RIDE OR DIE: THE HIP-HOP MUSICAL Begins June 9 At The Broadwater

Elliott and Michael are best friends. They're of different temperaments. Elliott is boisterous and outgoing. Michael is more tentative and shy. One day, Elliott dies in an accident. He's allowed to come back to earth, where he can only be seen by Michael. Elliott is tasked with finding Michael a new best friend. Only then will Elliott earn his angel wings and be allowed to ascend into Heaven.

Michael wants to be friends with Ciara. Will Elliott be able to help Michael connect with Ciara, or will he mess things up for them all? Will Michael and Ciara ultimately become friends? Will Elliott earn his angel wings?

The cast is unique in the fact that most of the performers are differently-abled: John JT Tucker Jr. (Elliott), has Down syndrome. He is the star of the A&E tv series Born This Way. Domonique Brown (Michael) has autism and recurs on the Netfiix series Atypical. He's the nephew of Marvin Gaye. Spencer Harte (Ciara) has autism and also recurs on Atypical. The supporting players include Coby Bird who has autism and will be a regular on a Netflix series to be announced; and Caley Versfelt, who has Down syndrome.

The rest of the cast is neurotypical and includes Brendan McCay, Stanson Chung, Alexa Russo and Callie Ott.

Conor Hanney wrote the book, music and lyrics. Conor is a writer-lyricist-composer for actors with cognitive disabilities. He was a writer-lyricist-composer on Netflix's Prince of Peoria, Creative Executive at Dreamworks Animation, writer on Disney XD's Gamer's Guide, and is currently a writer-lyricist-composer on Netflix's new The Healing Powers of Dude.. He wrote Divorce: The Hip-Hop Musical (1 award, 4 other nominations at the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival), Stranger Things: The Musical Tribute (sold-out run at El Cid), Best Buddies: The Hip-Hop Musical (3 awards, 1 other nomination at the 2018 Fringe), and is producing 9 shows for the 2019 festival, including Ride or Die: The Hip-Hop Musical.

Kelsey Goeres directs. Ms. Goeres is a director, writer, actress, and improviser from the California Central Coast. She received a bachelor's degree from California Lutheran University in journalism and theatre arts, where she first began directing. In addition to directing, reviewing, and acting in various theatre works, Kelsey is currently a lifestyle and entertainment reporter and writes for such outlets as Yahoo!, AOL, Apple News, and The Cheat Sheet.

Beatboxing by Shaun Fisher.

ONLINE TICKETING: www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5881

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