TIANANMEN to Have World Premiere at The Phoenix Theatre Company in October

With over three decades having passed since the tragedy on China's Tiananmen Square, and in what promises to be one of the most important new American musicals to premiere in 2023, Quixote Productions is proud to present Tiananmen: A Brave and Necessary New Musical coming to The Phoenix Theatre Company for its World Premiere on October 6th, 2023.

Tickets are now on sale for the five-week run.

The original rock musical follows the story of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing. With the onset of a new “Cold War” between the United States and China and authoritarian tendencies rising around the world, Tiananmen is a timely musical for the modern era. 

Tiananmen is written by Scott Elmegreen (Straight) and directed by Darren Lee (Mr. Holland’s Opus). Lee will also serve as the Choreographer for Tiananmen.
Composer Drew Fornarola, best known as a composer for DreamWorks, is contributing the music and lyrics.

Elmegreen and Fornarola were most recently represented in New York by their play Straight, a New York Times Critics' Pick now in development as a major motion picture. 
Lee has directed and choreographed numerous productions around the country and internationally. He has performed in 11 Broadway shows and in addition to Tiananmen has recently developed the world premieres of Mr. Holland’s Opus, The Gifted Prince, Brain. Storm., and Disney Wishes for Disney Cruise Line. (www.darrenlee.com) 

    
Wu’er Kaixi, who helped lead the protests in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 and now lives in Taiwan as an activist for democracy, is serving as Tiananmen's conceiver and creative consultant.

“I believed in democracy when we took to the streets in 1989, and I think it even more so today. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing the events as a musical, and I hope it serves to ensure that the world remembers the unfinished business of this celebration of bravery,” said Kaixi.

“He has made our script better. It is more authentic and more powerful since we first rehearsed Tiananmen in New York last September and as we get ready for our World Premiere at The Phoenix Theatre Company," said Tiananmen author Scott Elmegreen.
The Casting Director is Chelsea Anderson. The Scenic/Projection Designer is Michael Downs, Costume Design by Lex Liang and the Associate Choreographer is Kristine Bendul.

    
Tiananmen will debut at The Phoenix Theatre Company, the same 384 seat theatre where its Lead Producer and Quixote Productions, founder Jason Rose debuted ¡Americano! just before the pandemic hit in 2020. ¡Americano! was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music by Composer Carrie Rodriguez in 2022 during its Off-Broadway run last year. The show was also used by President Obama to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of his Executive Order to protect “DREAMers” living in the United States.
"Like Americano, Tiananmen is an incredibly thought provoking, socially impactful and an important new work that needs to be told," said Lead Producer Jason Rose, an Arizona entrepreneur. "These are the stories of what happened to those in the streets of Beijing 34 years ago. It’s where world history hinged. It’s powerful to hear the story of these freedom fighters and could not be more important.”
The Phoenix Theatre Company will announce the cast later this summer.

    
The World Premier of Tiananmen comes a year after an industry-staged reading was held in September of 2022 in New York City.

For the New York reading of Tiananmen, the 100% Asian American and Pacific Islander cast included Cáitlín Burke (The Sound of Music), Kai An Chee (Miss Saigon), Grace Choi (Avenue Q), Karl Josef Co (Pacific Overtures, Classic Stage Revival), Troy Iwata (Be More Chill), Austin Ku (2021 Grammy Nominee for Soft Power), Kelvin Moon Loh (Beetlejuice), Jason Ma (Miss Saigon), Rommel Pierre O’Choa (My Fair Lady), Gen Parton-Shin (Next To Normal), Sam Tanabe (Allegiance), Elena Wang (Allegiance), Steven Eng (Pacific Overtures, Classic Stage Revival), and Olivia Oguma (Brooklynite). 
 

    
About Quixote Productions

The focus of Quixote Productions is to entertain with compelling stories that also strive to serve a greater public purpose and expand the dialogue on important and sometimes challenging social and political issues. Its projects are a reflection of those aspirations amidst amazing storytelling. People don’t just want to be part of a crowd,
        

    
they want to be part of a cause. As a native Phoenician, our team is also excited to help establish the Southwest as a place of substantial and thoughtful new works we hope to export to the rest of the country. Owned and operated by a Scottsdale, Arizona Entrepreneur Jason Rose, Quixote Productions recently announced several new works along with its ongoing efforts to progress its original musical production, the Broadway-aimed ¡Americano!

    
Rose was the driving creative and motivational forces behind making ¡Americano!, the true story of an Arizona DREAMer. As president of Rose + Allyn Public & Online Relations, Rose and his firm are recognized as one of the most creative and cutting-edge public relations and public affairs firms in the Southwest. He is also creator of the Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships, the most attended polo event in North America. Rose currently has three additional musicals in various stages of development including The Ghost of John McCain.

    

        
About Darren Lee

Most recently seen as Jiang in the world premiere of Jason Ma’s Gold Mountain (Utah Shakespeare Festival) and as The King of Siam in the US national tour of The King and I, Lee began his career at age 11. Broadway performing credits include: Chicago, Guys and Dolls, and in the original companies of Allegiance; Shogun the Musical; Miss Saigon; Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews; Kiss Me, Kate; On the town;Seussical the Musical

    
; Pacific Overtures and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Other Broadway work includes: Associate Choreographer on Pacific Overtures. New York director/choreographer credits include: 24 Hour Musicals (Orchard Project); History of War (NYMF); Heading East starring B.D. Wong (Asia Society); The Report and Bronx Express (Fringe Festival); Hair (Wagner College); Black Tom Island (Art House Productions); Andy Warhol Was Right (NYMF); Hidden Sky, BRAIN. STORM. (Prospect Theatre); Reemergence (On The Quays); An Ideal Husband (Irish Repertory Theatre) and Stephen Sondheim’s 75th Birthday Celebration (New Amsterdam). Film credits include: Razor in Hackers, Everyone Says I Love You, Sisters, and Chicago. Lee is also currently in development as the director/choreographer for the world premiere of The Tale of the Gifted Prince. www.darrenlee.com

    
About Scott Elmegreen

Scott Elmegreen is a playwright, composer, and author based in NYC and Chicago. His shows include Straight; Expecting; Hip Hop Cinderella; Vote For Me; Ivy+Bean; Awesome Allie, First Kid Astronaut; Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy; The Magic School Bus, Live!; COLLEGE The Musical; and Thucydides. He wrote the music for Colin
        

    
Quinn Long Story Short; The PhD Movie; We Can’t Reach You, Hartford; Daguerreotype; What I Took in My Hand; and orchestrated S’Wonderful: The New Gershwin Musical. His shows have premiered on Broadway, off-Broadway, on national tour, on television and in film, and in theaters across the country and around the world. He is a graduate of Princeton University, and teaches musical theater writing and songwriting at the University of Chicago.

    

        
About Drew Fornarola

Drew Fornarola (music & lyrics) is a songwriter and playwright from New York City and the artistic director of Starring Buffalo. He has written for DreamWorks’ SHREK and VEGGIETALES franchises and was most recently represented off-Broadway by STRAIGHT (co-written with Scott Elmegreen), a New York Times Critics’ pick

    
recently adapted into a major motion picture. Other theater: THUCYDIDES (pub. Samuel French), UNCLE PIRATE (pub. Samuel French), TILLY THE TRICKSTER (collab. With SNL’s Molly Shannon, pub TRW), SHREK THE HALLS: THE MUSICAL (DreamWorks), among others. Film: 1 NIGHT IN SAN DIEGO (Hulu), VEGGIETALES: NOAH’S ARK (DreamWorks), STRAIGHT (BH5 Studios), HIGH SCHOOL ZOOMSICAL (Broadway Unlocked). Drew has headlined concerts around the world including Lincoln Center (NYC), London Theater Workshop (London), Broadway au Carre (Paris) and Bar Fedora (Los Angeles). Proud alumnus of Princeton University and the BMI Musical Theater Workshop.  www.drewfornarola.com @drewfornarola