Developmental Production of DARLING, A NEW MUSICAL to be Presented at Emerson College, 3/1 & 2

Following nearly two months of on-campus development, Retrop Productions and Emerson College's RareWorks Theatre Company, in association with Kurt Deutsch, President and Founder of Sh-K Boom Records, will present Ryan Scott Oliver and Brett Ryback's Darling, A New Musical. The developmental production will premiere in Boston, MA, at Emerson College's Semel Theater on March 1 & 2, 2012.

Last December, show creators, Ryan Scott Oliver and Brett Ryback, traveled to Emerson College in Boston, MA to participate in a preliminary workshop of the production. After a very successful weekend, the creators stayed to aide in the casting and development of the full production. Over the course of the past two months, Oliver and Ryback have been active in the rehearsal room via weekend trips and video conference calls.

Darling is presented in association with Kurt Deutsch, President and Founder Sh-KBoom Records, a Grammy Award winning label that bridges the gap between rock and theater music. Deutsch, looking forward to this exciting collaboration at Emerson, states, "there is nothing like being part of the creation of a new musical and working with two of the most exciting young musical theatre writers. I think that Darling represents where the future of musical theatre is going, deeply rooted in traditional storytelling through music but by someone whose influences range from Sondheim to the popular music of today."

Darling, A New Musical will be directed by Michael Bello, a senior BFA Musical Theatre Major at Emerson College. Bello has previously worked as an assistant director at Theatreworks in Palo Alto, CA and for Mary Zimmerman at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. Bello explains the intricacies of working with a developmental production, stating "A production like this flexes an entirely New Group of muscles. We have to be flexible to be able to rehearse a scene one day and the next day the lines have changed, and it's a very different adventure."

Ryan Scott Oliver, composer and lyricist of Darling, spoke of the development process within a college environment, stating "DARLING is a show about young people forsaken by their society, who must find their way "home" (whatever that is) and grow up, or risk being lost forever... Which is an experience I think many college-aged kids can relate to. For us, the experience of getting your work developed by such an eager and knowledgeable group of people, as hungry to create as we the writers are to have our work created on stage, is one-of-a-kind. The student staff and actors at Emerson are truly remarkable, and we are lucky to be a part of their initial steps into the professional world."For Jacob S. Porter of Retrop Productions, "the important thing was to create an experience for the Emerson community that would highlight the importance of developing promising new musical theater, while providing composers, lyricists and book writers with a safe home to create their piece. Darling is a terrific musical and this experience, with RareWorks Theatre Company, is an exciting first at Emerson, one that I hope will continue for years to come."

The cast of Darling: A New Musical includes; Maximilian Sangerman (Peter), Lauren Chapman (Ursula), Michael Niederer (Rose), Chelsea Williams (Stella), Brock Bivens, Amanda Spinella, Lily LaGravenese, Michael Albert, AnDrew Barret Cox, Hallie Brevetti, Sara Deviney, Natasha Edwards, Gabe Gibbs, Braden Joyce-Schleimer, Matt Koplik, Melody Madarasz, Eric Maxwell, Sarah Mitchel, Hayley Moir Jake Novak, Chris Renalds, Julia Sinks, and Andrew Spatafora.

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