Golden, Gray, and Lampert Star in Reading of THE TATTOOED LADY

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is producing a reading of the new musical THE TATTOOED LADY, book by Obie-winner Erin Courtney, music and lyrics by Lucille Lortel-winner Max Vernon, and direction by Ellie Heyman. THE TATTOOED LADY was selected for Rhinebeck Writers Retreat's Triple R program, giving the writers 2 readings and a residency to do extensive development of their musical in a compressed time frame. The final reading is May 20 and will feature a cast of all women and nonbinary performers, including Annie Golden (VIOLET), Amber Gray (HADESTOWN), Jack Henry, Gizel Jiménez (WICKED), Jo Lampert (JOAN OF ARC: INTO THE FIRE), Tamika Lawrence (COME FROM AWAY), Liz Leimkuhler (BEARDO), Gianna Masi, and Sophia Ramos.

Founding Executive Director Kathy Evans said, "We loved supporting this musical last summer with a weeklong residency and can't wait to see the results after Max, Erin, and Ellie have this opportunity to delve into an intense period of development with Triple R."

Triple R is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and lead support from Liz and Bill Mills and Steve and Paula Reynolds, and underwriting support from Jody Falco and Jeffrey Steinman.

Created in 2011, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat provides a sanctuary for writers to develop their new musicals in the heart of the Hudson Valley. Musicals developed in Rhinebeck have been seen across the country at The Public Theater, Barrington Stage, Second Stage Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, The Old Globe, and Paper Mill Playhouse. All costs for the retreats are covered by contributions, including from The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, The Noël Coward Foundation, and Samuel French, a Concord Theatricals Company. Major individual support comes from Liz Armstrong; Cathy Cabrera and Rick Ungar; Amy and Roger Faxon; Peter Risafi and Steven Wheeler; and Jacqui and Lew Rose. www.rhinebeckwriters.org

THE TATTOOED LADY synopsis:

The year is 1980. We are at the oldest living tattooed lady's final performance at a cheap, derelict sideshow in Kansas. Artoria shares the stories and songs behind each of her tattoos, recalling the golden age of freak show and her quest for self-actualization. Interwoven into Artoria's narrative are the tales of Nora Hildebrandt, the first tattooed lady, and Maud Wagner, the first female American tattoo artist.

Bios:

Erin Courtney, Book: Erin Courtney's play A MAP OF VIRTUE, produced by 13P and directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, was awarded an Obie and described as "one of the most terrifying plays of the past decade" by Alexis Soloski in the New York Times. A MAP OF VIRTUE was nominated for a GLAAD award and has had numerous productions across the country. Her play I WILL BE GONE premiered at Actors Theater of Louisville, Humana Festival in 2015. She is writing a new play, ANN, FRAN, Mary Ann which is a Playwrights Horizons commission. She has written two operas with Elizabeth Swados, The Nomad and Kaspar Hauser: both were commissioned and produced by The Flea Theater. Her other plays, produced by Clubbed Thumb include ALICE THE MAGNET, directed by Pam MacKinnon, and DEMON BABY, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. She is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb, a member of the Obie award winning playwright collective -13P, as well as the co-founder of the Brooklyn Writer's Space. Ms. Courtney teaches playwriting at the MFA program at Brooklyn College. She earned her MFA in playwriting at Brooklyn College with Mac Wellman, and her BA from Brown University where she studied with Paula Vogel. She is a member of New Dramatists since 2012, a MacDowell Colony fellow, a Core Writer at the Playwrights' Center, a member of the Working Farm at Space on Ryder Farm and she was awarded a Guggenheim in 2013.

Max Vernon, Music and Lyrics: Max is a 3-time Drama Desk nominee, Out100 Honoree, and recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical, Richard Rodgers Award, Jonathan Larson Grant, New York Stage and Film's Founders Award, New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship, and the JFund Award from the Jerome Foundation. He has been a Dramatist Guild Theatre Fellow, MacDowell Fellow, and an artist in residence at Berkeley Rep, Ars Nova, Kimmel Center (via The Public Theater), Disney Creative Entertainment, and Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, among others. His musical, The View UpStairs, ran 105 performances Off-Broadway and will have thirteen new productions around the world in 2017-2019; original cast recording on Broadway Records. His other musical, KPOP, enjoyed a sold-out, extended run at Ars Nova and was the most nominated Off-Broadway show of the 2017-2018 season. Notable concert performances include the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Joe's Pub, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ellie Heyman is the Director in Residence at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater. Recent credits include: Leah Coloff's ThisTree (Here Arts, Protype Festival), A$AP Rocky's performance art album launch Lab Rat at Sotheby's, Jason Craig & Dave Malloy's Beardo (Drama Desk Award Nomination; Pipeline Theater), Erin Markey's Boner Killer (Under the Radar/The Public Theater), Becca Blackwell's They, Themself and Schmerm (Under the Radar/The Public Theater); Adrienne Truscott's THIS (Bessie Award Nomination for Outstanding Production; NYLA), Dane Terry's Jupiter's Lifeless Moons (PS122/COIL), and The Traveling Imaginary with Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel) rated "Top 5 shows of the year" by NPR. She developed and directed The Orbiting Human Circus (Of the Air) (Night Vale Presents) which was rated #1 on Apple Podcasts and downloaded over 5 million times and the "cult classic" music-fiction podcast Dreamboy (Night Vale Presents). She is a graduate of Northwestern University and Boston University, and a Drama League and WP Theater Time Warner Directing Fellow Alumni. ellieheyman.com