Joey McKneely talks about SHADOWS - a dance musical

A POWERHOUSE CAST
joins two-time TONY Award nominee, Joey McKneely, and his team:
award-winning playwright, Randall David Cook and musicians Edison Woods, Maxim Moston, and Karen Bishko for SHADOWS: A DANCE MUSICAL

November 29 – December 15
The Connelly Theater
220 E 4th St, New York City
www.ShadowsDanceMusical.com 
Tickets: shadowsmusical.brownpapertickets.com

It’s Twyla Tharp meets Stephen King!

In Shadows, a mesmerizing new dance musical directed and choreographed by Broadway notable, Joey McKneely, haunting melodies by mini orchestra, Edison Woods; composer, Maxim Moston; and British singer/songwriter, Karen Bishko, enfold around an eerie and erotic story by Randall David Cook, who scored kudos, Off-Broadway, with the premiere of Sake with the Haiku Geisha and Fate’s Imagination. This gothic and ghostly love story whispers of forbidden love … in this world and the next.  Shadows follow the secret romance of Claire (Janine Divita, who appeared on Broadway in Grease, Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Anything Goes plus on National Tour in Finding Neverland, If/Then, Young Frankenstein) and Alex (John Arthur Greene, who will be appearing in Tootsie on Broadway with previous Broadway credits of School of Rock, Chicago, West Side Story, Matilda, and on NBC in Peter Pan Live).

Well, secret to those on this plane. In the afterworld, behind the chiming clock and shuddered windows, another romance between Woman in Red (Special appearance by Irina Dvorovenko; a Soloist with the American Ballet Theatre as well as having made Broadway star-turns in Encores! productions of On Your Toes and Grand Hotel) weave gracefully with Man in Blue (Waldemar Quinone-Villanueva (Broadway: West Side Story) between the passions of Claire and her young lover.

The other spirits, Man in Black and Woman in Silver, unhappy about this affair, torment the lovers. It isn’t until the last few minutes of this stirring piece that we see how the lovers of this world are the salvation for the ones beyond the grave. Nickemil Concepcion (Broadway: Cinderella; Off-Broadway in George C Wolfe’s On The Town and a member of Ballet Tech for seven years); Naomi Kakuk (Broadway: Encores!’ Crazy for You; Chess; The Producers) plus Kyreed Jordon (Indie film: Are you holding me, or am I holding myself?) and Omar Nieves (principle dancer, Virginal Ballet) completely the spectral company.

SCHEDULE:

November 29 & 30 @ 8:00 p.m.  ٠  December 1 @ 3:00 & 8:00 p.m.
December 4 – 7 @ 8:00 p.m.  ٠  December 8 @ 3:00 & 8:00 p.m.
December 11 – 14 @ 8:00 p.m.  ٠  December 15 @ 3:00 & 8:00 p.m.

Stage and film professional, Joey McKneely, is a two-time Tony Nominated Broadway Choreographer (Smokey Joe’s Cafe and in 1997 for The Life) and the international Director and Choreographer of West Side Story. Other Broadway credentials include Twelfth Night, The Wild Party, The Boy From OZ and the West Side Story revival. He directed/choreographed the U.S. National Tours of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie Get Your Gun, Crazy For You and Smokey Joe’s Café. Internationally, he directed/choreographed the world premieres of Love U Theresa, Ah, Kuling! and Jiu Gan Tang Mai Wu in China; The Beautiful Game, Thoroughly Modern Millie, West Side Story in Japan; Evita and Dusty in London. On film, McKneely is known for his work on Zoolander, The In Crowd, and Far East.

Playwright Randall David Cook is a New York-based playwright who originally hails from South Carolina. Two of his plays premiered Off-Broadway: Sake with the Haiku Geisha andFate’s Imagination. Regional: Southern Discomfort; Third Finger, Left Hand; Pomp & Circumstance; Kappa Kappa Scream. Works in development include an adaptation of Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman (New York Theatre Workshop with Len Cariou, Roberta Maxwell and Laura Esterman); In A Town Near Faith (Players Club with Barbara Barrie and Colin Hanlon); and Hanky Panky. His one-act play Sushi and Scones was broadcast by the BBC and won the award for Best Play at the Southeastern Playwrights Conference. He is a two-time Duke Endowment recipient and member of the Dramatists Guild.

 

Composer Edison Woods/Julia Frodahl. Described as “a beautiful cross between the sounds of Elysian Fields and the sentiments of David Lynch,” Edison Woods is a mini-orchestra of seven that has been haunting stages from New York to Madrid since 2001. The project is led by Julia Frodahl, who is a self-taught composer, writer, pianist, and vocalist. Julia was the recipient of the first annual Studio 42 “Starving Artist Award,” a grant from The Foundation For Contemporary Art and a Mac Dowell Colony Fellowship. She has composed for and collaborated with many artists across a range of genre, including Simon Raymond (Cocteau Twins), Italian sculptor Mimmo Paladino, and dancer/choreographer, Katie Workum. More information on the Edison Woods project can be found at edisonwoodsmusic.com.

 

Composer Maxim Moston is a multi-faceted musician working in New York City. He has performed around the world as violinist and music director for Antony and the Johnsons. He worked extensively with Edison Woods and has appeared with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Belle and Sebastian, Mary J Blige, and Jay-Z among others.  His arrangements/orchestrations can be heard on numerous albums including worldwide releases from Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Keren Ann and Josh Groban.  Performances of his orchestral re-imaginings of William Basinski’s seminal Disintegration Loops 1 and 2 have been warmly received on three continents. More information can be found at maximmoston.com

 

Composer Karen Bishko was originally a portrait painter, but began pursuing song writing in 2005, In 2007, she opened for Take That on their Beautiful World tour at London’s O2 Arena and Manchester MEN Arena. Her first album Singles for Singles, was substantially turned into the show Therapy Rocks. It premiered at the Urban Stages Theater as part of the NYMF. A concert of the songs, entitled Singles, was performed at 54 Below and also at Soho House NY. She has worked with music producers Gary Kemp and Jess Bailey (Spandau Ballet), Yoad Nevo (Jem, Golfrapp) and Steven Loroni (Jon Bon Jovi, Hansen). She recently wrote the English lyrics for Neapolitan-Austrian, multi-million album selling singer, Patrizio Buanne.

 

SHADOWS was born between a collaboration of playwright and choreographer, using dance as an equal form of narrative to the book. The dances either tell of past encounters, reveal parallel emotions with the main characters, or foreshadow events. In addition, we have two main female composer/lyricists who give this musical a unique voice by alternating from hauntingly poetic, alternative dance music to emotional, character driven songs. Along with our third composer, the score creates a modern complexity by using music to set the mood of the characters inner selves. Also, we use Kabuki style staging to create the world of the supernatural. It’s a six-character musical, 2 actors and 4 dancers, with 2 crew/dancers to be the Kabuki presence.