New York Theatre Barn To Live Stream Excerpts From New Musicals MARY AND MAX and SECOND LINE

New York Theatre Barn will host a free live stream of its New Works Series on Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 at 7PM EDT, featuring excerpts from the new musicals Mary and Max and Second Line. The 40-minute presentation will also feature the creators of the two new musicals.

Adapted from the 2009 Australian claymation film by Academy Award winner Adam Elliot, Mary and Max has music and lyrics by Bobby Cronin and a book by Crystal Skillman. 13-year old Lily, who has recently lost her mother, locks herself in her room, refusing to tell her father what happened at school that day. On the other side of the door, Lily's Father shares the story of misfit penpals Mary and Max with her, in the hope of coaxing her out. Lily becomes drawn into the story, realizing her father has his own dark past and relationship with this story. Will he tell her the truth? And will Max's Aspergers and Mary's depression keep these two penpals apart forever? The writers will present two songs from the show performed remotely by Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma!, Young Frankenstein) and Lauren Elder (Side Show, Hair, Theatre Calgary's Mary and Max).

Based on the novel Toast by Rex Rose, Second Line is the new musical from Sam Carner (words) and Derek Gregor (music). With its jazz/electro-pop fusion score, Second Line chronicles a fractured New Orleans woman who quickly falls in with a crew of misfits seeking to transfigure the pain of existence, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The writers will present two songs from the show performed remotely by Austin Scott (Hamilton, Girl From The North Country) and Lagoona Bloo (America's Got Talent, NBC's 'The Voice').

Mary and Max had its world premiere at Theatre Calgary in 2018 (winning the BroadwayWorld Award for Best Musical) and a critically-acclaimed European premiere in 2019 at Landestheater Linz, Austria. Second Line has been developed by Bloomington Playwrights Project, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and at the Johnny Mercer Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. Both shows were also developed and featured in Pace New Musicals.

The 40-minute presentation will be available on New York Theatre Barn's YouTube channel.

The New Works Series is produced by Jen Sandler and Joe Barros. For more information, visit New York Theatre Barn's website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.