Download FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 22, 2002

PRESS RELEASE
DATE: March 28, 2007
Media Contacts: Jacquelyn Rardin, Public Relations Manager
(425) 392-1942 x124
[email protected]
Frank Stilwagner, Director of Marketing
(425) 392-1942 x129
[email protected]
www.villagetheatre.org
VILLAGE THEATRE PRODUCES A WORKSHOP PRESENTATION OF
BARNSTORMER
The Story of Bessie Coleman—The World’s First African-American Aviatrix
What:
Barnstormer, a new musical
Book and Lyrics by Cheryl L. Davis
Music by Douglas J. Cohen
Directed by Jerry Dixon
Where:
First Stage Theatre
120 Front Street North
Issaquah, WA 98027
When:
April 13-15, 2007
Friday and Saturday: 8:00 PM
Sunday: 2:00 PM
Tickets:
$10-$12 or FREE with a Village Originals Membership
Box Office: (425) 392-2202
Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00 AM-7:00 PM
www.villagetheatre.org
Issaquah, Wash – Continuing in its tradition of developing new works, Village Theatre Village Originals
presents a workshop presentation of Barnstormer, a new musical by award-winning authors Cheryl L. Davis and
Douglas J. Cohen based on the life of Bessie Coleman, the world’s first African-American aviatrix.
Featuring the timeless and innovative sounds of the early 1900s, Barnstormer recounts Coleman’s
amazing journey from cotton fields to aviation school to finally taking to the sky, as she fought against all odds
to make her dreams take flight. A remarkable adventure of triumph and tribulation, Barnstormer is a powerful
new musical about believing in yourself, even in a world that fights to keep you down.
“Barnstormer is the story of a woman who refused to accept the limitations others put on her life; and
it’s about a family that helped her go from cotton to the clouds,” said lyricist and librettist Davis.
“Bessie was a headstrong, fearless woman; only with flight could she enter a world where she was
judged, not by her race or gender, but solely on her talents,” added composer Cohen. “I also love the music of
the period: Bessie lived in an era where the country’s musical vocabulary was expanding as dramatically as its
exploration of the sky. Jazz, blues, cakewalk, gospel, and ragtime played an important role in fueling dreams
and ambition.”
-more-
Page Two…Village Theatre Produces a Workshop Presentation of Barnstormer
Six years in the making and following a successful reading at the Lark Play Development Center in
New York (November 2005), Barnstormer comes to Village Theatre for a workshop presentation April 13-15,
2007 to further advance the new work.
“After our wonderful experience working with the Lark Play Development Center, we did a fair amount
of rewriting and re-tooling of the show. We’re really looking forward to continuing to hone the script with the
support and guidance of Village Theatre’s staff and audience,” continued Davis. “This presentation will give us
a chance to see how far we’ve come with the piece, and how close we are to a production-ready version of the
script.”
Davis is a 2005 Kleban Award winner and recipient of a 2005 Jonathan Larson Performing Arts
Foundation Award for Barnstormer and author of the critically acclaimed play, The Color of Justice. Cohen is
the recipient of two Richard Rodgers Grants and the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Foundation Award for
writing No Way To Treat A Lady and The Gig. He also received a 2005 Drama Desk Award for Children’s
Letters To God. He is currently the composer/lyricist/co-librettist for the New York bound new musical, The
Opposite of Sex, based on the film by Don Roos.
Barnstormer is a workshop presentation and is not open for reviews. For more information and to arrange
interviews, please contact Jacquelyn Rardin at (425) 392-1942 x124 or [email protected].
About the Authors and Director
Cheryl L. Davis (Lyricist/Librettist) has had read and performed nationally at the Cleveland Play House, the Actors Theatre of
Louisville, and the Kennedy Center, among others. She is a co-recipient of the 2005 Kleban Award for her work as a librettist, and her
musical Barnstormer, written with award-winning composer Douglas J. Cohen, received one of the 2005 Jonathan Larson Performing
Arts Foundation Awards, under the auspices of the Lark Play Development Center. Her play about the desegregation of the nations’
school system, The Color of Justice, which was commissioned by Theatreworks/USA, received critical acclaim, including excellent
reviews in the New York Times and Daily News. She is a practicing attorney in Manhattan and is a partner with the firm of Menaker &
Herrmann LLP.
Douglas J. Cohen (Composer) is the composer/lyricist/co-librettist for the New York bound new musical, The Opposite of Sex, based on
the film by Don Roos. He was awarded two Richard Rodgers Grants and the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Foundation Award for
writing No Way To Treat A Lady and The Gig. Nominated for a 2005 Drama Desk Award for Children’s Letters To God, Doug is the
composer/lyricist of The Big Time, an original musical which premiered at NYMF 2005; the composer of Glimmerglass (Goodspeed,
Village Theatre, upcoming Spirit of Broadway production); and the librettist/lyricist of Valentino’s Tango. He contributed the original
songs to off-Broadway’s Boozy, written and produced by the Obie award-winning Les Freres Corbusier.
Jerry Dixon (Director) began his career as an actor. His original cast performances include Once On This Island, Five Guys Named Moe,
Bright Lights, Big City, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, newyorkers, and tick, tick… BOOM!. Directing credits
include: tick, tick… BOOM! (Korea and Singapore); Crowns (Kalamazoo Civic); and concerts and special events for Tony Award winner
LaChanze, recording artist Raúl Midón, Carnegie Hall, and the Belgium National Symphony. He supplied original songs and co-directed
the Broadway show Laugh Whore, along with Joe Mantello.
About Village Originals
Village Theatre’s nationally-recognized Village Originals program is dedicated to every aspect of new musical development: workshops,
readings, seminars and full productions. To date, over 60 new musicals have been developed, many of which have gone on to stages
throughout the world, including The Ark (opened off-Broadway November 2005), After the Fair, Play It By Heart, Making Tracks, The
Wedding Banquet, and Eleanor. Village Theatre is highly respected on a national level for its significant contribution to the world of
musical theatre--only a handful of theatre companies throughout the country commission and develop new musicals!
Workshops are the next step after a reading in the development of a new musical. They are fully staged pieces, where musical numbers
are off-book and actors move through a full rehearsal process. There are no costumes, set or props, and include minimal lights and music.
Workshops are for shows ready to move beyond readings, giving them the opportunity to further develop and gain more in-depth
audience feedback before becoming a staged production.
-more-
Page Three…Village Theatre Produces a Workshop Presentation of Barnstormer
About Village Theatre
Based in Issaquah, WA, with operations in Everett, Village Theatre is a leading producer of musical theatre in the Pacific Northwest.
Producing entertaining quality productions for the entire family since 1979, Village Theatre has grown into one of the region's bestattended Equity theatres, with over 17,000 subscribers and 170,000 projected total attendance each season. Through its Village Originals
program, Village Theatre is nationally recognized for its contribution to the development of new musicals, having launched over 60 new
works to date. Village Theatre also takes pride in nurturing tomorrow’s audiences through its youth education programs, Pied Piper and
KIDSTAGE, serving over 53,000 young people, families, and schools annually.
Village Theatre season sponsors are The Boeing Company, Continental Airlines, Lombardi’s and Microsoft.
Village Theatre is also funded in part by 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax Revenue, ArtsFund, ArtsUnited, Bellevue Arts Commission,
City of Everett, City of Issaquah, Freixenet/Deakin Estates, Issaquah Arts Commission, The National Endowment for the Arts, Northwest
Suites, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, PONCHO, The Shubert Foundation, Snohomish County Hotel/Motel Tax Fund, Standing
Ovation, and Washington State Arts Commission.
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Editor’s Notes:
**Cast (in alphabetical order):
Bessie Coleman
Susan Coleman/Mamie/Ensemble
Charles/Arthur Coleman/Ensemble
Colonel Julian/Movie Director/Ensemble
Young Arthur
John Coleman
Walter Coleman/Mr. Abbott/Ensemble
Willie Coleman/Ensemble
Lisa Estridge*
Patricia Henderson
Bertram Johnson
Terence Kelley*
Aleron Kelley
Timothy Piggee*
Kevin Warren*
Judy Young
*The actors are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
**Cast subject to change prior to run.