Today on the podcast, we chat with the collaborators of the World Premiere production, The Tattooed lady, A New Musical on stage at Philadelphia Theatre Company. Here is my interview with Max Vernon and Erin Courtney for The Tattooed Lady, A New Musical.

The story of The Tattooed Lady highlights one of sideshow’s biggest stars, Ida Gibson, in a moving, fantastical tale that reveals the generational chasms and connections between Ida and her granddaughter Joy. A parade of beguiling characters appear, on a mission to liberate Ida from her self-imposed exile and help Joy find freedom through forgiveness. The musical celebrates the resilience of women whose choices have the power to liberate them.

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Erin Courtney (Book) is a New York based playwright. Her play, A Map of Virtue, was awarded an Obie and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theater. Her play I Will Be Gone, premiered at the Humana Festival, Actors Theater of Louisville. She has written two operas with Elizabeth Swados: The Nomad and Kaspar Hauser, both commissioned and produced by The Flea Theater. Her other plays, produced by Clubbed Thumb, include Alice the Magnet, directed by Pam MacKinnon, and Demon Baby, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. She is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb, a member of the Obie Award winning playwrights collective, 13P, as well as the co-founder of the Brooklyn Writers Space.

Max Vernon (Book, Music, Lyrics & Orchestrations) is a musical theatre writer, whose works include The View UpStairs, KPOP (opening on Broadway this November!), The Tattooed Lady, and Show & Tell. They are a three-time Drama Desk nominee, Out100 Honoree, two-time MacDowell Fellow, Dramatist Guild Fellow, and recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, Richard Rodgers Award, Jonathan Larson Grant, Pew Arts and Culture Grant, and New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship, among others. They have also written work for Audible, Disney, Virgin Group, and Tyra Banks. Notable concerts include Joe’s Pub, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. They earned an MFA from NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. www.maxvernon.com IG: @frauleinsallybowels

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://philadelphiatheatrecompany.org

A Leg Up
By Ken Kaissar

Director Amy Kaissar

September 20, 2022 – October 9, 2022

A world premiere comedy for the 21st century!

Initially slated for its world premiere in the 2019/20 season, this witty and outlandish story is a new comedy for the 21st century written as a traditional farce. In A Leg Up, Charles Griffin III (O’Neil) has staked what’s left of his fortune on the new Miraculous Knee-to-Toe XR-3000 with 3D Helix, an intelligent prosthetic leg, designed for a presidential candidate, Senator Sam Wannamead (Hogan). Unfortunately, his mistress Laurie (Hamilton) announces she’s pregnant, his business partner Stephanie (Alpert) has her eye on his wife Barbara (Maurer), and the Senator is having an affair with the leg designer Rufus (Robbins), and it’s not even lunchtime yet!

ABOUT MARLA ALPERT

Marla Alpert [She/They] is a seasoned actor and singer, having performed in the national tours of Jekyll and Hyde and Ragtime, as well as with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s The Sorceress, and over a dozen regional shows throughout the country. She is also the host of her own podcast about legendary Broadway flops, Flop of the Heap, and is a regular content creator on TikTok, advocating for transgender representation in media and educating on trans issues. You can find her on Instagram or Tiktok, @thefloorismarlava.

For More Information: https://brtstage.org

Today on the podcast, I checked my confirmation, packed my bag and settled in for the night at Motel Montana the latest offering from Gunnar Montana after a long intermission. Here is my interview with Gunnar Montana.

Gunnar Montana - “Motel Montana is designed to celebrate everything my grandfather couldn’t express in his life, and in turn, everything I am so unapologetically eager to express now. There’s something incredibly conflicting about celebrating the idea of my grandfather living out his truths, knowing I wouldn’t have been born had he done so.”

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://www.instagram.com/gunnarmontana/ and https://www.gunnarmontana.com