New Musical THE NAVIGATOR to be Presented at Joe's Pub in June

Joe's Pub will present a work-in-progress presentation of The Navigator, a new musical by musician Alynda Segarra (aka Hurray for the Riff Raff, they/them) and playwright C. Julian Jiménez (Oso Fabuloso & The Bear Backs, they/them) on June 9 and 10, 2023. Part of New York Voices, the artist commission program at Joe's Pub, the pair has brought The Navigator, Segarra's widely acclaimed 2017 concept album about gentrification and diasporic identity, to theatrical life with the album's original music, a song from Life on Earth (2022, Nonesuch) and a re-worked narrative.

"When I wrote The Navigator [album], it was written as a soundtrack to the story of my character Navita Milagros Negron," said Segarra. "And when I recorded it in 2016, I had a first draft of the accompanying play in my back pocket but I had no idea how I could make the vision become a reality. Now years later, I am so proud to be partnering with C. Julian Jimenez to heighten this project." Segarra and Jiménez weave a story that follows the journey of Navita, a 17-year old street punk, who faces a choice to leave behind everything she has known of her familial history to wake up and recognize no one and nothing around her. Will she leave it all behind? And what will this clean-slate new world look like?

New York Voices is an artist commissioning program that helps musicians develop original theatrical works. Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public Theater, has said, "New York Voices has become an indispensable addition to The Public's programs for developing new work." Past commissioned artists include Bridget Everett, Allen Toussaint, Angelique Kidjo, Sunny Jain, Daniel J. Watts & Nick Blaemire, Chris Pattishall & Vuyo Sotashe, Dawn Landes, and Somi. The program encourages artists to explore storytelling, narratives, and songwriting processes and includes a variety of resources. Each commission culminates with a run of live shows at Joe's Pub, and many continue on to tour nationally and internationally. New York Voices is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Joe's Pub, a program of The Public Theater, was named for Public Theater founder Joseph Papp. Since it opened in 1998, Joe's Pub has played a vital role in The Public's mission of supporting artists at all stages of their careers with an intimate space to perform and develop new work. Joe's Pub presents the best in live music and performance nightly, continuing its commitment to diversity, production values, community, and artistic freedom. In addition to one-night-only concerts and multi-night engagements, Joe's Pub is home to the annual Habibi Festival, which hosts artists representing contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (Southwest Asia/North Africa) region, and The Vanguard Award & Residency, a yearlong curation series that celebrates the career, and community, of a prolific and influential artist, including Nona Hendryx, Judy Collins, Laurie Anderson, and Barbara Maier Gustern.

With its intimate atmosphere and superior acoustics, Joe's Pub presents over 700 shows featuring artists from all over the world and hosts over 100,000 audience members annually. Beyond public performances, Joe's Pub also leads artist development programs like New York Voices, a commissioning program that helps musicians develop new performance projects, and Joe's Pub Working Group, an artist-led development and collaboration cohort. Current commissioned artists include Daniel J. Watts & Nick Blaemire, Liza Paul & Bahia Watson, Sunny Jain, Vuyo Sotashe & Chris Pattishall, and treya lam. Joe's Pub is supported in part by an American Rescue Plan Act grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support general operating expenses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.