Barn on Fire launches 3rd summer with new musical ANDY, KEITH, & JEAN-MICHEL, by Christiana Cole and Matthew Puckett
Posted on April 16, 2024
This summer, New York Theatre Barn and the Fire Island Pines Arts Project, in association with the P. Austin Foundation, will join forces for the 3rd annual season of Barn on Fire.
The summer residency on Fire Island makes space for three musical theatre writing teams and their original culture-shifting musicals in development. Tony nominated director/choreographer Jeff Calhoun (Newsies, Jekyll & Hyde) serves as a mentor to the residency which includes the new musicals Spectrum, Ghost and the Machine, and Andy, Keith and Jean-Michel.
Centering the artist and their work, the 10-day intensive retreat in Fire Island Pines is for writers and their creative teams to collaborate and further develop their shows in a supportive, creative, and tranquil atmosphere. At the end of the week, the artists have the opportunity to present what they have been working on before a live audience on a remote barrier island off the southern shore of Long Island, New York. Separated from the southern side of Long Island by the Great South Bay, Fire Island Pines has served as a refuge and haven for the LGBTQIA2S+ community since the 1920s. Tickets to the final presentation on Saturday, June 22nd, 2024 at 6PM in Whyte Hall’s Brandon Fradd Theater on Fire Island Pines can be purchased on FIPAP’s website.
- The new musical Spectrum has book, music and lyrics by Stephanie L. Carlin, and is directed by Kate Trammell (The Perfection of the Donut). Set in 1995, Spectrum brings two seemingly different communities together. When Matthew, a young man on the autism spectrum, is told he needs to move out of his parents’ place, he finds the quietest spot with no stimulation whatsoever — a gay bar.
- The new musical Ghost In the Machine has book, music and lyrics by Janine Robledo. In a secluded lab nestled in the Argentinian mountains, an inventor named Victor creates Cynthia, an android to save his son’s life. When Cynthia meets Victor’s son, Carlos, an everlasting bond is formed. On a quest to keep Carlos alive and to free herself from the psychological imprisonment of her creator, Cynthia ponders the creation of her own invention.
- With music and lyrics by Matthew Puckett and a book by Christiana Cole, Andy, Keith and Jean-Michel reimagines the rivalry and friendship between three iconic artists: Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The show is an exploration into the complex hearts of three legendary figures whose fervent creativity masked a ruthless ambition and an unquenchable passion to become immortal.
The Barn on Fire residency is made possible with generous support from Dalip Girdhar + Paul Austin (The P. Austin Foundation), Straighten Your Crown Productions, Henry Robin & Bob McGarity, David Kneuss, John Krawchuk & Vinnie Petrarca, Denise Lucy & Francoise Lepage, Isaac Namdar & Andrew Mitchell-Namdar, Carlos de la Puente & Simeon Kline, Gary Clinton & Don Millinger, Richard Winger, and Matthew Woolf. Under the mentorship of Tony Award-winning director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell for its first two seasons, the residency previously supported the musicals King of Pangaea, The Bubble, Coming Soon: A New Rock Musical, Skyward: An Ending Elegy, Sueños: Our American Musical, Buried, How to You: A Musical Guide to Black Boyhood, and Little Miss Perfect which will have its world premiere co-production by Goodspeed Musicals and Olney Theatre Center in 2025.
THE HUNT is a New York Times Critic’s Pick – PHOTOS and REVIEWS
Posted on November 14, 2023 Leave a Comment
Production photos by Rob Davidson for Miller Theater.
The New York Times
“‘The Hunt’ Playfully Makes the Medieval Contemporary”
by Joshua Barone
10/13/2023
“Kate Soper’s latest stage work is “a darkly funny fairy tale…Think ‘Waiting for Godot,’ but with the female rebelliousness of a Sofia Coppola film.”
“Each performer charts this journey with charisma and persuasiveness…Christiana Cole, as Briar, springs around the stage, often plucking the ukulele, with irrepressible energy and, in the end, more optimism than the other maidens.”
The Wall Street Journal
“‘The Hunt’ and ‘Sin-Eater’ Reviews: New Songs of Old Worlds”
by Heidi Waleson
10/17/2023
“Ms. Soper has a wonderful feel for layering women’s voices” and the trios “with their arresting harmonies” also “shine individually in solos—Ms. Umlauf’s coloratura; Mx. Cole’s darker, more vibrato-tinged sound; Ms. Amamiya’s sensual line…”
Classical Voice North America
“Three Virgins Walk Into A Bar…Er, Throne Room, In Opera With A Unicorn”
by Susan Brodie
10/16/2023
A “fresh and witty new chamber opera…Soper’s score and libretto function on several levels, offering pleasures for the eye and ear and ample food for thought.”
Christiana Cole (Briar), for whom opera studies led to performances of new music and musical theater, showed the greatest character development as the story progressed. [Their] mellow love entr’acte would have melted the hardest heart, and [their] ukulele accompaniment anchored much of the score.
Christiana Cole stars in opera THE HUNT at Miller Theatre
Posted on August 10, 2023
THE HUNT is a world premiere of a new opera by Pulitzer Prize-nominee, composer Kate Soper. The performances are October 12 and 14, 2023 at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University, which commissioned the piece.
About THE HUNT: “Three virgins sit in a meadow, whiling the time away with songs, riddles, and livestream updates as they await the appearance of the majestic unicorn. But the weeks are dragging on, the court is getting antsy, and the king is threatening dire measures to verify the purity of his employees. Written for a cast of three self-accompanied singers, The Hunt reclaims a well-worn medieval legend to interrogate the contemporary obsession with regulating and restricting female sexuality, the consequences for gender deviance, the value of beauty, and the price of safety—all while captivating the audience with music that beguiles, provokes, and ultimately triumphs.”
THE HUNT stars:
Brett Umlauf, soprano (“Fleur”) and ukulele
Christiana Cole, soprano (“Briar”) and ukulele
Hirona Amimaya, soprano (“Rue”) and violin
Creative Team:
Kate Soper, Book and Music
Ashley Tata, Stage Director
Mila Henry, Music Director
Annie Holt, Dramaturg
Aoshuang Zhang, Scenic Designer
Masha Tsimring, Lighting Designer
Terese Wadden, Costume Designer
Camilla Tassi, Projections Designer
Elliot Yokum, Sound Designer
Cha Ramos, Intimacy Choreographer
For tickets, click here.
Christiana Cole is a panelist at BroadwayCon’s “Spotlight on Women and Nonbinary Musical Theatre Writers”
Posted on July 20, 2023
UPDATED 11/14/23 with photos from the event.
Do you know how many of your favorite Broadway songs were written by a female identifying, nonbinary, and/or gender expansive musical theatre writer? How many can you name? Want to learn about what the workers in the industry are doing to pave the way for more?
It’s time to shine a light on the folks who are breaking ground – and breaking glass ceilings – as musical theatre writers!
This conversation, presented by Maestra and The Dramatists Guild of America, will celebrate the trailblazers who have recently made their Broadway debuts and lift up emerging musical theatre writers who are the face of the future by bringing them in the room together. We’ll discuss their experiences, lingering disparities in the industry, as well as the ongoing programs developed to achieve progress, such as Maestra’s RISE Theatre Network, The Count, DG’s Inclusion Rider, ongoing DEIA efforts, and other resources developed to address historic inequities in Broadway and the American theatre at large.
The panel features Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Christiana Cole, Gretchen Cryer and Rona Siddiqui. The panel will be moderated by Georgia Stitt and Sarah Rebell.
BroadwayCon is July 21-23, 2023. This panel will be the very first block of the weekend, at 10am on July 21.
This panel was featured in the NYTimes as a top pick at this year’s BroadwayCon! Click here to read the article.
WATCH: Christiana Cole sings “The Story” at The Cutting Room
Posted on July 18, 2023
Christiana Cole sings “The Story” at The Cutting Room in
“Pride and Story: The Songs of Brandi Carlisle.”
Adam J. Rineer – piano & music direction
James Rushin – bass
Will Shishmanian – guitar
Brandon Wong – drums
Backup singers: Emerson Mae Smithe & Murphy Taylor Smith
Video by @kayleenmariemedia
Produced by Rachel Kustadt
Recorded live at The Cutting Room, 44 E 32nd Street, NYC. June 30, 2023.
Christiana Cole sings the music of Brandi Carlisle to celebrate Pride Month
Posted on June 3, 2023 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole sings the music of Brandi Carlile on June 30 at PRIDE & STORY: THE SONGS OF BRANDI CARLILE. Click here for tickets.
Close out Pride Month as your favorite queer performers from Broadway and beyond pay tribute to nine-time Grammy Award winner Brandi Carlile, backed by an all-queer band. Proceeds benefit the Looking Out Foundation.
Performers:
Kathryn Gallagher (Jagged Little Pill)
Ciara Renée (Frozen, Waitress)
Jessica Phillips (Dear Evan Hansen)
Gabriella Pizzolo (Fun Home)
Stephanie Klemons (Hamilton)
Cathryn Wake (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
Christiana Cole (The Devil Wears Prada)
Backup singers: Emerson Mae Smith (Love in Hate Nation) and Murphy Taylor Smith (A Transparent Musical)
Music direction by Anessa Marie (White Girl in Danger)
Produced by Rachel Kunstadt (site-specific Fun Home, performed in a funeral home, LezCab)
Friday, June 30 · 7 – 9pm EDT. Doors at 6pm
The Cutting Room, 44 E 32nd St. New York, NY 10016
Christiana Cole is in CAMELOT at Gulfshore Playhouse
Posted on February 14, 2023 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole plays the knight Sir Dinadan in CAMELOT at Gulfshore Playhouse in sunny Naples, Florida, February 11-March 12, 2023.
But this isn’t the typical Camelot:
“So what David Lee did,” [director Jeffrey] Binder says, “is focus on the love story and trim a lot of the fat out of it. And it’s much more streamlined, in my mind, much more dramatically compelling in the way it tells the story without meandering. You really get to focus on this love story between these three people with the backdrop of Camelot.”
Like the venue’s 2016 production of Lerner and Loewe’s “My Fair Lady,” this production features a reduced cast — this time, only eight actors. And instead of two pianos onstage, there are three musicians playing new orchestrations by Steve Orich.”
– Nancy Stetson, Naples Florida Weekly
Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Book & Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Music by Frederick Loewe
Original Production Directed and Staged by Moss Hart
Book Adapted by David Lee
New Orchestrations by Steve Orich
February 9 – March 12, 2023
Directed by Jeffrey Binder
Click here for tickets.
WATCH: “OKAY, CHRISTMAS” written and performed by Christiana Cole
Posted on December 20, 2022
“OKAY, CHRISTMAS” written and performed by Christiana Cole. A brand new song for the season, from Christie’s heart to yours. Happy Holidays.
Filmed at the 8th Annual McGuire and Simon Holiday Salon
The Dramatists Guild Foundation Music Hall
New York City, December 15, 2022
LISTEN: “SELLIN’ OUT” written and performed by Christiana Cole
Posted on December 18, 2022
WITH THE FISHES is a short film by Libe Barer, about an aspiring comedian (Ruby McCollister) who attempts to create commercial content during a world-wide collapse. “SELLIN’ OUT” is an original tune in the style of Irving Berlin or Jule Styne written especially for the piece. WITH THE FISHES was an official selection of the SOHO International Film Festival.
“SELLIN’ OUT” written and performed by Christiana Cole (channeling Ethel Merman)
Orchestrated and arranged by Rick Bassett
Christiana Cole is Lauren in Elton John’s “The Devil Wears Prada” Chicago World Premiere
Posted on July 14, 2022
Performances of The Devil Wears Prada begin on July 19 at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theater. Tickets are available here.
“From Tony®, Grammy®,and Academy Award® winner Elton John, Tony-winning director Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County, Steppenwolf Theatre), and Tony-winning producer Kevin McCollum (In the Heights, Avenue Q, Rent, and this season’s hit musical SIX) comes The Devil Wears Prada, The Musical.
Runway magazine. The supreme authority of the high-fashion world, and the new home of assistant Andy Sachs. It’s a position a million people would kill for, but under the sharp stilettos of Runway’s legendary editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly, the job is no dream. Up against Miranda’s blistering leadership and stratospheric expectations, Andy is pushed to the edge, forced to choose between her career and her own happiness.
Based on the hit film and featuring an all-star creative team led by Elton John and Anna D. Shapiro, with lyrics by singer-songwriter Shaina Taub (Suffs at The Public), a book by Kate Wetherhead (Submissions Only), choreography by James Alsop (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), and music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo (Waitress), The Devil Wears Prada, The Musical is a glamorous and hilarious story about finding your place and discovering what matters most.”
Performances of The Devil Wears Prada begin on July 19 at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theater. Tickets are available here.
Christiana Cole 