: Sweet Smell of Success)

• Yael Eden Chanukov (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, dir. Joel Grey)