University Of The Arts Brind School Presents 5th Annual Polyphone Festival

The University of the Arts' Ira Brind School of Theater Arts announces the lineup for its fifth annual Polyphone Festival, a "festival of the emerging musical." The five-day event will take place in the Arts Bank and Wilma Theaters on South Broad Street in Philadelphia February 26-March 2, 2019. The four musicals comprising the festival will take audiences on a journey through a haunted burial ground for forgotten souls, a radioactive amusement park full of Marie Curies, an afro-futuristic groove-centered alternate reality, and the final anxious moments of life on earth. All of the works in this year's Polyphone focus on the intersection of alternative futures and reimagined histories. The works all ask questions about co-existence, global anxiety and crafting hope in troubled times.

Polyphone brings together artists-in-training, emerging composers, librettists, choreographers and directors developing new works. Each musical is presented as stripped-down staged concert stories, with full bands, inviting audiences into the world of a musical when the ink is still drying on the score. Over four previous years, 14 musicals have been developed, with two premiering as Off-Broadway shows. The festival culminates in a marathon of musicals on Saturday, March 2 when all four shows will play in succession from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The new works featured in this year's Polyphone Festival are:

An Incomplete List of All The Things I'm Going To Miss When The World Is No Longer:

by Dante Green

with Additional Music & Lyrics by Marlee Gordon and Lyell Hintz, Directed by Garrett Allen

Bring the Beat Back

by Derek Lee McPhatter

featuring Music by Derek Lee McPhatter, ALEXA GRÆ, avery r. young, DJ Alinka, ManchildBlack, & Germono Toussaint, Directed by Christopher Burris.

Hart Island Requiem

Book and Lyrics by Ty Defoe, Music by Tidtaya Sinutoke, Music Arranged by Mike Pettry, Directed by Eva Steinmetz.

MARIE IN TOMORROW LAND

Co-conceived and Created by Maggie-Kate Coleman, Erato A. Kremmyda, and Sam Pinkleton with Book and Lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman, Music by Erato A. Kremmyda and Directed/Choreographed by Sam Pinkleton.

Now in its fifth year, the Polyphone Festival represents the University of the Arts' commitment to changing how musicals are born and how young theater-makers are trained. By putting student actors and creatives into the room with the most promising emerging artists, and dedicating university resources to new works as they are being born, Polyphone has made a transformative impact on hundreds of young artists, audiences and the field of new musicals as a whole.

The American Theatre Wing featured Polyphone in its Emmy-nominated series Working In Theatre in 2017. http://americantheatrewing.org/working-in-the-theatre/polyphone/

Composer and Playwright, César Alvarez has served as Polyphone's artistic director since its founding in 2015.

All performances will take place at the Wilma Theater (265 S. Broad Street) and the Arts Bank (601 S. Broad Street) which are located in the heart of Philadelphia on the Avenue of the Arts.

To purchase tickets: tickets.uarts.edu

ONLINE SALES BEGIN FEBRUARY 11

$15 General Admission, $10 Discount Tickets for Industry Professionals, Students, and Seniors, FREE for the UArts Community with online discount code or UArts ID at the door

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