Playwrights Horizons & Vineyard Theatre Join to Develop New Musical 'THE BURNT PART BOYS'

THE BURNT PART BOYS -- a new musical by Mariana Elder (book), Nathan Tysen (lyrics) and Chris Miller (music), directed by Erica Schmidt ("Humor Abuse") -- will have an innovative production and development schedule on its way to an Off-Broadway premiere in the spring of 2010 when it will be presented as a co-production by Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director, Tim Sanford; Managing Director, Leslie Marcus) and the Vineyard Theatre (Artistic Director, Douglas Aibel; Executive Director, Jennifer Garvey-Blackwell) at Playwrights Horizons, it has been announced by both non-profit theaters.

Following a developmental Lab Production -- not open for review -- at The Vineyard from May 26 to June 6, 2009, THE BURNT PART BOYS will be presented this summer at New York Stage and Film (Artistic Director, Johanna Pfaelzer; Producing Directors Mark Linn-Baker, Max Mayer, Leslie Urdang) at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, and will then receive its New York City premiere in spring of 2010.

The unique developmental track of THE BURNT PART BOYS -- which involves the collaboration of two New York City theatre companies, Vineyard Theatre and Playwrights Horizons, and one regional theatre, New York Stage and Film Company -- comes in part under the aegis of a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Playwrights Horizons for the development of new musicals in partnership with a regional theatre, wholly within the non-profit system from start to finish.

The 2010 debut of THE BURNT PART BOYS marks the first time that the two award-winning theaters, Playwrights Horizons and Vineyard Theatre, have co-produced together. Having given THE BURNT PART BOYS several developmental readings, the Vineyard Theatre approached Playwrights Horizons about a co-production; their shared passion for the piece made the timing felicitous to join together to bring it to life. The Mellon Foundation grant will support this unique model for the development and production of an original American musical.

With THE BURNT PART BOYS, Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard Theatre and New York Stage and Film continue their commitment to developing unique and ground-breaking new musicals. At Playwrights Horizons these include such musicals as Grey Gardens, James Joyce'S THE DEAD, FLOYD COLLINS, ASSASSINS and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, and at the Vineyard Theatre these include such musicals as AVENUE Q, [title of show], THE SLUG BEARERS OF KAYROL ISLAND, ELI'S COMIN' and DREAM TRUE. New York Stage and Film has developed new musicals by artists including Pete Townshend, Duncan Sheik and Steven Slater, John Patrick Shanley and Henry Krieger, and Christopher Durang.

THE BURNT PART BOYS is set in West Virginia in 1962. The musical follows a group of teenagers whose fathers were killed ten years earlier in a tragic coal mining accident. When they learn that the mine will be reopened, they set out secretly in the hopes of seeing the site, and keeping it closed. A deeply moving and powerful odyssey, THE BURNT PART BOYS is an unforgettable coming of age tale, set to a haunting and distinctive bluegrass and pop inspired score.

Composer Chris Miller and Lyricist Nathan Tysen were the 2008 winners of The Vineyard's Kitty Carlisle Hart Musical Theatre Award, as well as the Jonathan Larson Award and the Richard Rodgers Award. Their collaborations include FUGITIVE SONGS, presented off-Broadway last season, and THE MYSTERIES OF HARRIS BURDICK (book by Joe Calarco), which received a workshop production at Barrington Stage in 2008. Book writer Mariana Elder's plays, sketch comedy, and musicals have been performed across the country, including Barrington Stage Co., Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Director's Lab, Theatre for a New City, and Manhattan Theater Source. Director Erica Schmidt recent credits include the critically acclaimed premiere of HUMOR ABUSE at Manhattan Theatre Club, UNCLE VANYA at Bard Summerscape, as well as the Tokyo production of RENT, CARNIVAL at Paper Mill Playhouse, AS YOU LIKE IT at The Public, and DEBBIE DOES DALLAS at the Jane Street Playhouse.

http://www.vineyardtheatre.org/

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