New Musical BHANGIN' IT Added to Goodspeed Worklight Series

BHANGIN’ IT Added to Goodspeed Musicals New

“WORKLIGHT SERIES” Lineup

This new musical by Mike Lew, Rehana Lew Mirza and Sam Willmott will be the
summer presentation in the recently announced staged reading series

• Tickets for Johnny & the Devil’s Box, Bhangin’ It and Ghost Brothers of Darkland County On Sale April 1 •

EAST HADDAM, CONN. FEBRUARY 25, 2020: Goodspeed announced that Bhangin’ It will round out the trio of titles planned for “The Worklight Series” 2020 season. Bhangin’ It is a bold and upbeat musical by recent Kleban Prize winners Mike Lew, Rehana Lew Mirza (2020) and Sam Willmott (2015). This exhilarating new musical is set in the high stakes world of intercollegiate competitive Bhangra: a traditional Punjabi folk dance morphed into a good ol' American dance-off. When Mary, a biracial student, is booted off her team for not being “Indian enough,” she and her roommate assemble their own new team. But can Mary whip this ragtag group into shape for Nationals? Brash and joyous, Bhangin’ It celebrates the traditions we inherit from yesterday and those we create for tomorrow.
Bhangin’ It joins two previously announced musicals to be presented during “The Worklight Series” inaugural season. The series will launch with Johnny & the Devil’s Box featuring Book, Music and Lyrics by Douglas Waterbury-Tieman (May 27 – June 7). Johnny & the Devil’s Box will be sponsored in part by Masonicare at Chester Village. Summer brings Bhangin’ It featuring Book by Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza with Music and Lyrics by Sam Willmott (August 5 – August 16). Closing out this first season will be Ghost Brothers of Darkland County which features a Book by Stephen King and Music and Lyrics by John Mellencamp (October 21 – November 8). “The Worklight Series” is supported by the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
The new musical process at Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre has been redesigned and relaunched as “The Worklight Series” where musicals will be developed and presented as staged readings. Audiences will still experience great stories and music, but since the shows will be more actively in progress, the performances will look different than they have in the past at The Terris – focusing not on costumes, scenery or props, but the musical on the page and actors with book-in-hand.
The Terris Theatre is located at 33 North Main Street in Chester, CT. Three-show packages for $99 and single tickets at $39 will be available starting April 1, 2020 through the Goodspeed Box Office. For more information call the Goodspeed Box Office at 860.873.8668 or visit www.goodspeed.org.
Developing new works is at the heart of the Goodspeed Musicals mission and the cornerstone of this effort is The Terris Theatre. Established over 35 years ago, this intimate theatre is dedicated exclusively to the creation of new musicals. Here Goodspeed provides resources, guidance, time and support to artists –established and emerging – as they develop original musicals. “The Worklight Series” will be an important part of Goodspeed’s new works initiative that includes the Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed, Festival of New Musicals, artist residencies, industry readings and full scale productions at The Goodspeed.

ABOUT THE SHOWS

JOHNNY & THE DEVIL’S BOX:

Book, Music and Lyrics by Douglas Waterbury-Tieman
Directed by Igor Goldin

Johnny Baker is the best fiddler that's ever been, and he aims to prove it. But his boasting attracts the attention of another fiddler - the Devil himself – who shows up with a plan for Johnny’s destruction. With fame, fortune and love tempting him at every turn, Johnny must find his true path and the strength to win a battle of the bows with the highest possible stakes. It’s a jubilant new musical with one foot in the Georgia mountains, one foot in the Grand Ole Opry, and music that will stir your soul.

BHANGIN’ IT:

Book by Mike Lew and Rehana Lew Mirza
Music and Lyrics by Sam Willmott
Directed by Amy Anders Corcoran

This exhilarating new musical is set in the high stakes world of intercollegiate competitive Bhangra: a traditional Punjabi folk dance morphed into a good ol' American dance-off. When Mary, a biracial student, is booted off her team for not being “Indian enough,” she and her roommate assemble their own new team. But can Mary whip this ragtag group into shape for Nationals? Brash and joyous, Bhangin’ It celebrates the traditions we inherit from yesterday and those we create for tomorrow.


GHOST BROTHERS OF DARKLAND COUNTY:

Book by Stephen King
Music and Lyrics by John Mellencamp
Directed by Jeff Calhoun

The Gothic southern musical about a decades-old tragedy that haunts a family has a roots rock score by Grammy winner Mellencamp, (“Pink Houses”, “Jack and Diane”, “Small Town”) and a book by Carrie, Misery and The Shining Master of Horror novelist King. It is an eerie tale of fraternal love, lust, jealousy and revenge. Set in an isolated cabin, the story explores two dark love triangles as it weaves back and forth through time.
Produced in association with Broadway Licensing.

ABOUT THE WRITERS

JOHNNY AND THE DEVIL’S BOX:
DOUGLAS WATERBURY-TIEMAN is a native of Lexington, KY. Belmont MT grad. Off-Broadway: Robber Bridegroom, Soot + Spit (Charles Mee/world-premiere). Regional: Once, Cotton Patch Gospel, Smoke on the Mountain, Lost Highway. TV: Succession. Fiddle: Looking For Christmas, (Clint Black/Old Globe), Disney Cruise Line, Desperate Measures (York). Bands: The Lobbyists, (Drama Desk nom. Best Music for SeaWife, NAMT), The Playbillies - Broadway’s Bluegrass Band. Writer: Johnny & The Devil’s Box (book, music and lyrics), Deep Water Ballad (book, PSU Nu Musical Festival), Jenny and the Paper Pirates (book, TASIS). Thanks to my agents at Boals/Winnett and Max Grossman at Abrams. Love to my family and Annabelle. IG: @thefiddlinproject www.douglaswaterburytieman.com

BHANGIN’ IT:
REHANA LEW MIRZA and MIKE LEW are married playwrights sharing a Mellon Foundation National Playwright residency at Ma-Yi Theater, the Kleban Award, and a previous Artist-in-Residence at La Jolla Playhouse. Their Rodgers Award-winning musical Bhangin’ It (co-book writers with composer Sam Willmott) is upcoming at Goodspeed, La Jolla Playhouse and McCarter; previous workshops include LJP/Ma-Yi/Jerome, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, Goodspeed, Orchard Project, Running Deer, and Project Springboard. They are also collaborating on The Colonialism Project (LJP commission). Individually, Rehana’s plays include Hatefuck (WP/Colt Coeur; upcoming at Roundhouse); A People’s Guide to History in the Time of Here and Now (Primary Stages commission; AADA workshop); Soldier X (Ma-Yi; Brooklyn College; NYSCA/Lark commission); and Barriers (Desipina, Asian American Theater Company). Mike’s plays include Teenage Dick (Donmar Warehouse, Ma-Yi at the Public, Artists Rep, upcoming Woolly Mammoth); Tiger Style! (Olney, Huntington, LJP, Alliance); Bike America (Ma-Yi, Alliance); and microcrisis (Ma-Yi, InterAct). Rehana’s honors include 2019 NYFA Fellow, Colt Coeur company member, HBO Access Fellow, Lilly Award (Stacey Mindich “Go Write A Play”), and a TCG/New Georges Fellowship. Mike is a Tony Voter, Dramatists Guild Council member, and New Dramatists resident with honors including Lark Venturous and NYFA fellowships; and the PEN, Lanford Wilson, Helen Merrill, Heideman, and Kendeda awards.
SAM WILLMOTT His projects include Yo, Vikings! and the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre's Wake Up, Daisy! (both with Marcus Stevens); the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary Song of Parkland, Standardized Testing – The Musical!!!! and the mini-musical Scarlet Takes a Tumble. His written work has received the Kleban Prize, the Fred Ebb Award, a Jonathan Larson Grant, the ASCAP Foundation’s Cole Porter and Harold Adamson Awards, MAC’s John Wallowitch Award, and the Kennedy Center ACTF Musical Theater Award. He has written over 150 songs for the Korean English-language children’s program, English Egg, and taught at Harvard University, Pace University’s Musical Theater BFA, and Lincoln Center’s Songwriting in Schools Program. SamWillmott.com

GHOST BROTHERS OF DARKLAND COUNTY:
STEPHEN KING was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.
Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.
JOHN MELLENCAMP His career in music, spans more than 35 years, and is to be considered one of the most highly respected singer/songwriters of a generation. Mellencamp is incredibly acclaimed; he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a Grammy winner, a recipient of the John Steinbeck Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award, The Founders Award, and Americana Music Association's Lifetime Achievement Award and more recently, the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award. He is also one of the most successful live concert performers in the world. In 1985, Mellencamp, together with Willie Nelson and Neil Young, created Farm Aid. The social activism reflected in his songs helped catalyze Farm Aid, the concert series and organization that has addressed the struggle of American family farmers for more than 30 years.
John continues to focus on another facet of his artistic expression: painting. His style has progressed over the years as evidenced by several gallery shows and published portfolios, and in recent years he has increased his output by completing over 100 new works. He had his 3rd New York exhibition in the fall of 2019 featuring artworks in a two person show with the famed Robert Rauschenberg. His highly successful Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit ran for nearly two years and was recently shown at the Woodie Guthrie Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A musical based on the iconic hit "Jack & Diane" is currently in the works.
Mellencamp continues his journey as the walking embodiment of rock icon; passionate, plain-spoken, and a self-proclaimed rebel. John Mellencamp continues to live and work in Bloomington, Indiana.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Michael Gennaro, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the preservation, development and advancement of musical theatre and is the first theatre in the nation to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement). Goodspeed produces three musicals each season at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn., and additional productions at The Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre. Goodspeed gratefully acknowledges the support of United Airlines, the official airline of Goodspeed Musicals; the official audio sponsor Sennheiser; and official auto sponsor Hoffman Audi. Goodspeed is supported in part by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts.