New Musicals COMING SOON And SAINT SEBASTIAN Launch The 16th Season Of New York Theatre Barn's New Works Series

The 16th season of New York Theatre Barn's award-winning New Works Series launches on Monday, April 17th, 2023 at 7PM ET at the Robert Moss Theatre at Playwrights Horizons Downtown (440 Lafayette St., 4th floor, NYC). The live and in-person presentation will feature excerpts from the new musicals Coming Soon: A New Rock Musical and Saint Sebastian, as well as a conversation with the writers moderated by Artistic Director Joe Barros. The presentation will also be streamed live by Full Out Creative and the company will continue to provide Live CART and captioning accessibility services for the presentation provided in part by TDF in conjunction with New York State Council for the Arts.

With book, music and lyrics by Rachel Lark, Coming Soon: A New Rock Musical invites audiences on an exploration of kink, queerness, non-monogamy, and healing from trauma. Maggie loves Mark. And Mark really loves Maggie. But Maggie has a secret - she's been faking her orgasms for their entire eight-year relationship. With the help of her inner voices, Maggie goes on a wild adventure to pursue sexual satisfaction, and finally stop faking it. Produced in association with Ken Savage (Gravity, a New(tonian) Musical), the presentation is directed by Rachel Dart (Summer, 1976) and features performances by Kuhoo Verma (Octet), Alysha Umphress (On the Town), and more.

Rachel Lark's music has been a convergence point for queer, kink-positive, sex-positive, and polyamorous communities for almost a decade. Coming Soon had a developmental production at Z Space in San Francisco and sold out its 2-week run. The San Francisco Chronicle gave Coming Soon its highest rating, calling it a "must-see" and the "sex musical for both inhibited normies and kink veterans."

With book and lyrics by Sean McCabe and music by Jinhee Kim, Saint Sebastian is a queer, coming-of-age musical comedy following 13-year-old Sebastian over one Easter weekend on his parents' Christian charity retreat farm for low-income-families. Between rehearsals for Father Blooger's annual Passion Play, endless lines of questioning from his prying parents, and a new friendship with 14-year-old Jamie, one of the new lodgers at the farm, Sebastian navigates the blessings and burdens of adolescence and ultimately confronts his faith and identity. Music direction is by Mark Evans, and the presentation features performances by Mike Cefalo (New York, New York), Oliver Prose (New York, New York), Claire Saunders, Maya Thomas (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and more.

A limited amount of tickets for the in-person audience are $25, and tickets to live stream the presentation are $15, and can be purchased here. The New Works Series is produced by Artistic Director Joe Barros, Managing Director Kate Trammell, and Line Producer Iris Rodrigo. For more information, visit New York Theatre Barn's website: Click Here.