The Total Bent 2016 - Articles Page 2

Run Time:
One hour and 50 minutes, with no intermission
Opened: May 25, 2016
Closing: June 26, 2016

The Total Bent - 2016 - Off-Broadway History , Info & More

Anspacher Theatre
425 Lafayette Street (between Astor Place & 4th St) New York, NY

Stew and Heidi Rodewald, creators of the Tony Award-winning show Passing Strange, team with director Joanna Settle to bring you their thrilling new musical, THE TOTAL BENT, a riotous new show at the crossroads of the sacred and profane, survival and liberation, gospel and rock 'n' roll.

When a British record producer arrives in Montgomery, Alabama to hook Marty Roy, a young black musical prodigy, he launches us back into Marty's tumultuous upbringing. The son of a gospel star and self-proclaimed healer, Marty spent his childhood writing the songs that have made his charismatic father famous. But in a nation on the verge of social upheaval, with the rising heat from the street guiding his pen, Marty finds himself at odds with his spiritually forceful father as he strives to create a masterpiece that will change America- no matter the cost.

A funny, fiery, one-of-a-kind show, THE TOTAL BENT is about the passions that divide a father and son as they make their music and make their choice between salvation and selling out.

The Total Bent - 2016 - Off-Broadway Cast

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The Total Bent - 2016 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 2

Haven Theatre Announces New Leadership
by Julie Musbach - Apr 17, 2019


Haven Theatre today announced the appointment of Ian Damont Martin as the company's new Artistic Director and Angela Salinas as its Managing Director. Martin, who previously served as Associate Artistic Director, succeeds Josh Sobel, who has helmed the company as AD since August 2014. Sobel, who has been accepted into the MFA Directing Program at California Institute of the Arts, will serve as Associate Artistic Director through the season's end and will remain active with Haven as an Artistic Associate thereafter. Salinas, who previously worked as General/Production Manager, succeeds Executive Director Carol Cohen, who will now serve as Haven's Board President.

Hell In A Handbag Productions Announce POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical
by BWW News Desk - Mar 15, 2019


Hell in a Handbag Productions launches its 2019 season with a revival of the musical that started it all: POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, a musical parody and a loving homage to the classic 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, the grandmother of all disaster films.

Haven Theatre & About Face Theatre's THE TOTAL BENT Extends Through March 17
by Julie Musbach - Feb 26, 2019


Due to popular demand, Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, announces one additional week of performances of is hit Midwest premiere musical THE TOTAL BENT

Hell In A Handbag Launches Season with POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical
by Julie Musbach - Feb 19, 2019


Hell in a Handbag Productions launches its 2019 season with a revival of the musical that started it all: POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, a musical parody and a loving homage to the classic 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, the grandmother of all disaster films. Handbag's very first show will return March 15 - April 28, 2019 at a venue befitting of an ocean liner: The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway in Chicago.

Haven & About Face Theatre's THE TOTAL BENT Makes Midwest Premiere Beginning Feb 7
by BWW News Desk - Feb 7, 2019


Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, presents the Midwest premiere of THE TOTAL BENT, a dynamic new rock show about fathers, sons, social upheaval and the choice between salvation and selling out.

Casting Announced For Hell In A Handbag's POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical
by Julie Musbach - Jan 18, 2019


Hell in a Handbag Productions announces casting for its revival of the musical that started it all: POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, a musical parody and loving homage to the classic 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, the grandmother of all disaster films.

Haven & About Face Theatre's THE TOTAL BENT Makes Midwest Premiere Beginning Feb 7
by Julie Musbach - Jan 8, 2019


Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, presents the Midwest premiere of THE TOTAL BENT, a dynamic new rock show about fathers, sons, social upheaval and the choice between salvation and selling out.

Hell In A Handbag Productions Announce POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical
by Julie Musbach - Jan 2, 2019


Hell in a Handbag Productions launches its 2019 season with a revival of the musical that started it all: POSEIDON! An Upside Down Musical, a musical parody and a loving homage to the classic 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure, the grandmother of all disaster films.

Casting Announced For Haven Theatre & About Face Theatre's THE TOTAL BENT
by Julie Musbach - Dec 5, 2018


Haven Theatre, in association with About Face Theatre, is pleased to announce casting for its Midwest premiere of THE TOTAL BENT, featuring text by Stew and music and lyrics by Stew and Heidi Rodewald (Passing Strange) and directed by Jeff Award-winning director Lili-Anne Brown.

Long Wharf Theatre Names Jacob G. Padrón Artistic Director
by Julie Musbach - Nov 8, 2018


Jacob G. Padron, 38, has been named the new Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre and will begin his role February 1, 2019.

Griffin Theatre Welcomes Nine New Ensemble Members
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 30, 2018


Griffin Theatre Company Artistic Director William Massolia today announced the addition of nine new ensemble members: Isa Arciniegas, Larry Baldacci, Peter Byrne, Jermaine Hill, Nicole Laurenzi, Ryan McBride, Rochelle Therrien, Jason VonRohn and Scott Weinstein. Additionally, Griffin is pleased to add six new artistic associates: Will Kiley, Dorothy Milne, Mechelle Moe, Alexander Ridgers, Rachel Sypniewski and Brandon Wardell.

Heidi Rodewald And Donna Di Novelli's THE GOOD SWIMMER Receives World Premiere At BAM
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 16, 2018


Composer Heidi Rodewald, known for her collaborations with Stew on Passing Strange and The Total Bent, strikes out on her own in The Good Swimmer, a "pop requiem" that addresses issues of war, heroism, sacrifice, loss, and idealism. The moody, multi-layered song-cycle for guitar, bass, piano, trumpet, woodwinds, strings, drums, and vocals is performed by a nine-piece band led by singer David Driver. Set in the early days of the Vietnam War among a group of lifeguards, Donna Di Novelli's lyrics are a radical recontextualization of found texts, including a defunct lifesaving manual. A cast of young singers in their teens and early 20s at the start of their professional careers-Jeremy Weiss, Sophia Byrd, Naseer Sleets, Joey LaPlante, Luke Bob Robinson, Papa Holt, and Kennedy Kanagawa-vividly conveys the sense of young people being thrust into a historical moment they have no control of. Their shattering experience brings the audience to a galvanizing realization: we truly honor our fallen soldiers only when we defy the political drumbeat of a senseless war.  

The Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music Awarded to Unsuk Chin
by Julie Musbach - Oct 11, 2018


The Marie-Josee Kravis Prize for New Music at the New York Philharmonic, which recognizes a composer for extraordinary artistic endeavor in the field of new music, has been awarded to South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. One of the world's largest new-music prizes, the Kravis Prize includes $200,000 and a commission to write a work for the New York Philharmonic. Ms. Chin's new orchestral work will receive its World Premiere by the Philharmonic in a future season. Funding for the Kravis Prize comes from a $10 million gift to the New York Philharmonic in 2009 by Henry R. Kravis in honor of his wife, Marie-Josee, for whom the Prize is named. Past Prize winners include Henri Dutilleux, Per Norgard, and Louis Andriessen.

Alt-Folk Collective Alright Alright Set To Release Debut Full-Length Album Tomorrow
by Tori Hartshorn - Oct 4, 2018


Denver-based alt-folk collective Alright Alright – driven by the powerhouse husband-and-wife songwriting team of Seth and China Kent – is set to release its debut full-length album, Nearby, on October 5, 2018 via Hooves and Sugar Record Co.  The seductively atmospheric record was produced by the duo with Eric Dawson Tate and Ben Wysocki, mixed by Eric Dawson Tate, and mastered by Alan Douches of West West Side Music.  

Photo Flash: First Look at Theatre NOVA's THE TOTALITARIANS
by Julie Musbach - Sep 6, 2018


Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, presents the Michigan premiere of "The Totalitarians" by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.

Jonah Platt Will Play Dean Dillon In New Musical TENNESSEE WHISKEY
by Julie Musbach - Aug 28, 2018


Star of stage and screen, Jonah Platt has signed on to play Country Songwriter Hall of Famer, Dean Dillon, in the upcoming musical Tennessee Whiskey The Musical: The Story of Dean Dillon, written by Dewey Moss featuring the songs of Mr. Dillon.

Theatre NOVA Presents The Michigan Premiere Of THE TOTALITARIANS
by Julie Musbach - Aug 13, 2018


Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, presents the Michigan premiere of "The Totalitarians" by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb.

Stew & Heidi Perform One Night Only Concert June 18 To Launch New CDs
by Julie Musbach - Jun 13, 2018


STEW & THE NEGRO PROBLEM - the powerhouse indie rock band fronted by longtime collaborators Stew and Heidi Rodewald - will perform a one-night-only concert at THE TOTAL BENT/NATIVE SONG DOUBLE RECORD RELEASE PARTY, featuring selections from the duo's two most recent recordings, on Monday, June 18 at Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker St.) in Manhattan.  Doors open at 7 pm for the concert beginning at 8 pm.

Stand Up To Cancer to Return September 7, for Sixth Star-Studded Roadblock Telecast with Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, & More
by Macon Prickett - Jun 5, 2018


The entertainment community is coming together for Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and its sixth biennial roadblock televised fundraising special, supporting urgently needed research and new treatments for cancer.  

PASSING STRANGE Closes Karamu House's 2017/18 Season
by Stephi Wild - May 15, 2018


Karamu House, the oldest multicultural performing arts center in the country, closes it's 102nd consecutive season with the Tony Award-winning musical Passing Strange. Karamu House President and CEO, Tony F. Sias notes, 'this is a piece that is important and relevant, and speaks to and engages our millennial and 'genZ' generations.' With book and lyrics written by Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter Stew, and music composed by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, the production opened on May 10 and will run through June 3, 2018 in Karamu's Arena Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.

Kyle Marshall Choreography to Premiere WAGE
by BWW News Desk - May 12, 2018


On Thursday, May 10th - Today, May 12th, Kyle Marshall Choreography will premiere WAGE at the Center for Performance Research (361 Manhattan Ave. Brooklyn, NY). Tickets are $10. There will be a Q & A moderated by Diann Sichel, Friday, May 11th.

Kyle Marshall Choreography to Premiere WAGE
by BWW News Desk - May 10, 2018


On Today, May 10th - Saturday, May 12th, Kyle Marshall Choreography will premiere WAGE at the Center for Performance Research (361 Manhattan Ave. Brooklyn, NY). Tickets are $10. There will be a Q & A moderated by Diann Sichel, Friday, May 11th.

Kyle Marshall Choreography to Premiere WAGE
by Julie Musbach - Apr 26, 2018


On Thursday, May 10th - Saturday, May 12th, Kyle Marshall Choreography will premiere WAGE at the Center for Performance Research (361 Manhattan Ave. Brooklyn, NY). Tickets are $10. There will be a Q & A moderated by Diann Sichel, Friday, May 11th.

Haven Theatre Announces 2018-19 Season
by Julie Musbach - Apr 11, 2018


Haven Theatre is pleased to announce its 2018-19 Season, kicking off this fall with its fourth consecutive DIRECTOR'S HAVEN, three short plays showcasing the talents of early career directors. Helming this year's productions are Charlotte Drover, Anna Sung-En Medill and Dani Wieder.

World Premiere of WILD HORSES By Allison Gregory Rolls At New Jersey Repertory Company
by Stephi Wild - Mar 2, 2018


National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, celebrates the final production of the Rolling World Premiere (RWP) of Wild Horses by Allison Gregory at New Jersey Repertory Company. The play has received a total of four distinct NNPN RWP productions, rolling through Member Theaters Contemporary American Theatre Festival (July 7-30, 2017; Shepherdstown, WV), CenterStage Theatre at the JCC (September 3-23, 2017; Rochester, NY), The VORTEX (November 16-December 9, 2017; Austin, TX), and New Jersey Repertory Company (February 22-March 25, 2018; Long Branch). Wild Horses is NNPN's 72nd Rolling World Premiere.

The Total Bent FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What productions of The Total Bent have there been?
The Total Bent has had 2 productions including Off-Broadway which opened in 2012 and Off-Broadway which opened in 2016.
What awards has The Total Bent been nominated for?
The Total Bent has been nominated for the Distinguished Performance Award (Drama League Awards) for Ato Blankson-Wood and Outstanding Choreographer (The Lortels) for David Neumann.

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