Flying Toward the Sun at Penguin Rep Theatre

Penguin Rep Theatre, led by founding artistic director Joe Brancato and executive director Andrew M. Horn, will present Flying Toward the Sun, a new musical about asylum seekers, with book by Bill Nabel, music by Neil Berg, lyrics by Berg and Nabel, musical staging by Ian Coulter-Buford, and direction by Mr. Brancato, Friday, August 14 through Sunday, September 6 in Stony Point (Rockland County), New York.

Mr. Brancato calls Flying Toward the Sun “a rousing new musical full of heart and soul” by Penguin favorite Neil Berg, whose musical The Sabbath Girl (co-written with Cary Gitter) had its world premiere at Penguin before moving Off-Broadway to 59E59 Theaters in 2024.

In Flying Toward the Sun, it’s 2015 and Gary Campbell plans on saving the world. But it’s only his first day on the job as an immigrant official and he confronts heartbreak – and hope – as he listens to the challenges and dreams of those looking to forge new lives in the U.S. … and then must decide their fate.

The cast includes Carolyn Burch (Syracuse Stage, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre: Frozen), Ian Coulter-Buford (2025 Broadway World Off-Broadway Award winner, Carbonell Award nominee), Joy Del Valle (Goodspeed Opera House: Fiddler on the Roof; LA Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago: West Side Story), Eric Elson (Regional: American Idiot, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Once), Jonny Lee Jr. (Geffen: Rise to the Top; Signature: Pacific Overtures; Utah Shakespeare Festival: Gold Mountain), Cheryl Stern (Broadway: La Cage Aux Folles, The Women (Roundabout); Off-Broadway: A Letter To Harvey Milk (co-author), Fiorello (Encores!), and Robert Zelaya (Broadway first National Tour: Kinky Boots, Once on this Island).

Director Brancato’s credits include Cary Gitter’s Gene & Gilda (Penguin/George Street Playhouse/59E59); the Neil Berg-Gitter musical The Sabbath Girl (Penguin/59E59); Michael McKeever’s Daniel’s Husband, which transferred from Penguin to Primary Stages at the Cherry Lane Theatre and then onto its commercial production at the Westside Theatre/Upstairs; Erasmus Fenn’s Drop Dead Perfect at Theatre at St. Clements (NY Times Critic’s Pick); The Devil’s Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Off-B’way Alliance, and Audelco

Award nominee); Freed (Audelco Award nominee); Tryst (Outer Critics nomination for Best Play) at the Promenade and at Irish Rep; and Cobb (Drama Desk winner).

Bill Nabel (Bookwriter/Co-Lyricist) is an American Academy of Arts and Letters Richard Rodgers Prize finalist for his musical Take Me America. As an actor, he appeared on Broadway for the entire run of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and performed in the original casts of A Chorus Line, Sweeney Todd and 42nd Street.

Neil Berg (Composer/Co-Lyricist) is the composer/co-lyricist, along with Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan, of The 12, which was directed by John Doyle at Goodspeed Opera House. He also composed the music and co-wrote the lyrics (with Cary Gitter) for How My Grandparents Fell in Love, which was presented by New Jersey Rep at 59E59 Theaters earlier this year. His credits also include Grumpy Old Men: The Musical, The Prince and the Pauper, and the upcoming musical version of My Cousin Vinny, based on the iconic movie, with book and lyrics by Dale Launer.

Michael Notardonato is assistant director; Wendy Bobbitt Cavett (Broadway: Come From Away, Hamilton, Mamma Mia!) is musical supervisor and arranger; Matthew Stephens is musical director; and William Bastiason is musical transcriber.

The production is designed by Christopher Swader and Justin Swader (set), Risa Ando (costumes), Christopher Wong (lighting), Max Silverman (sound), Ein Kim (projections), and Dana Weintraub (props). Mirah Kozodoy is associate sound designer and Maya Imani is assistant choreographer.

Michael Palmer is production stage manager and Isaac Goldbaum is assistant stage manager.

Performances of Flying Toward the Sun are scheduled at Penguin Rep Theatre, a repurposed hay barn, located at 7 Crickettown Road. “The converted barn, circa 1880, has never been more inviting” (The New York Times). Says Mr. Horn, “It’s theatre so close you can feel it, with comfortable upholstered seats and no seat more than 30 feet from the stage.” The theatre is air conditioned, handicapped accessible, and has plenty of free parking.

Shows will take place: Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Friday matinee at 2:00 p.m. (August 14 only), Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are priced at $60. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and young people (30 and under).

Cheap Thrills Night is Friday, August 14 at 7:30 p.m. when tickets are $30, half the regular price.

There will be cake and coffee with the cast following the official opening on Sunday, August 16. Following the show on Friday, August 28 will be a discussion among the artists and audience.

New this season is the introduction of Sweet Treats Friday – August 21 – when audience members are invited to arrive early and enjoy complimentary desserts before the show.

Mainstage productions take place at Penguin Rep Theatre, a repurposed hay barn, located at 7 Crickettown Road, Stony Point, NY. “The converted barn, circa 1880, has never been more inviting” (The New York Times). Horn adds, “It’s theatre so close you can feel it, with comfortable upholstered seats and no seat more than 30 feet from the stage.” The theatre is air conditioned, handicapped accessible, and has plenty of free parking.

Performances are scheduled for Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m., select Friday matinees at 2:00 p.m., Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit www.penguinrep.org or call 845-786-2873.

ABOUT PENGUIN REP THEATRE

Penguin Rep Theatre (Penguin Players, Ltd.), based in historic Stony Point (Rockland County), New York, is an award-winning nonprofit professional theatre company now in its 49th year of operation.

Producing new plays in an intimate 108-seat venue, Penguin offers the excitement and thrill of experiencing original dramatic works to visitors to the scenic lower Hudson Valley.

Emmy Award winning actress Edie Falco says that “a visit to Penguin Rep is a perfect trip out of the city – a beautiful setting and the theatre rivals what you can see in New York.”

Sarah Jessica Parker invites audiences to experience “incomparable productions of new works” and to “visit fine theatre in a gorgeous pastoral setting only 50 minutes from Manhattan.”

As it launches its 49th season, Penguin Rep Theatre, dubbed “the gutsiest little theatre” by The New York Times, continues to present a cultural experience that is unique in the region: professional productions of new plays at affordable prices.