WEIRD New Musical Premieres at Boulder International Fringe Fest This Week

WƎIЯD, a vibrant, virtual new musical with music and lyrics by Michael O'Dell and book by O'Dell and Davern Wright, inspired by Zoom interviews with actual high schoolers during the Covid-19 Pandemic, has its World Premiere August 13-21, 2021, as an official selection of the 2021 Boulder International Fringe Festival. The performance will be livestreamed four times (see schedule below), which can be viewed from anywhere in the world.

The setting and subject of WƎIЯD is familiar to us all: April 2020 is in full swing as the world shuts down because of COVID-19 fears. As high schoolers Anthony, Zander, Taylor, Anna, Junie, and Lizzie gather for a virtual school session on Zoom to complete an English assignment, they can't help but reflect on what is happening to the world, to themselves, and their not-so-distant futures.

The musical, produced by HoNeYCoMB PRoDuCTioNS (NYC), will be presented by the 2021 Boulder International Fringe Festival as an edited video featuring a cast of six talented young Colorado actor-singers, who taped themselves performing their roles in their own homes and bedrooms, giving WƎIЯD authenticity and an undeniable "real-life" resonance, as art reflects life in the musical. The video will be livestreamed; audience members who buy a virtual ticket on the Boulder Fringe website will receive the show link by e-mail before their chosen showtime.

Tickets are $10; $8 for students & seniors and may be purchased at https://www.boulderfringe.com. Running time is 60 minutes.