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THE HUMAN RACE THEATRE’S MUSICAL THEATRE
WORKSHOP SERIES RETURNS WITH VANISHING POINT,
OCTOBER 24 AND 25, 2005
(Dayton, OH) – September 7, 2005 – After a year on hiatus, The Human Race Theatre Company’s Musical Theatre Workshop series returns in October with a staged reading of Vanishing Point. With book and lyrics by Liv Cummins and Rob Hartmann, music by Rob Hartmann and the original concept and additional lyrics by Scott Keys, Vanishing Point tells the story of three of early twentieth century’s most famous women – Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart and Aimee Semple McPherson – and their mysterious disappearances that became worldwide media sensations. Jen Jurek, Katie Pees and Marya Spring star. Performances are October 24 and 25 at the Loft Theatre. All tickets are $15.
Jazz Age evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson vanished in 1926 during an ocean swim. Mystery author Agatha Christie created a mystery of her own when she vanished that same year, her car found abandoned on a deserted road. Heroic and reckless aviatrix Amelia Earhart vanished during the last leg of her 1937 round-the-world flight, disappearing somewhere over the Pacific.
Agatha and Aimee returned with outlandish stories. Agatha claimed she had amnesia while Aimee told tales of being kidnapped. Neither ever revealed the secret of where she had been. Amelia was never seen again.
A musical comedy/fantasy, Vanishing Point brings these three women together in a mysterious limbo, as they recall their past and explore their future – stepping in and out of one another’s lives. The show has a cast of three actresses playing multiple parts (each other’s mothers, husbands, reporters, fans, etc.). The score is influenced by a range of styles including ragtime, jazz, gospel, folk, Gilbert & Sullivan and modern musical theater.
Vanishing Point premiered at Porchlight Music Theater in Chicago in 1997, where it received a "Chicago After Dark" Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics. Subsequent productions followed at the Illusion Theater in Minneapolis, West Coast Ensemble in Los Angeles and Grand Central Theater in Santa Ana. In April 2004, the show was presented in concert form at Symphony Space in New York City, starring Tony Award nominees Alison Fraser, Emily Skinner and Barbara Walsh.
The director of Vanishing Point is Kevin Moore and the music director is Joseph Bates.
Rob Hartmann received his MFA from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program, where he is currently a member of the adjunct faculty. He is a recipient of a Jonathan Larson Foundation Award and received a 2003 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to develop a new musical with director Peter Rothstein. The Los Angeles production of his most recent project, 24 Hours, written with Bruce Goodrich, received an Ovation Award nomination for Best Small Musical, as well as several NAACP Award nominations.
Liv Cummins attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University, where she met Rob Hartmann and Scott Keys. She is also a singer/songwriter, touring locally and nationally with her band. She was the subject of a piece on NPR’s All Things Considered, and has performed at top venues across the country.
Scott Keys is a director/choreographer, teacher and writer currently residing in Sarasota, Florida, where he is on the faculty of Booker Visual & Performing Arts High School. He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from Syracuse University and a MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU-Tisch School of The Arts where he was the recipient of the Oscar Hammerstein Fellowship for Lyricists. While in New York, Scott also worked as a Musical Theatre associate in development for Playwrights Horizons. In Florida, Scott’s work as a director/choreographer has garnered several awards for productions of Seussical, Assassins, Kiss of The Spider Woman and Into The Woods.
Jen Jurek was seen on the Victoria Theatre stage in The Human Race’s production of Green Gables last May. She currently lives in New York City, where she recently finished debuting her first cabaret show at The Duplex, “A Girl You Should Know.” She performed for Maltby and Shire and songwriter John Bucchino at the Hoboken Cabaret Festival, which was directed by Phil Geoffrey Bond. For the past year, Jen has worked full time at the Jekyll & Hyde Club as an interactive improv performer.
Katie Pees, fresh from New York, is back in her hometown of Dayton as The Human Race’s new Conservatory Director. Katie went to Oakwood High School and starred in numerous Muse Machine productions. Some credits with The Human Race include Moby Dick, the Musical, The Spitfire Grill (for which she won a DayTony) and Was. Off-Broadway credits include: Boobs, the Musical, Beauty and the Beast, Crazy for You, Guys and Dolls, Children of Eden, How to Succeed, Annie, Get Your Gun, Cabaret and The Miser.
Marya Spring appeared in last fall’s world premiere of Was at the Loft Theatre. In Dayton, she also has been seen in the first staged production of the musical Prometheus Dreams, portraying Elizabeth, and as Paquette in Candide, presented by the Dayton Opera at the Victoria Theatre. She has taught Acting at Sinclair Community College and starred in numerous musicals across the country, including: Side by Side by Sondheim, A Little Night Music, Oklahoma!, Carousel and Sweeney Todd.
Established in 1999, the Musical Theatre Workshop series is designed to develop original musicals, to provide an avenue for that very important “second production” and to encourage appreciation of rarely produced musicals. Through a series of staged concerts, The Human Race not only contributes to the art form, it builds an audience for the new musical. The Human Race has staged several works in which Cummins, Hartmann and Keys have been associated, including Hereafter, Macabaret, Wild Blue and 24 Hours.
The Human Race Theatre Company’s production of Vanishing Point will be presented at the Loft Theatre on October 24 and 25. The Loft Theatre is located on the third floor of the Metropolitan Arts Center, next to the Victoria Theatre at 126 North Main Street in downtown Dayton. Performances begin at 7:00 p.m.
All tickets for Vanishing Point are priced at $15. Tickets are on sale now through Ticket Center Stage, with locations at the Victoria Theatre and Schuster Center box offices in downtown Dayton. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 937-228-3630 or toll free 888-228-3630. Ticket Center Stage hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday noon – 4:00 p.m. The Loft Theatre box office opens two hours prior to each performance. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.
For more information about The Human Race Theatre Company and the Musical Theatre Workshop series, visit www.humanracetheatre.org.
The Human Race Theatre Company receives organizational support from Culture Works, Montgomery County and The Shubert Foundation. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund The Human Race Theatre Company with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
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Founded in 1986, The Human Race Theatre Company moved to the Metropolitan Arts Center in 1991, taking up residence at The Loft, a 219-seat theatre. In addition to the Humana Loft Series 1, produced in collaboration with the Victoria Theatre Association, The Human Race produces the Humana Loft Series 2, the Musical Theatre Workshop series and special event programming. The Human Race, under the direction of Artistic Director Marsha Hanna and Executive Director Kevin Moore, also maintains educational outreach programs for children six to eighteen, guest artists and artist residencies in area schools, The Muse Machine In-School Tour, Youth Summer Stock and The Human Race Conservatory. The new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center of The Human Race opens in the fall of 2005 to provide a space for extensive theatre education classes and workshops.