Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival Partners with Moondog's Lounge for New Musicals Series 'The PiTCH'

Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival/Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Inc. has announced its partnership with Moondog's Lounge during the Festival's new-works series, "The PiTCH," presented by Generations Bank.

The 2017 PiTCH season will have a distinctly international flair, welcoming teams from Canada and the U.K., and featuring stories centered in Brazil and Denmark among others. Throughout the July 12 to Aug. 11 run, five creative teams will receive an opportunity to present their new musicals in development. Audiences at "The PiTCH" watch a 50-60 minute presentation of the new musical before being invited to give feedback to the team in a post-performance talkback session. To date, "The PiTCH" has been a development platform for the creative teams of 54 new musicals.

"The Finger Lakes Musical Theatre Festival is committed to new musicals and to our hometown of Auburn," says Josh Katzker, coordinator of "The PiTCH." "We think dinner and drinks in Downtown Auburn and a show at The PiTCH go hand in hand and we're excited to team up with our friends at Moondog's Lounge for the 2017 season."

Moondog's Lounge, located at 24 State Street in downtown Auburn, will be working in conjunction with the PiTCH to provide a holistic experience for the shows' attendees. Guests may bring in their PiTCH ticket stubs to receive buy-one-get-one-free drinks, valid on the day that they attended the performance. Additionally, prior to the performances, Moondog's will provide a special PiTCH show-themed menu, which will change each week to coincide with the culture and theme of the current show. For example, during the first week's "Rio," the menu will feature Portuguese paella with banana bread, and during "Anne of Green Gables," a crock-style chicken with cream of vegetable soup and raspberry parfait (foods which were mentioned in the original story).

"I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to partner with MGR/FLMTF," says Moondog's owner, Lynn Varley. "It is an inspiring time in Auburn to have the talent and collaboration of many who want to see the area thrive."

The PiTCH series schedule is as follows:

WEEK 1 (July 12-14): "Rio" - A modern day take on Oliver Twist set in Brazil during the colorful days of Carnival.

WEEK 2 (July 19-21): "Ophelia" - A modern day, folk-rock adaptation of "Hamlet" told entirely from Ophelia's perspective.

WEEK 3 (July 26-28): "Anne of Green Gables" - A musical based on L.M. Montgomery's famous novel of the same name.

WEEK 4 (Aug 2-4): "Devil's Kin" - Inspired by the Hatfield and McCoy feud, the musical focuses on the mothers and daughters of the two infamous families.

WEEK 5 (Aug 9-11): "The Showmen" - A musical set during the Golden Age of Hollywood, which takes the classic MGM movie musical formula and flips the script.

All performances of "The PiTCH" are held at Theater Mack at The Cayuga Museum at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and at 8:00 p.m. on Friday evenings. "PiTCH Passes" are available for $50 and are good for one ticket to all five shows; single tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling the box office at 315-255-1785 or by visiting FingerLakesMTF.com.

For a full list of performance dates and for more information about the season, visit FingerLakesMTF.com/the-pitch.