Music & Lyrics by MICHELLE J. RODRIGUEZ
Directed by DANILO GAMBINI
Music Direction by JOSÉ BENJAMIN ESCOBAR
Performed by JOSÉ BENJAMIN ESCOBAR, JOHN MURCHISON, JULIAN PARDO & MICHELLE J. RODRIGUEZ
Arranged by JOSÉ BENJAMIN ESCOBAR, JOHN MURCHISON, JULIAN PARDO & MICHELLE J. RODRIGUEZ
Lighting Operator MATT LAZARUS
Sound Operator DON SHORT
Stage Manager KATIE KENNEDY
Live Stream Operator TAYLOR STUART
Closed Captioning Provided by TRANSCRIPTION STAR
Originally Premiered: September 17, 2021
ESTIMATED RUN TIME: 60 MINUTES
MICHELLE J. RODRIGUEZ (she/her) is an artist who performs and writes in the worlds of music and theater. Ms. Rodriguez was raised in the Pacific Northwest and Kentucky by her Puerto Rican parents and in Vermont, Chicago and NYC by her communities, all of whom inspired her to explore kids-of-immigrants stories, divine femininity, intuition, healing and spaces in-between. Her music project MICHA became a finalist for NPR’s 2018 Tiny Desk Contest with her song “Nena Nena Nena,” praised for a “bilingual set spanning laid-back southern soul and Latin pop flare” (NPR). Ms. Rodriguez is a Van Lier Fellow at Ars Nova, a member of their 2020-21 Makers Lab and has received support from the Sundance Institute, New York Theatre Workshop, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, Salonathon and the University of Chicago. Musicals include the bluegrass and folktale inspired East o’, West o’! (Ars Nova/ANT Fest). Ms. Rodriguez made her Public Theater début in 2019 where she composed the music for The Mobile Unit’s production of The Tempest directed by Laurie Woolery and subsequently toured MICHA MÚSICA: In Transit in collaboration with The Mobile Unit and Joe’s Pub. BA Williams College. michamusica.com
DANILO GAMBINI is a New York-based director, originally from São Paulo, Brazil. Directing credits include Ni Mi Madre at Rattlestick’s Playwrights Theater (NYT Critics’ Pick), the musicals Fun Home and The Who’s TOMMY, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson’s An Iliad, and Noah Diaz’s Rock Egg Spoon. As the Co-Artistic Director of the Yale Summer Cabaret, he directed Euripides’s Bakkhai and adapted and directed the musical The Swallow and the Tomcat from the Brazilian children’s book by Jorge Amado. Other credits include Agreste (Drylands), Ni Mi Madre, Truck (Yale Cabaret); Opera: Don Giovanni, Ariadne Auf Naxos, Eugene Onegin (Theatro São Pedro). He has assisted directors including Robert Woodruff, Scott Ellis, Laurie Woolery, Fernando Meirelles, Iacov Hillel and Candace Evans. He is currently the Directing Fellow at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and part of the 2020-22 Roundabout Director’s Group. Danilo holds an MFA in Directing from Yale School of Drama, a BFA in Film and Television (Curso Superior do Audiovisual) and an artist diploma as an actor from the School of Dramatic Art (Escola de Arte Dramática – EAD) both from the University of São Paulo. danilogambini.com
JOSÉ BENJAMIN ESCOBAR is a Venezuelan-American composer, pianist, singer and educator. He has written music for film, salsa, hip-hop, reggaeton, chamber and orchestral ensembles, pop and alternative rock bands. His work was called “music of the highest caliber” by NPR Music. He has been fortunate enough to perform internationally as a soloist and ensemble musician. José’s latest studio album “Entre Tierras” was independently released in October 2020.
Our new digital platform, Ars Nova Supra, is the home to most of our 2020/21 season offerings! Tune in weekly for premieres created specifically for streaming, and priced at just $5-$10 each — or available live and on-demand with a $15/month, cancel-anytime subscription. LEARN MORE.
Makers Lab features a dynamic group of generative theater artists, each with individually tailored residencies designed to holistically support their careers and develop their new works. LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS.
Subscriptions are just $15/month, and you can cancel your subscription at any time. Subscribers receive access to all monthly livestream premieres at one low price, plus exclusive on-demand access to the Ars Nova Supra library, where you can watch any shows you may have missed live. Never worry about FOMO again!
Don’t want to subscribe? Catch our next event! Individual tickets for livestream premieres are just $5-$10 and grant access to watch live and catch the replay until 5 pm ET the following day. Click here for our upcoming schedule.
How can I access details about my Ars Nova Supra account?
In the bottom right corner of your browser window on any Ars Nova Supra page is a small circular icon with a small blue face on it — click here to access details about your subscription, purchases and payment info, or to change your password. Still can’t find what you need? Shoot an email to tickets@arsnovanyc.com and we’ll get you sorted!