New Alan Turing Musical Sets Premiere For This August

The original musical ALAN TURING & THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT will be performed at The Players Theatre in the West Village through the month of August. ALAN TURING & THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT is a queer fantasy based on the life of Alan Turing: genius, gay hero, and inventor of the computer. The story incorporates cha racters and motifs from Mozart's Magic Flute, not least of which is the infamous Queen of the Night.

Andrew Coopman will direct and choreograph this show. Michael Vegas and Payton Millet are the authors. Spencer Petro plays Alan Turing, and Soprano Sara Lucille Law stars as Mrs Morcom / the Queen of the Night. Other cast members will be announced closer to the premier.

"Alan Turing died because the government decided what he could do with his body," says playwright Michael Vegas. "At this moment in history, it's essential that we tell his story. We demand complete body autonomy for every human being."

"We're injecting a bolt of weird energy into a world that has grown stale and tired," Vegas continues. "These songs hit hard, and they're demanding to be heard."

"People in the know have been keeping an eye on our musical," says composer Payton Millet. "It has been quietly surging for years, and now it's getting major attention."

Director-Choreographer Andrew Coopman says, "It's a theatrically operatic pop fantasia that illuminates the totality of who Alan Turing was: a man whose multitudes get ignored constantly in an effort to sanitize history. He's the guy who made the computer, true, but he was SO much more. Alan was a fierce lover, a cultural rebel, unbelievably brilliant AND a gay man who loved men. This musical reminds us that we are more than what we are told to be."

The production features costume design by Moses Aina, lighting and projection design by Fisayo Ekeng, and scenic design by Andrew Coopman.

Michael Vegas is a playwright, librettist, and theatermaker. He wrote the libretto for BRUNCH WITH THE BOYS, which won Best Ensemble at the Capital Fringe 2023. That same year, San Diego Opera staged GHOSTS, a horror opera for which he wrote a libretto. He lives in Brooklyn.

Payton Millet is a Brooklyn-based composer and lyricist. Having started writing musicals at the age of 15, Payton spent much of their youth in Mountain View, California dreaming of a career in New York theater. After graduating with High Honors in Music from Wesleyan University, they struck out to make this dream a reality. In addition to student productions of many of their collegiate works, they have found success in off-broadway festivals, most recently with a 2022 production of HEARTBREAK COUNTY (book by Ramsay Burgess) at Soho Playhouse. Some recent and ongoing projects include music and lyrics for Season 2 of DON'T SUCK (a queer web series by Tyler Martin), and the original score to JESUS OF SUBURBIA (a short film by Ciara Hergott).

Andrew Coopman (they/he+) is a Director - Choreographer and playwright whose work has been seen on stages across the country. Highlight credits include THE APOLLO OF BELLAC (Hangar Theatre), HEAD OVER HEELS (Lakewood Playhouse), THE WIZARD OF OZ (Tacoma Little Theater), ROSMERSHOLM (Jones Playhouse), BODY AWARENESS (Jones Playhouse), FROZEN: A PLAY (Studio Theater), and the world premier of GEORGIA & THE BUTCH (The Tank). Andrew is an alumni of The Drama League Directors Project FutureNow Fellowship. SDC Member. @arcoopman AndrewCoopman.com

ALAN TURING & THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT plays at The Players Theatre August 1-31. Evening performances are at 7pm on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with 2pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $45 and are available for sale at The Players Theatre box office.