Detroit Public Theatre Opens Season with MURDER BALLAD

Detroit Public Theatre is proud to announce the cast for Murder Ballad by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, September 28 - October 23 at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in downtown Detroit. The explosive rock musical is the first production in the theatre company's 2016-17 season and marks the US Debut for Italian pop sensation Arianna Bergamaschi.

Murder Ballad
Murder Ballad is a sexy, explosive rock musical that explores the complications of love, the compromises we make, and the betrayals that can ultimately undo us. Murder Ballad centers on Sara, an uptown girl who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. An Off-Broadway sensation at Manhattan Theatre Club, this production is a dark thriller with a razor's edge.

Arianna Bergamaschi will make her US theatre debut with Detroit Public Theatre as she steps into the role of Sara, an uptown girl who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. Bergamaschi is an Italian singer, stage actress, Italian TV personality and musical theatre performer. She began her career at the age of 14 as the official Italian Disney singer and tv endorser. Since then she hasn't stopped releasing pop albums and being featured in theatre and tv shows in her native Italy. Her favorites theatre credits are : Beauty and the Beast, The Wizard of Oz, Romeo and Juliet, Pinocchio, Three's Company, and Midsummer Night's Dream. In 2013 Arianna reached #5 on the USA dance chart and had over 30 millions views on Youtube with the song Sexy People, featuring world famous rapper Pitbull. She is the only Italian artist who has collaborated with such an eclectic array of International Artists as Pitbull, Michael Bolton, Il Volo, Shaggy, Will I Am and FloRida.

Native Detroiters Arielle Crosby (Narrator), Eric Gutman (Michael) and Rusty Mewha (Tom) round out the cast. Murder Ballad will be directed by Detroit Public Theatre's Co-Artistic DirectorCourtney Burkett with Katherine Nelson as Stage Manager and Costume Designer, Jamie Reedas Music Director, and Monika Essen designing set and props. The band will include Shawn Neal(Drums), Mike Shriver (Bass) and Jeff Sugamosto (Guitar).

Tickets for Murder Ballad ($20 - $45) are available now online at www.detroitpublictheatre.org and in person at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office. Student and Senior discounts are available in person at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office or by calling (313) 576-5111. Group discounts are available by calling (313) 974-7918. Tickets are also available for the show's official opening night performance on Friday, September 30 at 6:00pm for $75 by calling (313) 576-5111. Opening night tickets include a pre-show and post-show reception.

The Performance schedule for Murder Ballad is:
Wednesday, September 28 @ 8pm (Preview: $35)
Thursday, September 29 @ 8pm (Preview: $35)
Friday, September 30 @ 6pm (Opening Night: $75)
Saturday, October 1 @ 8pm ($45)
Sunday, October 2 @ 8pm ($45)

Thursday, October 6 @ 8pm ($35)
Friday, October 7 @ 8pm ($45)
Sunday, October 9 @ 2pm & 7pm ($35)

Friday, October 14 @ 8pm ($45)
Saturday, October 15 @ 8pm ($45)
Sunday, October 16 @ 2pm & 7pm ($35)

Wednesday, October 19 @ 2pm ($35)
Thursday, October 20 @ 8pm ($35)
Friday, October 21 @ 8pm ($45)
Saturday, October 22 @ 8pm ($45)
Sunday, October 23 @ 8pm ($35)

The Detroit Public Theatre's generous 2016-17 Season Sponsors are The Detroit Shoppe and Doner. The remaining season includes:

DOT
November 16 - December 11, 2016
For the second show of the season, Detroit Public Theatre brings the regional premiere of Colman Domingo's hilarious and heartbraking new play DOT to Detroit. The holidays are always a wild family affair at the Shealy house. When Dotty and her three grown children gather with more than exchanging presents on their minds, Dotty struggles to hold on to her memory and her children must fight to balance care for their mother and themselves. DOT grapples unflinchingly with aging parents, midlife crises, and the heart of a West Philly neighborhood.

The Holler Sessions
February 1-26, 2017
Staged as a live radio show, The Holler Sessions centers around one man's burning obsession with American Jazz. Ray, an explosive Kansas City DJ, broadcasts his love of jazz from his shoddy studio with an infectious passion for this uniquely American art form. His maniacal rants, razor-sharp insights, and mildly scatological humor are interspersed with truly gorgeous music and lots of space for listening. The Holler Sessions serves as a jazz primer for the uninitiated, a powerful reminder for jazz fans and an irreverent love letter to the best thing America has ever created - and forgotten.

The Harassment of Iris Malloy
May 3-28, 2017
For the final production of the 2016-17 season, Detroit Public Theatre is proud to bring the rolling world premiere of The Harrassment of Iris Malloy to Detroit. Debuting at People's Light, this

this tense and moving political thriller begins one late night in Atlantic City when a single mother places a bet on a new life after an intimate encounter with a decorated senator. The fallout will change them both forever. This timely play takes the characters and audience on a surprising ride that explores American media, class, motherhood and presidential campaigns.

All Detroit Public Theatre performances take place at The Robert A. and Maggie Allesee Rehearsal Hall inside the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit MI 48201. Season subscriptions are now available by calling (313) 576-5111. Wednesday,Thursday, and Sunday subscriptions are $100 per person. Friday and Saturday subscriptions are $140 per person.

Detroit Public Theatre
Detroit Public Theatre's mission is to produce world-class plays and programs with world-class writers, directors, actors and designers in the heart of Midtown's thriving cultural district. The company produces bold plays that are relevant to Detroit audiences and illuminates the joys, thrills and challenges of our shared human experience.

Founded by Courtney Burkett, Sarah Winkler and Sarah Clare Corporandy, Detroit Public Theatre is bolstered with board and advisory members including theatre luminaries from across the nation and Detroit. These include Nina Essman, General Manager of the 2015 Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home and General Manager and Executive Producer of Wicked; Christopher Burney, Associate Director of New York City's Second Stage Theatre; and Tony Award-nominated actors Kathleen Chalfant, Detroit-born Celia Keenan-Bolger and acclaimed Detroit-born playwright Dominique Morisseau; among many more. Burkett is formerly the director of theatre programs for Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and co-founder of Breathe Art Theatre Project; Winkler came to Detroit from New York in 2013 where she was a producer and ensemble member of the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre company, Epic Theatre Ensemble; and in addition to founding Detroit Public Theatre, Corporandy has served as Managing Director for Pig Iron Theater Company in Philadelphia and also currently serves as The Managing Director of Chautauqua Theatre Company in Southwestern New York.

Detroit Public Theatre is a non-profit organization producing world-class plays and programs with world-class writers, directors, actors and designers in the heart of Midtown Detroit's thriving cultural district. Fearless, fresh and made in Detroit, the company's productions strive to illuminate the thrills, joys and challenges of our shared human experience. More information on Detroit Public Theatreand its productions, programs and tickets is available online at www.detroitpublictheatre.org or by calling (313) 974-7918.

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