Bobby Cronin’s
PSYKIDZ: A New Musical
$25 discount with the code NYCPLAYWRIGHTS
which brings the ticket price down to $10.
(This does not include the two-beverage minimum.)
A Class Act NY, the award-winning acting studio, will produce a concert presentation of PSYKIDZ: A New Musical by award-winning composer and lyricist Bobby Cronin on Sunday, January 20th at the historic Triad Theatre in Manhattan. The creative team includes producers Jessica R. Grosman and Jonathan Grosman, director Lauren Cohn, and music director Sean Mayes.
The concert will star Broadway veterans Stacia Fernandez (The Drowsy Chaperone, Mamma Mia!) and Brian Charles Rooney (The Threepenny Opera), alongside A Class Act NY students Natalie Schroeder, Hannah Jane Peterson, Vanessa Antoinette Danese, Heather Batezel, Meilani Rea, Michael Kaplan-Nolan, Samantha Deutsch, Alex Vacchiano, William Tom, James Borrelli, Judith Ann DiMinni, Lee Rosenthal, Zoë Latanision, Maya Maloskey, Timothy Foley, Kylie Wu, Grace Wolfe, Xander Matik, and Reese Bruning.
A Class Act NY previously staged a reading of PSYKIDZ: A New Musical in August 2018. Upon its success, writer Bobby Cronin and producers Jessica R. Grosman and Jonathan Grosman sought out larger venues to bring Cronin’s story to a wider audience.
“What’s great about this show is how flexible it is, in terms of casting,” said producer Jessica R. Grosman. “This cast can be entirely comprised of adults playing children, like You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. It could be kids playing adults, like Really Rosie, or a combination of the two, like Matilda. Right now, we have two adults who are Broadway performers – plus A Class Act NY students, many of whom work professionally.”
After this concert, they hope to sponsor a full-scale production that will resonate with audiences of all ages. “You could produce this show anywhere,” said Grosman. “On a professional level, in schools, or community theatres.”
The score utilizes Cronin’s signature contemporary musical theatre style, which has established itself as the current industry trend. But as far as the plot goes, Cronin draws from tropes that defined the 1980s. Anyone who grew up in the age of E.T. may find themselves familiar with the timeless story of children empowering themselves.
This duality between the past and present was intentional on Cronin’s part, fueled by memories of his preteen years. “I remember being obsessed with The Goonies as a kid,” he says, “because they were misfits who went on adventures. I wanted to write about that kind of exploration, but I also wanted the show to feel very current.”
Magnolia Donovan is a pre-teen who "sees things" in her room, much to the dismay of her father, Leo, who believes she is seeking attention due to the recent break-up of her parents’ marriage. Along with Leo's mother, “Nana,” the family heads to an old inn in Vermont for a getaway where they encounter two families who have been chosen by world-renowned psychic-medium Skylar Quinn (Nana's favorite TV star) to get specialized on-site psychic training. After Nana convinces Skylar to let Magnolia join, the psychic kids develop their skills while helping a ghost family separated in the afterlife. Facing her demons head-on, Magnolia stands up for herself to exorcise the Shadow Man haunting her and the inn. Their success subsequently heals the conflicted relationships within their own families as the psychic kids each become more confident and accepting of their special abilities.
Bobby Cronin is the award-winning composer/lyricist of: Mary and Max (World Premiere at Theatre Calgary fall 2018, Pace New Musicals winner 2017/2018, MUT Critic’s Prize Germany 2018, and 2017 finalist for SigWorks, DC); The Concrete Jungle (London, International Cast Recording); 'Til Death Do Us Part with bookwriter Caroline Prugh (winner 2018 SDSU New Works Award); Daybreak (US & London, NJ Playwrights Award); and book, music & lyrics for Psykidz (A Class Act NY commission); and the music for Christine Toy Johnson’s Till Soon, Anne. He was part of "From Broadway with Love" concert at for Florida's Stoneman Douglas School, is on the album "So Much To Say: Songs for Everytown,” and his first album, "Reach The Sky," is on all digital platforms. Graduate of Yale University. You can find him on the web at www.BobbyCronin.com.
“PSYKIDZ is about accepting yourself for who you are,” says Cronin. “In theatre, we’re lucky because we celebrate our differences. I’m trying to inspire that feeling in anyone who sees the show. I’m hoping it motivates families to communicate with each other.”
Tickets are available now at http://bit.ly/PyskidzTix.
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