Christiana Cole sings the work of Michael R. Jackson, Katya Stanislavskaya, Sukari Jones and Troy Anthony in October
Posted on October 14, 2017
October 15: Christiana Cole will perform “I’m Just a Girl” from Going South, with words and music by Katya Stanislavskaya, at 7Songwriters: Witchy Women, a cabaret of musical theatre and art song written by women.
Going South shines a light on outdated and outrageous laws on divorce, discrimination, gender/bathroom issues, and campus rape in today’s American South.
7S: Seven Songwriters is a concert series that showcases composers and songwriters of cross-genre: musical theater, jazz, classical art song, pop, rock, experimental—multidisciplinary musicians whose work in-between genres defies definition or any one label.
7S: WITCHY WOMEN
October 15, 2017
Whitman & Bloom, downstairs speakeasy lounge
384 3rd Ave, New York, NY (between 27th and 28th)
Doors/Drinks: 5:30PM
Show: 6:30PM – 8:00PM
$15 Advance | $20 Cash at Door
October 19: Christiana Cole will perform “Too Soon (to Say Goodbye)” and “Go, Go, Waterman” from The River Is Me, by Troy Anthony and Sukari Jones, at the Songwriter’s Showcase at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals. The performance will be on Stage 3 of New World Stages at 2pm. Laura Brandel directs.
The River Is Me is a new original music theater ghost story inspired by all the lynched bodies of black boys that have been destroyed and discarded that we as a nation now must drink in time and time again from the very landscape beneath our feet.
The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, founded in 1985, is a not-for-profit organization serving the musical theatre community. Our mission is to advance musical theatre by nurturing the creation, development, production and presentation of new and classic musicals, providing a forum for the sharing of resources and information relating to professional musical theatre through communication, networking and programming, and advocating for the imagination, diversity and joy unique to musical theatre. This year’s Festival features shows selected from over 240 submissions from around the world, representing the breadth, depth and excitement of musical theatre today.
For more information about attending NAMT, visit their website here. Most working NYC theatre professionals should be able to attend the concert for free.
Songwriter’s Showcase feat. The River Is Me
NAMT Festival of New Musicals at New World Stages, Stage 3
Oct 19, 2pm
Free
Earlier this month, Christiana performed a concert version of a groundbreaking new musical, White Girl in Danger, with words and music by Michael R. Jackson, at Joe’s Pub on Sep. 24 at Adelphi University and Sep. 25 at Joe’s Pub, as Musical Theatre Factory’s season kickoff.
White Girl In Danger is a dark musical comedy about Keesha Gibbs, an African-American teen who lives in the “blackground” of an all white world of a 90s era melodrama and seeks to prove she’s just as much of a protagonist/heroine as Meagan, Maegan, and Megan, the white girls who battle issues such as drugs, alcohol, abusive boyfriends, eating disorders, and finally a serial killer who has been murdering the town’s white girls one by one. Inspired by classic 90s movies-of-the-week such as She Cried No, Friends ‘Til The End, and Mother, May I Sleep With Danger? The performance was directed by Tamilla Woodard with music direction by Darius Smith. The talented cast included LaToya Edwards, LaDonna Burns, Molly Hager, Christiana Cole, Bonnie Milligan, Liz Lark Brown, Eric William Morris, Sarita Lilly, Rheaume Crenshaw, and Larry Hamilton.
Christiana Cole is Big Alison in FUN HOME at TheatreSquared
Posted on July 29, 2017 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole plays the leading role of present-day Alison in FUN HOME, by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, adapted from Alison Bechdel’s 2006 graphic memoir of the same name.
FUN HOME
Aug. 23 – Sept. 17, 2017
Book and lyrics by Lisa Kron; music by Jeanine Tesori
Based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel
Winner, Best Musical
2015 Tony Award, Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Off-Broadway Alliance Award, and New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.
A five-time Tony Award-winner and one of the most significant new musicals of the 21st century. When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing make-believe at the family business — the Bechdel Funeral Home. Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, cathartic, and wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes. Directed by Amy Herzberg; featuring Rita Harvey, Rob Sutton, and Christiana Cole.
“A rare beauty, extraordinary and heart-gripping. The best new musical to open on Broadway.” – The New York Times
“Stunning, deeply moving, funny, and fresh — it hooks you instantly.” – Associated Press
Click here for tickets and more information.
Christiana Cole is featured performer at Kerrigan & Lowdermilk workshop at NYMF
Posted on June 29, 2017 Leave a Comment
Christiana lent her talents to the master class in previous years, when it featured Ryan Scott Oliver (35MM, Jasper in Deadland) (2016) and Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde, Heathers, Bat Boy) (2015).
Join us for a public masterclass with Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk (THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF SAMANTHA BROWN, THE WOMAN UPSTAIRS, OUR FIRST MISTAKE) and participants from Anna K. Jacobs’ (POP!; Harmony, Kansas; Teeth; Echo) Musical Songwriting Workshop. Over the week-long Musical Songwriting Workshop, participants have been guided through an authentic musical theater songwriting process and this masterclass will showcase what they have been working on. Christiana Cole will be one of the guest professionals performing the work written by the students in the class.
Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk will talk about their creative and professional experiences as musical theater writers, then each team who have taken part in Anna K. Jacob’s Musical Songwriting Workshop will present their song and they will provide feedback and guidance.
Tuesday July 25, 7pm – 10pm
The Green Room 42 at Yotel
570 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY 10036
$10 tickets at the door
Click here for more information about the master class and about NYMF.
Christiana Cole & Rona Siddiqui in the 2017 Prospect Theater Lab: WORLD VIEWS
Posted on June 11, 2017 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole (words) and Rona Siddiqui (music) have been selected as one of the writing teams in the annual Prospect Theater Lab. This year’s theme is “World Views.” Nine writing teams will come together to create original short musicals inspired by works of visual art on display in NYC museums, each of which offer a window into a unique, imaginative world.
WORLD VIEWS
The 2017 Prospect Theater Lab
written by
Janet Allard & Niko Tsakalakos
EllaRose Chary & Brandon James Gwinn
Seth Christenfeld & James Ballard
Christiana Cole & Rona Siddiqui
Anton Dudley & Faye Chiao
Emily Kaczmarek & Zoe Sarnak
Brandon Michael Lowden & Alexander Sage Oyen
Sarah Rebell & Teresa Lotz
Melvin Tunstall III, Douglas Lyons, & Ethan Pakchar
directed by Dev Bondarin
at the TimesCenter (242 West 41st Street)
Tickets now on sale: $15 – $35
Click here for tickets and more info.
Since 2008, Prospect Theater has operated an annual music theater lab which brings together teams of writers, challenging them to create short (10 minute) musicals in response to an assignment. From the start of the lab when the curated assignment is given, writers have one month until the first rehearsal to write the first draft of their piece. During this month, they meet with the director (Prospect’s Associate Artistic Director, Dev Bondarin) and other writers to discuss the overall goals for the culminating lab performance. There is a then a 3-4 week rehearsal process during which the material is workshopped and staged, and the short pieces are presented as a single show to the public.
Lab participants are selected through an open application process. A panel of Prospect’s artistic staff members review each application and work samples to select the lab participants. The lab is intended to serve a broad network of emerging writers, identifying new talent and building relationships with a diverse group of writers who may contribute to the company’s work in future seasons.
Christiana Cole cast in TEETH with the Sundance Institute Theatre Program
Posted on June 11, 2017 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole rejoins the cast of TEETH in a workshop produced by the Sundance Institute Theatre Program. TEETH (based on the horror film of the same name by Mitchell Lichtenstein) is the story of a young evangelical Christian girl who discovers she has teeth in her vagina. TEETH has music by Anna K. Jacobs, lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, and book by Jacobs and Jackson. Marlo Hunter directs. The workshop will take place in a closed reading at the Sheen Center in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday June 13.
Christiana Cole sings at 54 Below at the NYFA Faculty Show, Sunday May 21
Posted on May 15, 2017 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole will be debuting a new song she wrote — dedicated to her students — at the NYFA Faculty Show at 54 Below on Sunday, May 21 at 9:30pm. You can find tickets and more information here.
Christiana Cole sings at the BMI Showcase on May 1
Posted on April 4, 2017 Leave a Comment
BMI favorite Christiana Cole will be one of the headlining performers at the BMI Showcase on Monday, May 1 at 4:30pm at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre, 10 West 64th Street.
The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is widely regarded as the premiere training ground for emerging musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists. Since its inception of the workshop in 1961 a great number of works have been created by members and alumni, including: The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q, Ragtime, Nine, A Chorus Line, Grey Gardens, Next to Normal, and many more.
The Showcase is a special event that only happens when the steering committee, led by luminaries such as Maury Yeston and Alan Mencken, feel there is a large volume of great work in the workshop that deserves a wider audience.
Christiana Cole will be performing five roles in the Showcase —
- Betty Parker, a suppressed suburban housewife in the 1950’s who starts to experience the shocking world of color and passion, in “Beautiful” from Pleasantville by Janine McGuire and Arri Simon
- Debbie Jellinsky, a black widow murderess hungry for Uncle Fester’s fortune, in “He Was Perfect” from Addams Family Values by Jamie Cowperthwait and Ok Kyun Kang (check out video from a previous performance on the Watch and Listen page!)
- Pamela, a trailer trash mom with a heart of gold, in “You Gotta Go” from #MARS by Laura Kleinbaum and Willem Oosthuysen
- A very proper madrigal singer in the song “W.B.” by Tracy Sallows
- Cherry, a pragmatic but soft-hearted upper class woman in the year 1869, whose dreamer husband founds the Fire Island community of Cherry Grove (and names it after her!) in “A Little Patch of Summer” from A History of Summer, by Adam Mathias and Jonathan Monro.
The evening will not only be a showcase of the talent budding at BMI, but of Christiana’s versatile range as a singer-actor.
There will be a reception afterwards!
The showcase is FREE. Doors open at 4pm. Seating is first come, first served. The performance will begin at 4:30pm.
Christiana Cole in “White Girl in Danger”
Posted on February 21, 2017 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole plays troubled white girl Maegan in a Musical Theatre Factory/Playwrights Horizons workshop presentation of White Girl in Danger, with book, lyrics and music by 2017 Larson Award winner Michael R. Jackson. Shakina Nayfack (Hulu’s Difficult People) directs.
WHITE GIRL IN DANGER
At Playwrights Downtown, 440 Lafayette St. 3rd Fl
Thu, Feb 23 @ 8PM in Rm 3D (3rd Fl)
Sat, Feb 25 @ 7PM in Rm 3A (3rd Fl)
Suggested donation of $15 (cash only) at the door.
Click here to reserve a seat.
An in-process workshop showing.
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Michael R. Jackson
Directed by Shakina Nayfack
Music Direction by Adam Wiggins
Dramaturgy by Natasha Sinha
CAST:
Liz Lark Brown
Ladonna Burns
Christiana Cole
Larry Hamilton
James Jackson
Sarita Lilly
John-Michael Lyles
Bonnie Milligan
Kevin Michael Murphy
Hana Slevin
Brynn Williams
White Girl In Danger is a dark musical comedy about Keesha, an ordinary black girl who seeks to prove that she’s just as much of a protagonist as every Lifetime Original Movie heroine white girl in her town as issues such as drugs, alcohol, abusive boyfriends, eating disorders, and finally a serial killer starts picking the white girls off one by one. Inspired by classic 90s TV movies such as “She Cried No,” “She Fought Alone, and “Mother May I Sleep With Danger?”
MICHAEL R. JACKSON holds a BFA and MFA in playwriting and Musical Theatre Writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He wrote book and lyrics for the musical Only Children with composer Rachel Peters, book, music, and lyrics for the musical A Strange Loop and lyrics and is co-writing book for a musical adaptation of the 2007 film Teeth with co-bookwriter and composer Anna Jacobs.
Christiana Cole sings on Bill Nelson’s Nutcrackin’ Christmas
Posted on November 29, 2016 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole sings the music of Bill Nelson, Will Aronson, and more at Bill Nelson’s Nutcrackin’ Christmas, December 5 at 7pm & 9:30pm at Don’t Tell Mama.
Christiana sings in “Serving Time” at Royal Family Productions
Posted on September 9, 2016 Leave a Comment
Located in the heart of Times Square, Royal Family Productions is presenting a one-night-only, “live concept album” concert performance of Serving Time, a new musical revue capturing the frantic, eclectic and eccentric world of restaurant life conceived by Michele Foor, who also wrote the lyrics, along with composers David Gaines, William TN Hall, Timothy Huang, Ryan Langer and Frank Spitznagel.
The concert will take place on Monday, September 12, at 7 pm at The Royal Family Arts Center (145 West 46th Street, 3rd floor). The concert version of Serving Time includes a cocktail reception with the cast after the performance. There is a suggested $20 donation and reservations can be made by calling Royal Family Productions 212-837-1756; or by emailing RoyalFamilyOffice@gmail.com.
Royal Family has assembled a wide mix of noted Broadway, Off Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, cabaret and improv performers for this concert presentation. The cast includes Broadway’s Tony Chiroldes* (In the Heights, Carmen, La Cubana), Stacia Fernandez* (Mamma Mia, The Drowsy Chaperone), Leah Hocking* (The Last Ship, Billy Elliot), Lacretta* (Disaster!, Unexpected Joy), Rosemary Loar (Sunset Boulevard, Chess), Frank Mastrone* (Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll & Hyde).
Cabaret favorites include Vodka Stinger and the Martha Rayes (Garth Schilling*, Dan Travis and Anne Rodeman), and multiple MAC award-winner Gretchen Reinhagen.
Also featured are frequent Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway performers Peter Brown*, Megan Carver, Christiana Cole*, Ryan G. Dunkin*, Michele Foor*, Brittney Lee Hamilton*, Curtis Howard, Rachel Alexa Norman*, Aaron Phillips, Kim Reinle, Timothy Ellis Riley*, Jonathan Todd Ross*, Jillian Vitko and Sarah Ziegler.
The evening is directed by Michael Perreca, Executive Director of Royal Family. Frank Spitznagel is the music director and Miles Lindahl is on percussion. Serving Time was developed through the acclaimed BMI Workshop.
“Some of BMI’s finest writers are featured here, and ‘Serving Time’ is ready to be seen by more than the enthusiastic composers and lyricists who are members of the workshop and have loved watching this show evolve over the years,” Perreca explains. “We brought together working actors from all walks of New York life to celebrate this material and introduce theatergoers to Royal Family, which is dedicated to the development of new works.”
Royal Family Productions, under Artistic Director and Co-Founder Chris Henry and Executive Director Perreca, produced the highly successful musical “Rock and Roll Refugee” earlier this year, directed by Henry, who also wrote the book, and features the music of rock pioneer Genya Ravan.
Reservations can be made by calling Royal Family Productions (be sure to give your name, phone number and number of tickets): 212-837-1756; or by emailing RoyalFamilyOffice@gmail.com.You will receive a confirmation. Seated is limited. Reservations are necessary.
*Actors appear courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.
Christiana Cole 