NY ThEAtre Barn's The choreography Lab

---

4 choreographers work on and present a number from a new musical they conceive through dance.​

Lab Moderators:

Marc Acito (Allegiance, Bastard Jones, Chasing Rainbows)

Christopher Noffke (Lab Consultant)

Choreographers:

Sonia Dawkins

Jennifer Delac

Briana Fallon​

Concept/Choreography by Sonia Dawkins

Inspired by the play by Cheryl West

Cast:

Juan Pablo Alba Dennis

Moriah Johnson

Chloe Mollis McBride

Charles McCall

Tania Palomeque

This concept is inspired by the playBefore It Hits Home by Cheryl West. When Wendal Bailey, a black jazz musician, is diagnosed with AIDS, the duality of his existence and the two worlds he has been straddling reach an impasse. There's the world of music which he shares mostly with his male married lover and the world inhabited by his naive pregnant fiancé. Wendell suddenly finds his ability to compartmentalize his two worlds almost impossible.

Concept/Choreography by Jennifer Delac

Cast:

Elli Stovall Brown

Allison Malone

Dale Melancon

Resa Mishina

Ashley Turner

It's 1942 and women across the nation join the workforce in factory assembly lines, including Rosa. Behind the conveyor belt, Rosa meets Rosalind, Rose and Geralidine, and over time, the women bond over the collective hardships they face: the low pay, the high demand, and the knowledge that their work could be what keeps the soldiers-their husbands, their sons, their brothers alive. Dear Rosie explores the true stories of the bandana-clad hero that helped win the war and toys with the inspiration for the Rosie The Riveter icon that we have come to know and love.

Concept/Choreography by Briana Fallon

Cast:

Kelly Berman

Monica Cioffi

Lauren Csete

Lydia Ruth Dawson

Alex Eisenberg

Zach Eisenberg

David Visini

Sherry becomes a foster child at 3, when her mother is incapable of taking care of her. After five different homes in less than a year, she is adopted into a loving family. Haunted by her past, school is difficult, friends don't come easy and she is bullied beyond belief her entire educational life. She joins a depression group where there are a bunch of kids just like her, and they start to befriend her. Sheree seems to be doing much better until a girl from her depression program has an episode and takes her own life. In honor of her new friend, Sheree starts a Suicide Awareness group at school.

Lab Moderators:

Edie Cowan (choreographer of the original Little Shop of Horrors) pictured right

Melinda Atwood (creator of DanceBreak) pictured middle

Adolpho Blaire pictured left

4 choreographers present a number from 4 diverse new musicals. Primarily focused on engaging mid-career to established choreographers, this lab focuses on bringing production numbers from never before staged musicals to life. Each choreographer works to stage their piece as closely to the way they envision it to be staged in a fully realized production of said new musical. Both the choreographers and writers benefit from seeing their piece staged while it is still in development.

Book & Lyrics by Deborah Brevoort 

Music & Lyrics by Stephanie Salzman

Choreography by Rickey Tripp

Music Direction by Benji Goldsmith

Cast:

Reverend Blue Forest Van Dyke

Blue Jay  Kendra Vernon

Rebecca Tara Halper

Dancers Roddy Kennedy

              Neville Braithwaite

               Myriam Gadri         

               Julian deGuzman    

               Christina Glur         

Rebecca, an Amish girl, loves to sing but she lives in a world where solos and self expression are forbidden. When she meets Reverend Blue, an itinerant hip-hop preacher, and former gang member, she connects with his music and joins him in his street corner “Hymn Hops” only to draw media attention and the anger of her family and community. Crossing Over explores the conflicts and cross-cultural relationships at the heart of contemporary American life. Crossing Over will be featured in the 2018 season of New York Theatre Barn's New Works Series.

Book & Lyrics by Jeremy Alan Richards

Music by Anika Noni Rose, Eugene Gwozdz & Jeremy Alan Richards

Choreography by Lorna Ventura

Consultant Joe Barros

Cast:

Brooke Averi

Joey Calveri

Hector Cerna

Samaria Nixon-Fleming

Najee Gabay-Knight

Tara Palsha Moats

Cindy Reid

Derrick Williams

Stephanie Young

 Travis, a bi-racial adoptee, searches for his roots, his identity, and ultimately his birth parents, when he meets Dominique, who inspires him to find himself. During this humorous and heartfelt journey, Travis confronts many obstacles and trials that shake him to the core, forcing him and his family into a head-on collision with mental health, and a peeling back of levels of sanity that they are not prepared to face. When Travis gains a sense of clarity, he ultimately learns that his true parents are the ones that loved and raised him his entire life. 

Music & Lyrics by Andrew J. Hanley

Book & Lyrics by Anderson John Heinz

Choreography by Avital Asuleen

Directed by Ashley Brooke Monroe

Cast:

Faye Conway

Sumayya Ali

Todd Michael Cook

Daniel Lynn Evans

Alyssa Fuhrman

Salvatore Vieira

Jordan Weagraff

The fabulous Faye Conway depends on her best friend and television producer Jackie Babineau-Miller and has done so for the entirety of their lives. But as the two celebrate Faye’s much-anticipated comeback to television, old wounds are re-opened - and they must face the truth about the girls they were, the women they’ve become, and what it means to part ways with the things they love the most.

Book/Music/Lyrics by Dan Furman

Choreography by Christopher Noffke

Cast:

Atsushi Edu

Lucie Jane Walker

Rhaamell Burke-Missouri

Yamil DeJesus

Shane Hall

Victoria Casillo

Stephanie Sine

When Tina’s favorite combat video game is attacked by a virus, Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” is uploaded into the game. Tina soon discovers that the characters have come to life, and one of them has fallen in love--with her! Blue, Sultana and other characters from “Quest” begin building a new game world based on Proust. Meanwhile, the National Security Agency has gotten word of the “Proust Virus” and sends an agent to eliminate it.