Tommy Wallach's New Musical VICKY & FRANK to Debut at 54 Below

54 BELOW will present the New Musical! Vicky & Frank on September 14 at 9:30pm.

Come experience the world premiere of Vicky & Frank, a new musical with Book, Music, & Lyrics by Tommy Wallach, author of the YA novels Thanks for the Trouble and We All Looked Up, which spent over six months on the New York Times bestseller’s list. A concert performance featuring a cast of ten and a full 5-piece band will take place on September 14th at 9:30pm at 54 Below. Tickets can be purchased here.

There will be two private invited readings in the preceding week (industry folks can get more information by emailing GM rr@formtheatricals.com), but the 54 Below concert is the only event open to the public, so get your tickets soon!

Vicky & Frank is a gothic musical comedy in the vein of Heathers and Little Shop of Horrors, set in 1950s middle America and loosely based on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It tells the story of Vicky Godwin, a brilliant 17-year-old science nerd who happens to be dabbling in reanimating the dead. When Vicky petitions her school to let her take shop class instead of home ec, she sets off a chain of events that culminates in her killing (accidentally) and reanimating (purposely) her long-time crush—high-school hottie Frank—only to discover he’s gay. What follows is a macabre and radical reimagining of the most famous science-fiction story ever told, complete with murderous monster dogs, underground drag parties, righteous proto-feminists, and a full-on torches-and-pitchforks climax.

Vicky & Frank was a finalist for the 2023 NAMT Festival of New Musicals, putting it in the top 20 entries from a record-setting application pool of 575.

The cast for Vicky & Frank includes Morgan Dudley, Michael Thomas Grant, Morgan Siobhan Green, Julie James, Jeremy Morse, Asher Muldoon, Morgan Higgins Perreira, Clifton Samuels, Kuhoo Verma, and Wes Williams.

The creative team includes Rachel Dart (director) and Katie Coleman (musical director). Kat West will stage manage, assisted by Makenna Remenaric, and Form Theatricals (Anthony Francavilla and Reed Ridgley) will serve as General Manager.

Vicky & Frank currently has no commercial attachments and is seeking developmental partnerships with both producers and theaters.

Vicky & Frank plays 54 Below (254 West 54th Street) September 14 at 9:30pm. Cover charges are $25-$35 ($29-$40 with fees.) Premiums are $60 ($67.50 with fees.) There is a $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.org. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00pm are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.

MORE ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Tommy Wallach (Book, Music, & Lyrics): Tommy has published five YA novels with Simon & Schuster, including We All Looked Up, which spent over six months on the New York Times Best Sellers list, Thanks for the Trouble, and The Anchor & Sophia trilogy. As a screenwriter, he recently sold the feature film Delilah to Sony (in development; dir. Alexis Ostrander) and the limited series “JonBenet” to Paramount+ (in development, not yet announced). His musical TV pilot “PV & Franny” was recently recorded as a podcast starring Fred Armisen and Ty Burrell, who are attached to the project as director and producer respectively (releasing with Table Read Podcast 10/23).

As a singer-songwriter, Wallach was signed to Decca/Universal records and has performed at numerous venues, such as The Guggenheim Museum and Joe’s Pub. Wallach also owns Hatch Escapes, creators of Lab Rat, the top-ranked escape room in LA, and also Mother of Frankenstein, a narrative tabletop game lauded by such luminaries as Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood and available at all 2,000 Barnes & Noble stores nationwide.

Rachel Dart (Director): Rachel is a New York-based director and educator. Favorite credits include Coming Soon: A New Rock Musical at Z Space (featured on the SF Chronicle's Best of Theater 2022 list); IVANKAPLAY at Theatre503 in London and at Edinburgh Fringe; Dance Nation (regional premiere, Nashville Story Garden); associate director, Summer, 1976 on Broadway. New plays, musicals, and classics at, among many others, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Williamstown, and EST/Youngblood. Proud member of SDC.

Katie Coleman (Musical Director): Katie is originally from the Bay Area and is a graduate of the University of the Pacific (piano and trumpet). She’s spent the past year as Conductor and Keyboardist (i.e., “Joan”) for the Boleyn tour of SIX. Her Broadway and National Tour credits also include Aladdin, Hamilton, Falsettos, The Lion King, and Wicked.

MORE ABOUT THE CAST

Morgan Dudley is most known for her role as Frankie Healy in Jagged Little Pill on Broadway as well as playing the role of Ella in the upcoming Disney movie Descendants: The Rise of Red. She’s very excited to be a player in the Vicky & Frank story.

Michael Thomas Grant is an actor and visual artist best known for his role as Leif Donnelly in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” on NBC. You may have also seen him on “The Rookie: Feds” (ABC), “Roadies” (Stars), “The Fosters” (Freeform), or in one of many theater shows throughout Los Angeles. He is currently recording Storm of Whispers, the second outing of the TTRPG actual-play podcast Roll Play Game, and having an absolute blast!

Morgan Siobhan Green is a NYC based actress. Credits include Be More Chill (Broadway), Hadestown (Eurydice, National Tour), Dave Malloy’s Moby Dick (ART), and Folk Wandering (Pipeline Theater Company).

Julie James is an award-winning vocalist, theater performer and radio personality. She is a Program Director at Sirius XM, curating all the music for the On Broadway and Metropolitan Opera Radio stations, and has hosted her talk show Broadway Names with Julie James for over a decade, taking her listeners on the town, backstage and into the studio for fun, lively conversations with the biggest and best of Broadway and beyond. Just some of the incredible talents who love visiting her show include Hugh Jackman, Julie Andrews, Rita Moreno, Steven Spielberg, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth and many others. As a performer, Julie has appeared internationally, on Broadway, regionally and in numerous concerts & cabarets. Some favorites include Sweeney Todd at Goodspeed, headlining at Central Park Summerstage, The Rainbow Room, Joe's Pub & 54 Below, and a recent cameo in Disney's Aladdin. Julie is known as a go-to host for special events, on Broadway & across America, covers many red carpets including over 10 years of the TONY Awards, and is often called upon as an on-camera theater expert for NBC, CBS, Google, NY1 and more.

Jeremy Morse is an actor/playwright/slash-mark enthusiast currently living in Brooklyn. NYC: Puffs; or, Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic (New World Stages/The Elektra/The PIT), Paddington Gets in a Jam! (DR2), The Mysteries (The Flea Theater), and B.B.'s Inferno (The PIT). Regional: The Farnsworth Invention (La Jolla Playhouse), Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Jekyll and Hyde, The Foreigner, Noises Off!, The 39 Steps (The Winnipesaukee Playhouse), and Landscape of the Body (Exit Stage Left). A.J. is a co-host of The Worst of All Possible Worlds podcast, providing weekly case studies in the pop culture of a dying empire. www.ajditty.com

Asher Muldoon is a performer, writer, composer, and comedian based in New York. His first musical, an adaptation of Patrick McCabe’s novel The Butcher Boy, premiered at Irish Repertory Theater last summer, where it enjoyed a well-received run. Before that, he performed with the First National Tour of Dear Evan Hansen, understudying Connor and Jared. This past spring, he graduated with a degree in English from Princeton University, where he wrote and performed with the Princeton Triangle Club. ashermuldoon.com

Morgan Higgins Perreira is a NYC based actress and singer. Select credits: Marie (Bad Cinderella OBC), “Lost in the West” (Nickelodeon), “Mr. Student Body President” (Amazon), “Orange is the New Black (Netflix), “City on a Hill” (Showtime). Morgan has performed with John Mellencamp and was a contestant on ABC’s Rising Star. @morgannhigginss

Clifton Samuels has worked extensively in TV, film, and theater. He sang and danced alongside Channing Tatum in the Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar, and also appeared in the 2014 remake of Annie. On TV, he has been seen in “Boardwalk Empire,” “The Blacklist,” “Younger,” and more. On Broadway, Clifton appeared in the Tony and Grammy nominated revival of Sondheim’s FOLLIES, as well as Amazing Grace at the Nederlander. He was also a part of the world premiere play The Beast in the Jungle (Dir: Susan Stroman) at the Vineyard and appeared in the 1st National Tour of Urban Cowboy.

Kuhoo Verma is a NYC based artist who revels in works made for diverse audiences. You can see Kuhoo as the lead of Hulu’s film Plan B, streaming now. Film: Plan B (Hulu), Murder Mystery 2 (Netflix), The Big Sick (Amazon), and the upcoming Space Cadet with Emma Roberts. She previously starred in Dave Malloy’s Octet at the Signature Theatre (Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble). She also enjoys workshopping new musicals and doing operas in Paris!

Wes Williams is stoked to play such a terrible human being alongside such great human beings. Wes was most recently seen as Tully in Escape to Margaritaville at North Shore Music Theatre, and Milo in “And Just Like That” on HBO Max. Other regional credits: Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson), West Side Story (Tony), Newsies (Jack Kelly). Thanks to Robert, Sean, Rikky, the whole Vicky & Frank team, and my incredibly supportive circle of friends and family. @wes.williams | wesawilliams.com

MORE ABOUT 54 BELOW

54 Below, a recipient of the 2022 TONY AWARDS® Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, is a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve the music of Broadway and expand the art of the cabaret while growing opportunities for diverse communities of emerging and established artists and providing unparalleled audience experiences.

It was founded as a place for the Broadway community to celebrate Broadway performers, both established and new, who sing not only the music of Broadway and the Great American Songbook, but also new material intended for Broadway and off-Broadway stages. One of the most in demand venues in the city presenting over 700 shows per year, the club features fine dining and superb scenic, lighting, and sound designs entirely imagined by Broadway designers. For performers, writers, musicians, and more, 54 Below gives opportunities to advance their craft, expand their repertoires, and develop their voices in a way that is more personal, making them stronger as artists. It gives Broadway fans an opportunity to see their favorite artists in a different way, deepening their relationship and understanding of their talent.

54 Below celebrates Broadway musicals and writers of the past and present, promoting an ongoing engagement with their work. It is also a place for innovation in musical songwriting and performance. Collaborations born at 54 Below give rise to and help develop new theatrical projects and new musicals. In addition, its popular streaming video activities and audio recordings support these activities, helping to build a new Broadway audience worldwide, both in age and geography.

Located at 254 West 54th Street, the club presents live shows at 7pm and 9:30pm. Tickets and information at 54below.org.

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