RED GIANT, New All-Female Rock Musical, Announces NYC Industry Presentation

Red Giant, a bold new actor-musician rock musical with book, music, and lyrics by Cathryn Wake (Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, The Other Josh Cohen), will receive an invitation-only industry presentation in New York City on Monday, January 19 at 2 p.m.

Directed by Caroline Fairweather (Maybe Happy Ending, Queen of Versailles), with music direction by Alex "Goldie" Golden (Six, The Notebook) and stage management by Sam Regenbogen, Red Giant is an electrifying new musical that reimagines the Roman gods, played by women, through a fierce rock score and an ensemble of actor-musicians.

The presentation stars Lili Thomas (Gypsy, Chicago), Ellie Fishman (Ragtime, Into the Woods), Skyler Volpe (Sing Street, Rent), Chanel Karimkhani (The Goree All-Girl String Band, The Hello Girls), and Wake herself, with Elena Bonomo (Six, Waitress) on percussion. The cast performs all the music live onstage, playing electric and acoustic guitars, bass, cello, piano, synth, and more, embodying the raw, communal energy of the show.

Red Giant tells an original, myth-shattering story. Mercury, Venus, Terra, Mars, and Ceres, once inseparable and now estranged, reunite to open a letter from Jupiter, the arrogant and power-hungry king of the gods. The message is devastatingly casual: the sun will soon become a red giant star, engulfing and destroying their planets. "Too bad." Even worse, everyone else is already gone. Alone in the solar system, these immortals are forced to confront something unimaginable: mortality itself. If their planets die, do they die too? Do they have a chance to change the course of fate?

Told through a rock score and its all-female cast, Red Giant explores queer love, authoritarian abuse of power, and the enduring strength of female friendship. The musical assumes that the Romans got most of it wrong and offers a new narrative for the gods we named the planets after, one centered on agency, solidarity, and survival at the end of the world.

The project has been entirely artist-produced to date, embodying the same spirit of collaboration and resilience that anchors the story onstage.

"Fundamentally, the show is about the longstanding power of female friendship and the ability to withstand triumphs and trials among its members," said Wake. "Including, perhaps, the end of the world."

With its all-female cast of actor-musicians, mythic scope, and contemporary themes, Red Giant positions itself as an exciting new work to watch as it continues development.