Photos: WESLEY Off-Broadway at The Theater Center First Look

Prepare to take flight with WESLEY, an original musical making its heartfelt New York debut at The Theater Center. Get a first look at photos here!

Inspired by  Stacey O’Brien’s beloved, internationally best-selling memoir “Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of a Bird and His Girl,” this new work redefines what it means to love—and be loved in return. Wesley was created by Scott Steidl (music & lyrics) and Mark Hantoot (book, additional lyrics) and directed by Mary Duncan. It will begin performances on June 11, 2025, and will open on July 2, 2025, and will run through July 18, 2025. 

WESLEY tells the incredible story of Casey, a gifted young rock musician who steps out of the spotlight and into an extraordinary lifelong bond with an injured barn owl named Wesley. At once wildly unique and profoundly universal, Casey’s journey is one of courage, caretaking, and the kind of unshakeable love that rarely takes flight between people and animals. The new musical follows Casey as she takes in a wing-damaged newborn owl, she anticipates a few tender days of hospice care. What she gets instead is a decades-long relationship that reshapes her entire world. As Wesley grows and thrives, so too does their bond, challenging everything Casey thought she knew about connection, purpose, and devotion. Through soaring music and tender storytelling, WESLEY invites us into a duet of healing, heartbreak, and the many forms love can take.

The cast features Andrianna Ayala as Casey, Daniel Sanchez as Wesley with Christa Lisette Beveridge, Tara Dougherty, Ashley Huber, Jack Kehoe,  Christopher Kirby Saunders, Nathan Myers and Maya Pierce.

Creative team includes Germán Cárdenas-Alaminos (set design), Bailey Hammett-Colwell (costume design), Camilla Tassi (projection designer), Austin Phillips (puppet design), and Jacob Heacock (assistant director).

Photo credit: Russ Rowland

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