[Capdist-announce] Electrifying New Musical "The Lucky Few" Presented July 22 by Ancram Opera House

Tue Jul 11 16:05:16 EDT 2023

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*

*Contact: Lauren Letellier*

*917-747-5250*

*pr at ancramoperahouse.org <pr at ancramoperahouse.org>*

*or*

*laurenletellier at gmail.com <laurenletellier at gmail.com>*

*New Musical The Lucky Few Presented by Ancram Opera House at The Circa
1799 Barn*

It’s New Year’s Eve, 1959, an explosive moment in American history. The
U.S. has entered the space race; Lenny Bruce appeared on NBC for the first
time; Miles Davis began recording Kind of Blue; and somewhere in South
Dakota, a woman named Jane is making music nobody has ever heard before.

*The Lucky Few,* a new musical by songwriters and performers Todd Almond
and Kate Douglas, takes off from this premise in a concert version
presented by Ancram Opera House on an outdoor stage at the 1799 Barn in
Ancramdale on July 22 at 7:30.  General admission tickets are $40; Student
tickets are $15 with a valid school ID.

The title of the show refers to the generation born between the Great
Depression and World War Two (1929-1945), a generation that slipped between
the cracks of history yet had an enormous influence.  The show was a
2019 Semi-Finalist
at the O’Neill National Musical Theatre Conference.

“This season at Ancram Opera House is all about incubating and growing new
work, and *The Lucky Few* is one of the best new musicals we’ve seen in
years,” said Jeffrey Mousseau, Co-Director, Ancram Opera House. “As a
theatre piece, it’s an electrifying work with a lively American Rockabilly
score that captures the country in transition with parallels to radical
cultural changes underway today. We feel very lucky, no pun intended, to
present a show of this caliber, and artists like Todd and Kate, to our
audience.” *The Lucky Few* was last seen in a developmental concert at
Joe’s Pub, The Public Theater, NYC, in February 2023.

The creators of *The Lucky Few* are two of the busiest artists in theater.
Todd Almond is an acclaimed actor, a singular songwriter, and a “brash,
funny, heart-stirring” playwright *(The New York Times*). His Broadway
performance in *Girl from the North Country *was called “stunning” by *The
Washington Post*, and “roof-raising, uplifting, and invigorating” by *Hollywood
Reporter*. He has previously collaborated with Sarah Ruhl (*Melancholy
Play: A Chamber Musical*), Jenny Schwartz (*Iowa*), Laura Benanti (*In
Constant Search for the Right Kind of Attention*), Sherie Rene Scott and
Norbert Leo Butz (*Twohander*), Kelli O’Hara (*Live at Carnegie Hall*), and
Andrew Rannells (*Live from Lincoln Cente*r). As a composer and
orchestrator, Almond has written and arranged music for Broadway,
Off-Broadway, Lincoln Center Theater, and film. Todd can also be seen in
the 2021 reboot of *Gossip Girl* on HBO Max.

Kate Douglas is a writer, composer, and performer who has worked with AOH
previously as part of the performance ensemble Emergence Collective, and as
a 2021 Summer Play Lab resident. She has been a finalist for the Jonathan
Larson Grant, the Princess Grace Award in Playwriting, and the Jane
Chambers Excellence in Feminist Playwriting Award. Her recent work
includes *The
Apiary *(2023 Second Stage New Voices Series, 2022 O’Neill Playwrights
Conference), *Against Women & Music! *with Grace McLean (The Civilians), and
 *The Ninth Hour *with Shayfer James (The Met Cloisters). Performance
credits include Punchdrunk's *Sleep No More *(where she also held the title
of Associate Artist), Third Rail's *The Grand Paradise*, *The Ninth Hour*,
and *Kansas City Choir Boy *written by Todd Almond and starring Almong
Courtney Love (Premiere & Tour). She is currently a Colt Coeur Resident
Artist and is on faculty at Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the
Arts.

Ancram Opera House is an award-winning theater located in New York's Hudson
Valley. Housed in an historic Grange Hall, AOH has since 2016 presented
groundbreaking theater and musical performances by nationally recognized
theater artists. AOH receives annual support from the New York State
Council on the Arts and in 2023 was awarded a generous grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts. For more information visit

www.ancramoperahouse.org.

   - *The Lucky Few*
   - Saturday, July 22 at 7:30pm
   - Tickets:

o   *Student-admission: $15 (*Valid school ID required)

o   *General admission: $40*

   - Location: The Circa 1799 Barn, 105 Simons Road, Ancramdale, NY, 12503
   - Tickets: www.ancramoperahouse.org

[image: Almond:Douglas.jpg]
[image: Screenshot 2023-07-11 at 12.11.29 PM.jpeg]
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