A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK Begins Performances Tonight

The musical A LETTER TO Harvey Milk will debut Off-Broadway at Theatre Row's Acorn Theatre (410 W 42 Street), beginning performances on February 21, opening on March 6, running through May 13, 2018. Tickets are $79 - $99 and can be purchased at Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.

A LETTER TO Harvey Milk will star Adam Heller (Broadway: It Shoulda Been You, Elf, Caroline or Change), Julia Knitel (Broadway and National Tour: Carole King in Beautiful, Bye Bye Birdie), Cheryl Stern (Broadway: La Cage Aux Folles, The Women), along with Michael Bartoli (National Tour: Joseph/Dreamcoat), Jeremy Greenbaum (Broadway:Newsies),Aury Krebs (Regional: Rent, Hairspray), and CJ Pawlikowski (National Tour: Book of Mormon, Memphis)

San Francisco. 1986. What could Harry, an amiable but lonely retired kosher butcher have in common with Barbara, his young lesbian writing teacher at the senior center? Is it enough to bridge the divide?

When Harry fulfills a writing assignment to compose a letter to someone from his past who's dead, he writes not to his late wife Frannie, but to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay political leader in California. Barbara is stunned. Harry's letter evokes life-changing revelations that neither could have foreseen. This musical - with its soaring score and deeply-felt, surprisingly funny lyrics - deals with issues of friendship and loss, the grip of the past, and the hard-won acceptance set in motion by the most unexpected people.

Based on the short story by Lesléa Newman, the musical A LETTER TO Harvey Milk has lyrics by Ellen M. Schwartz,with additional lyrics by Cheryl Stern, music by Laura I. Kramer, book by Jerry James, Ellen M. Schwartz, Cheryl Sternand Laura I. Kramer and will be directed by Evan Pappas with music direction by Jeffrey Lodin, orchestrations by Ned Ginsburg, casting by Stephanie Klapper. A LETTER TO Harvey Milk is presented by Letter Productions LLC,Associate Producer/Production Supervisor SenovvA Production Core and is executive produced by Lisa Dozier King.

Creative team includes set design by David Arsenault (Off- Broadway: Terms of Endearment. Broadway: The Color Purple (associate)) costumes by Debbi Hobson (Liberty: A Monumental New Musical), lighting design by Christopher Akerlind (Tony Award for INDECENT, Waitress), sound design by David Margolin Lawson (The Crusade of Connor Stephens), and the production stage manager is Sara Sahin.

A LETTER TO Harvey Milk was proud to be a selection of the New York Musical Theatre Festival's 2012 Next Link Project where it won five awards, including Most Promising Musical. It was also a finalist for the Richard Rodgers Award.

Photo: Adam Heller and Julia Knitel with Michael Bartol, Jeremy Greenbaum & CJ Pawlikowski

Photo Credit Russ Rowland