Cry Eden is a new play with a thrilling folk & rock score that freshly tells the oldest tale of rivalry, the myth of Cain & Abel.
CRY EDEN is a new play with music exploring the myth of Cain and Abel as the very first coming of age story. The piece examines sibling rivalry, the impulse towards violence and the struggle of growing up in a world where the rules are not quite clear. Cry Eden features The Descendants of Cain – a folk/rock band made up of the ensemble that guides our narrative and grounds it in the present day.
In the spring of 2015, Sarah, Tommy, Patrick, choreographer Laura Brandel and an amazing ensemble of actor-musicians launched the project with a residency at the Dragon’s Egg Studio in Connecticut. Later that summer the team came back together for a second devising workshop with developmental support from Naked Angels. Following these original explorations, the show has continued to evolve through readings, workshops and presentations over the last year.
You are joining us at a critical moment in our development. We are thrilled to have an opportunity to present a workshop production of this piece this Fall. Cry Eden is not a traditional play – we have reached a point in the development of the piece where movement and design choices ere essential to Patrick and Tommy’s writing process. By fully realizing this version of the show, our creative team will be able to finely craft how the elements of music, movement, and design can work together to create a dynamic and layered musical. We dream of an even bigger life for Cry Eden as we head towards a future world premiere.
Check out some music from the show composed by Tommy Crawford of the Drama Desk nominated band, The Lobbyists.
Conceived by Patrick Barrett, Tommy Crawford and Sarah Wansley
Written by Patrick Barrett
Music by Tommy Crawford
Directed by Sarah Wansley
Choreography by Laura Brandel
Developed with Will Cobbs, Chris Cornwell, Tommy Crawford, Kendal Hartse, Graham Halstead, Natalie Khuen, Felicia Lobo, Wheaton Simis, Alex Trow, Tony Vo and Teddy Yudain.
Produced by Taylor Norton, Hannah Rosenthal, and Lindsay Wormser in collaboration with The Cain and Abel Project
Videos by Scott McCord and Andrew Messer
Photos by Scott McCord
Patrick Barrett (Playwright) is a playwright living and working in New York. Full-length plays include Follow Me Down (The Flea downstairs, dir. Sarah Wansley); The Rump of Folly (presented as part of The Flea’s @serials project); Telemachus, Darling (Abrons Arts Center, dir. Carly Hoogendyk); Dr. Apple’s Last Lecture (Edinburgh Fringe, co-written with Hole in the Sky Productions, dir. Carly Hoogendyk), and Goodnight, Fances (presented at the Howl Festival, dir. Nessa Norich). His poetry has appeared in The Columbia Review. He is a graduate of Columbia University.
Tommy Crawford (Composer, Actor) is an actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. Favorite New York acting credits include SeaWife (Naked Angels: Drama Desk Nominated Score), MetroCards (EST Unfiltered), Ex Machina (NY Fringe), Heresy (The Flea, by A.R. Gurney, Jim Simpson dir.), The Wundelsteipen (Nick Jones, The Flea), Take Her to See the Maco Lights (Bekah Brunstetter) and These Seven Sicknesses (as The Carrier, Ed Iskandar dir.). As a composer, Tommy has written, performed and arranged songs for a variety of projects including SeaWife, The Burial at Thebes (UCSD/LJP), Token: The Webseries and The Grapes of Wrath (UCSD/LJP). Tommy co-founded indie folk band The Lobbyists in the lobby of the Flea Theater. Yale University 2009. www.tommycrawford.com // wearethelobbyists.com
Sarah Elizabeth Wansley (Director) is a New York-based director. She received her MFA in Directing from UCSD under acclaimed Romanian director Gabor Tompa and a BA in English from Columbia University (summa cum laude). At UCSD she radically re-imagined Seamus Heaney’s The Burial at Thebes and Brecht’s Drums in the Night, developed site-specific work for La Jolla Playhouse’s WoW festival and directed for UCSD’s Wagner New Play Festival. In New York, Sarah has directed at EST / Youngblood, The Flea Theater and the NY Fringe. As Artistic Director of Aporia Theater she directed Patrick Barrett’s Follow Me Down and her own translation of Büchner’s Woyzeck. Lincoln Center Directors Lab (2011), Drama League Directing Fellow (2015). www.sarahelizabethwansley.com
Laura Brandel (Choreographer) New York based director and choreographer, develops new plays, musicals, and devised work. Movement Director for Barrow Street Theatre’s Hit the Wall, The Flea Theater’s a cautionary tail, HERE Art Center’s Life After, The Fringe Festival Ex Machina, and Planet Connections ALBA. Concert dance choreography presented in the Danny Kaye Playhouse and Dance New Amsterdam. Choreography consultant to Larry Keigwin on Rent Off Broadway, and collaborator on Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out, and Bolero NYC at The Joyce and Central Park Summerstage. Director of upcoming Dramatists Guild Fellowship Presentation, member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, choreographer in DNA’s Choreolab, and holds a BA in Dance and Dance Education from Hunter College.
Taylor Norton (Executive Producer) is a freelance director and producer working in New York City. Off-Broadway: The Island Boys; Summer Valley Fair (NYMF 2015); Sea Legs: A Nautical New Musical* (Araca Project 2014). Assistant Directing: Incognito (MTC, dir. Doug Hughes); Emilie: The Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight (Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, dir. Alex Greenfield); Trumpets and Raspberries (University of Michigan); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (University of Michigan, dir. Rebecca Spooner); The Diver (US Premiere, dir. Rebecca Spooner); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Upright Egg Theatre, dir. Leah Adcock-Starr); Hedda Gabler (The Southern Theatre, dir. Genevieve Bennett). B.F.A. University of Michigan. 2015-16 Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow. (* Indicates World Premiere)
Hannah Rosenthal (Executive Producer) is a New York based producer. She is currently part of the team at Ruth Hendel Productions. Previously, Hannah worked in the theatrical department at United Talent Agency and at Laura Stanczyk Casting. She has interned with Nickelodeon, Manhattan Theatre Club, Frankel Green Theatrical Management and Jen Rudin Casting. Hannah is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan.
Lindsay Wormser (Associate Producer) is a New York-based director and producer. Favorite directing/ producing credits include: A Map of Virtue, How I Learned to Drive, Stop Kiss (U of M) and Rabbit Hole (13th Street Repertory Theater). She is currently the assistant director of The Annotated History of the American Muskrat (Ice Factory) and Tink! (New York Musical Theater Festival). She is the upcoming Artistic Intern at New York Theatre Workshop and a proud graduate of the University of Michigan.
The total budget for this production is $20,000. Here are some of the things your donations will cover:
We have fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas, so each donation can be written off on your taxes!
This Kickstarter will cover half of our production budget. Our most obvious challenge is raising the remaining $10,000. Taylor, Hannah, and Lindsay are confident that their combined experience in producing and fundraising will give them the foundation to raise the remaining capital.