New Musical SAM'S ROOM to Give Voice to the Nonverbal at the cell

New York Theatre Barn and the cell will co-produce a developmental production of the new musical Sam's Room November 14 - 17, 2017 at The Cell.

Inspired by real stories of nonverbal teens who find a way to communicate, Sam's Room has a book by Dale Sampson with Trey Coates-Mitchell, and music and lyrics by Marc Campbell (of Misterwives), Caitlin Marie Bell (of Bell the band), and Dale Sampson.

It's 1998 and Sam is a nonverbal teenager with special needs, trapped in his own body and yearning for a voice. Shifting between cruel reality and pop star fantasy, this groundbreaking new musical invites audiences inside the imagination of one young man's universal struggle to communicate. While we see those who are nonverbal only in silence, Sam teaches us that in his mind there may be a world that is anything but silent. The production will be directed by Trey Coates-Mitchell, with music direction by Caitlin Marie Bell, and the cast includes Mallory Hawks (Theatreworks' Seussical), Laura Jordan (Cry-Baby), and Dale Sampson (RTP's The View Upstairs) in the title role of Sam.

Sam's Room was featured in New York Theatre Barn's New Works Series in 2016 and is the recipient of Theatre Barn's first annual IMPACT Award for having "the greatest impact on the world, our theatre community and society." The show was recently featured in the 2017 National Alliance for Musical Theatre's (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals.

The limited engagement of Sam's Room will play at 7PM from November 14 - 17, 2017 at the cell, located at 338 West 23rd Street in New York City. Tickets are $18, and can be purchased on New York Theatre Barn's website at www.nytheatrebarn.org.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Joe Barros, New York Theatre Barn is a Manhattan-based non-profit theatre company, founded in 2007, and dedicated to incubating and producing new musicals that tell untold stories. Our stories are inspired by the lives of real people and actual events that challenge our preconceived ideas, and promote inclusion and positive social change. In today's divisive political and social climate, we believe that now more than ever, these types of stories need to be seen and heard by more people. For more information, visit www.nytheatrebarn.org.

Nancy Manocherian's the cell is a non-profit organization dedicated to the incubation and presentation of new works by emerging artists. Founded in 2006 by Founding Artistic Director Nancy Manocherian and Artistic Director Kira Simring, the cell has produced over a dozen critically-acclaimed world premiere productions of new plays and musicals over the past 10 years. the cell also features the jazz @ the cell series and has served as a home base for a large community of resident artists and organizations such as Blackboard Reading Series, Artists Without Walls (AWOW), Irish American Writers and Artists (IAW), Sybarite5 and Tribeca New Music. For more information, go to www.thecelltheatre.org.