WaterTower Theatre to Premiere New Donald Fowler Musical

WaterTower Theatre Producing Artistic Director Terry Martin today announced, at a special gathering held at the home of Lynn and Allan McBee, that the Company will produce the world premiere of Donald Fowler's musical Creep...the Very, Very Sad and Unfortunately True and Completely Fabricated Tale of Jack the Ripper. The musical will open WaterTower Theatre's 2015-2016 season on Monday, October 5, 2015. There will be a Gala Preview performance on Sunday, October 4, 2015. Kate Galvin, Associate Producer at the 11th Hour Theatre Company in Philadelphia, will direct.

A special fundraising campaign -- the WaterTower Theatre 2015 Producers' Circle -- has been established to raise funds in support of Creep. Nicholas Even is chairing the Campaign. Barbara Daseke will chair the Producers' Circle Gala Preview on Sunday, October 4, 2015. The Producers' Circle Committee includes Heather and Scott Alexander, Derek Blount, Shannon Brame, Anita and Tom Braun, Stan Graner, Terry Martin, Karol Omlor and Lynn and Allan McBee. Contribution opportunities range from $25,000 to $1,000. Supporters will be invited to a special Gala Preview Performance prior to its opening night. The Producer's Preview Gala will include dinner at Table 13 before the performance.

Two corporate sponsors have stepped up with early support of the production: Frost Bank and Pinnacle. With these and other early underwriting commitments, the Producers' Circle fundraising is well underway.

Donald Fowler's new musical Creep...the Very, Very Sad and Unfortunately True and Completely Fabricated Tale of Jack the Ripper had a workshop performance at the 2010 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival at WaterTower Theatre and later by Uptown Players in 2013. In February 2015, the musical was given a week-long workshop rehearsal with director Kate Galvin.

Creep is an original musical with a cast of 16 actors and an orchestra of 8 told within the parameters of what we know about Jack the Ripper, the infamous Victorian serial killer. No one knows who the Ripper was, or his motivations, but he was, in a macabre way, a product of his time. Harsh and inhumane conditions of the period, an indifference towards children, and a savage lifestyle all conspired to create an environment conducive to violence and sexual deviance. It is not surprising then that the psychological and social infrastructure of the 19th century produced the first modern serial killer. Creep explores many of the dark truths surrounding the fabled Ripper and perhaps, more importantly, metaphorically examines how the individual, when dehumanized, will adapt, use, or hide from truth in order to survive.