Gould and Matthews' WITNESS UGANDA Presented for Schwartz at Disney

 

Jonathan Larson Award Winning composer Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews have been invited to workshop their new piece, WITNESS UGANDA, alongside Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell) as part of the Disney/ASCAP Workshop. Schwartz has described Witness Uganda as "a new form of musical theatre...breathtaking."

Witness Uganda will be presented as a staged reading at Disney Studios in Burbank, California at 500 Buena Vista Blvd, on February 17th at 7pm. It features a cast of actors including Leslie Odom, Jr. (Rent, and George Lucas's Red Tails), Eden Riegel (Emmy Award Winner for All My Children and Les Miz), Amina Robinson (Mamma Mia and Oscar Nominated Precious), Maurice Murphy (Spelling Bee), Afi Bryant (Aida), Nondumiso Tembe, Joanna Jones, Melody Butiu, Monique DeBose, Tongayi Chirisa, Donald Webber, and Ryan McAllister, a band of musicians including Jonny Morrow, Kendall Marsh, and Emiliano Almeida, and stage management by Nicole Rossi.

For reservations contact nicolerossi7@gmail.com.

About Witness Uganda

When Griffin Matthews, a summer volunteer, adopts 10 Ugandan orphans and starts a non-profit organization to fund their education, he is thrust into a world of devastating losses and setbacks that nearly crumbles his organization, his students, and his own life. Based on a true story, a carefully crafted combination of music, dance and journalistic theater propels Witness Uganda and explores the question: is changing the world even possible?

Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews originally presented Witness Uganda as a one-night benefit in the fall of 2009. Over the following months, it was developed in a series of workshops and as a part of Rattlestick Theatre's F*!@CKING GOOD PLAYS! (festival).

Gould's show, Twilight in Manchego, was presented as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival and was a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Foundation Award. He was also commissioned to write and direct Free Style, by Jason Alexander for LA's Reprise Theatre Company. www.mattgouldinc.com. www.bethechangeuganda.com.

Photo: Matt Gould (top) and Griffin Matthews.