Constantine Maroulis to Star in New Musical ROCK & ROLL MAN at New World Stages in June

The New York premiere of Rock & Roll Man, a new musical celebrating the life of the legendary Alan Freed, starring Constantine Maroulis as Freed, will open this June at New World Stages, Stage 3. Performances begin June 2, and the official opening night will be June 21, 2023.

Rock & Roll Man chronicles the remarkable life of Alan Freed, the boundary-smashing disc jockey rebel who popularized the records that became the foundation of rock. With an original score that also includes genre-defying hits like "Lucille," "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," "Tutti Frutti," "Good Golly," "Peggy Sue," "Wake Up Little Susie," "Ain't That A Shame," "Long Tall Sally," "Jim Dandy," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Yakety Yak," "I Put A Spell On You," Maybellene," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "Great Balls of Fire," and more, this edgy and inspiring new musical comes to New York after two sold-out critically acclaimed developmental productions at Bucks Country Playhouse and the Berkshire Theatre Group.

Producers Caiola Productions and Jay & Cindy Gutterman said "We are honored to bring the story of the visionary rebel, Alan Freed, to the stage in this joyous yet provocative and controversial original new musical starring one of the most exciting contemporary rock and roll voices of our time, Constantine Maroulis. Alan Freed dared to defy the conservative majority by being the first white DJ to play Black music on mainstream radio, bucking what was then the status quo. Rock & Roll and Rhythm & Blues, together with Freed's larger-than-life voice on the radio, went viral around the world, uniting and integrating Black and white artists and audiences for the first time in history, all at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement. Rock & Roll Man is a timeless and tremendously entertaining musical that will move and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds. Join us at New World Stages this summer to rock and roll!"

Rock & Roll Man takes place on the last day of Alan Freed's life during a fever dream in which J. Edgar Hoover (as prosecutor) and Little Richard (as defense attorney) face off in a fantasy courtroom with Freed's legacy on trial. Freed brought the sound of rock and roll to the world. He popularized Black artists including Chuck Berry and Little Richard - playing their music, producing concerts, finding an audience coast to coast, and becoming "the voice" of a generation. For the first time in history, Black and white artists performed together on stage, for multi-racial audiences.

The music of Rock & Roll Man features some of the most well-known rock & roll classics created by legends such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Lavern Baker, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, as well as explosive original songs by Gary Kupper (Freckleface Strawberry The Musical - Outer Critics Circle nomination).

Rock & Roll Man features book by Gary Kupper & Larry Marshak (editor of Night Beat Magazine and Rock Magazine) and Rose Caiola (Freckleface Strawberry The Musical - Outer Critics Circle nomination), original music and lyrics by Gary Kupper, Vintage Rock & Roll Elements developed by Marshak Classic Music LLC and Gary Kupper Music, direction by Tony Award®-nominee Randal Myler (It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues), choreography by Stephanie Klemons (Associate Choreographer and Global Dance Supervisor of Hamilton), musical direction by Dave Keyes (Smokey Joe's Café), music supervision and arrangements by Dave Keyes and Gary Kupper, orchestrations and dance arrangements by Kenny Seymour (Ain't Too Proud). Scenic design is by Timothy R. Mackabee (The Elephant Man), costume design by Leon Dobkowski (The Sound of Music at Paper Mill Playhouse), projection design by Christopher Ash (A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Guthrie), lighting design by Matthew Richards (Is God Is) and Aja M. Jackson (The Art of Burning), sound design by Ed Chapman (Leopoldstadt - Associate Sound Designer), casting by JZ Casting, Geoff Josselson, Katja Zarolinski and Jimmy Larkin. Rock & Roll Man is produced by 7-time Tony Award®-winners Caiola Productions (Once On This Island, Dear Evan Hansen, The Color Purple, All The Way, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf) and Tony Award®-winners Jay & Cindy Gutterman (The Piano Lesson, All The Way, Spring Awakening, Glengarry Glen Ross). Executive Producer and General Manager is JRJ Productions LLC, Jessica R. Jenen (Into The Woods, Company - Tony Award®; Life of Pi; New York, New York).

Additional casting will be announced soon.

Biographies:

Constantine Maroulis

(Alan Freed). Maroulis is best known for his iconic star turn in Broadway's Rock of Ages for which he garnered a myriad of accolades including a Best Actor Tony Award® nomination, a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance, Broadway.com Star of the Year, and many more. Born in Brooklyn and raised in New Jersey, Maroulis became a household name during the heyday of "American Idol," winning 30 million weekly viewer's hearts and minds each week. Maroulis's work on Broadway & on tour includes Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde, a performance for which Maroulis earned another Drama League nod. In addition to his appearances on TV and in movies, Maroulis's on-stage credits include The Wedding Singer, RENT, Rocktopia, Jacques Brel, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Toxic Avenger, Friend Art, Postmodern Jukebox and many more. The Broadway revival of Spring Awakening (Deaf West) directed by Michael Arden earned Maroulis additional Tony® & Drama League nominations as a producer. As an RIAA Gold-Selling recording artist, Maroulis continues to create new, original music regularly. Maroulis is a graduate of the prestigious Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music and trained as an acting apprentice at Williamstown. Maroulis is father to Malena James, his 12 year old daughter, and currently resides in New Jersey. constantinemaroulis.com

Gary Kupper

(Composer, Lyricist, Co-Writer, Music Supervision and Arrangements) has been writing shows since he was a student at Bronx High School of Science. He was signed to Polydor Records and recorded an album backed by Van Morrison's band, entitled Shoot For The Moon. He had songs recorded in movies and television. As a musician he backed up the iconic Chuck Berry all over the world. He also shared stages with Elton John, Jay Leno, James Brown, Gary U.S. Bonds, The Drifters, Ben E. King, Martha and the Vandellas, Percy Sledge and many other notable entertainers. Musical Director Forever Motown. Kupper's theater work includes lyrics and music for an adaption of Freckleface Strawberry, bestselling book by Julianne Moore, co-writing the script with Rose Caiola (New World Stages). The show was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle award for Best Musical and was named one of the "seven best family shows for Children in NYC" by WCBS. Other productions include Consumer Behavior (songs and co-wrote the book Fringe Festival), Timmy The Great (Jay Binder, Savion Glover, Marcia Milgrom Dodge directors) and Rubirosa (Playwright's Horizons).

Larry Marshak

(Book Co-Writer) was a staff writer and editor at Night Beat Magazine and the editor of Rock Magazine. He has written over 200 published pieces on the rock and roll culture, including in the autobiography of Bruce Springsteen. His first published piece was an interview in The Village Voice with Alan Freed. He produced dozens of rock and roll concerts, including the series of 30 Original Rock & Roll Shows in partnership with CBS Broadcasting in NYC. Marshak has had six productions in Las Vegas including the longest running show in history, Love Potion #10. He was the house producer at the Sid Caesar Theater and produced the road shows for Golda, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Play It Again Sam and Groucho and for Forever Motown, The Golden Years of Music, Aaron Banks Wonderful World of Martial Arts and The Golden Years of Comedy. He is the producer of the current touring version of Forever Motown and Lonesome Traveler and has managed The Drifters for forty years.

Rose Caiola

(Book Co-Writer). Founder and Executive Artistic Director of Manhattan Movement & Arts Center (mmac), a state-of-the-art dance and movement classroom, studio and performance facility near Lincoln Center, and Manhattan Youth Ballet, one of the country's premier classical ballet academies. Rose conceived, co-wrote, and produced the Off-Broadway premiere of Freckleface Strawberry The Musical (Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best New Musical), based on Julianne Moore's children's book, which premiered at New World Stages and is currently being licensed worldwide by Music Theatre International. Rose began her career as a dancer and actress and is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

Randal Myler

(Director) is a Tony Award® nominee for co-conceiving and directing It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues at Lincoln Center. He is also known (both as writer and director) for his critically acclaimed Hank Williams: Lost Highway (Drama Desk, Lortel nom. Outstanding Musical; 2 years at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville) and his Janis Joplin bio-musical Love, Janis, which surpassed 700 performances at the former Village Gate. Mr. Myler's other numerous credits include co-conceiving Nat King Cole and Me with Gregory Porter; directing former Ronette Ronnie Spector's triumphant UK tour of Beyond the Beehive; directing Dream A Little Dream: The Mamas and Papas Musical with 'Papa' Denny Doherty; Fire On The Mountain: Music Of The Coal Mines (Best Musical- Bay Area Critics); and, most recently, I'll Take You There: The Music Of Muscle Shoals. His extensive regional credits include The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley Theatre, Seattle Rep, Denver Center, Dallas Theatre Center, San Diego's Old Globe, and many others.

Stephanie Klemons

(Choreographer) is a Drama Desk, and Grammy® award-winning Broadway performer, director, and choreographer. She's the Associate Choreographer, Global Dance Supervisor, and an original cast member of the Tony® & Olivier®-Award winning smash Hamilton on Broadway, West End and tours. Additional original company Broadway credits: In the Heights, If/Then, Bring It On (Assoc. Chor.). Other choreography & direction: Mozart (Carnegie Hall), In the Heights (Kennedy Center), This is Sadie (NYCCT), Little Shop of Horrors (ART), Gypsy (Marriot Theater), Rock of Ages (Drury Lane, PCLO), Frank Wildhorn's Zelda (Flatrock Playhouse), Children of Salt (NYMF). Other choreography commissions: New Deco Orchestra, Norwegian Cruise Lines, American Dance Machine at The Joyce, and NBA's Brooklynettes Dance Team. TV/Film Choreography: Victoria's Secret "Umbrella Commercial Campaign," George Michael X Vogue Music Video, "Let The Right One In" (Showtime), "Hunters" (Netflix). Stephanie was the Choreographer behind the viral 2018 Super Bowl commercial "Time of My Life" starring Eli Manning & Odell Beckham Jr. Please visit KatiesArtProject.Org to learn more the non-profit she founded in 2010.

Dave Keyes

(Musical Direction, Music Supervision and Arrangements). Native New Yorker, keyboardist, singer, songwriter and music director, Dave is a 35-year veteran of the Blues, American Roots and Broadway music scenes both in the pit and as a worldwide live touring musician in support of his 7 CD's. Dave's Broadway credits include being the Associate Conductor for the 6-year Broadway run of the Grammy winning show Smokey Joe's Cafe, in addition to other Broadway shows such as Lennon, Hot Feet and numerous others. Over the last 10 years, in addition to his own band and solo gigs, Dave worked with bluesman Popa Chubby, and R&R queen Ronnie Spector in addition to lengthy stints with such iconic legends as Odetta, David Johansen, Bo Diddley, Darlene Love, rockabilly man Sleepy LaBeef and gospel great Marie Knight. Recently nominated for his 4th Blues Music Award, Dave is thrilled to be returning to his roots playing the great music of Rock & Roll Man.

Rose Caiola and Luigi Caiola

(Producers). Caiola Productions has won seven Tony Awards® and two Drama Desk Awards - their award-winning productions include Company, The Inheritance, Once on this Island, Dear Evan Hansen, The Color Purple, All The Way, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Current productions include Prima Facie, Parade, The Piano Lesson, A Beautiful Noise. Past Broadway productions include American Buffalo, Jagged Little Pill, Pretty Woman the Musical, Lifespan of a Fact, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof, An Act of God, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Natasha Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Sunday in the Park with George, Significant Other, Sylvia, On Your Feet, China Doll, and Spring Awakening, You Can't Take It With You, The Elephant Man, It's Only A Play, An American in Paris, The Realistic Joneses, The Bridges of Madison County Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino, The Heiress, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, The Anarchist starring Patti LuPone and Debra Winger, and Godspell. Caiola Productions received the 2023 Arts Ally Award from the Drama League.  

Jay & Cindy Gutterman

(Producers). Tony Award®-winning Producers. The Piano Lesson, Be More Chill, Torch Song, Farinelli and the King, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, China Doll, Sylvia, An Act of God, You Can't Take It With You, All the Way, Bridges of Madison County, Evita, Chinglish, Catch Me If You Can, Merchant of Venice, Come Fly Away, The Addams Family, Race, Desire Under the Elms, The Seagull, Spring Awakening, Glengarry Glen Ross, Brooklyn the Musical, Producers Off-Broadway: Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Love Janis, Scent of the Roses. Investments: Network, Lucky Guy, Matilda, Elephant Man/New York, Elephant Man/London: Funny Girl/London, Emerson Grill/London.

Jessica R. Jenen

(Executive Producer/General Manager) has been a producer and theatrical manager for thirty years. Broadway credits: Into the Woods; Parade; New York, New York; Company (Tony Award®); An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin; Venus in Fur (Tony® nomination). Broadway credits as Executive Producer of THE BROADWAY COMPANY with producer Jon B. Platt: I'll Eat You Last; The Heiress; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Death of a Salesman; Clybourne Park; Nice Work If You Can Get It. London: the Olivier Award winning Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical. National Tour Producer: Into the Woods. Former VP & Senior General Manager of Broadway International Group / Broadway Asia. Current JRJ Productions clients: Rosalind Productions Inc., Bertelsmann Music Group, JoyBee Productions Inc. During her seven-year tenure as Executive Director of Classic Stage Company (CSC), the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre company, Ms. Jenen orchestrated a dramatic financial turnaround, quadrupling the annual budget, retiring cumulative debt, and securing nearly $1.5 million in operating surplus. Select producing credits at CSC: Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play; David Ives' New Jerusalem; Chekhov's Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Seagull; Unnatural Acts; The Tempest.

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