NewsTravis Wall, Judy Shepard, the Clementi Family and More Will Take Part in Post-Show TalkOUTs at Off-Broadway's BareThe upcoming Off-Broadway rock musical Bare, about a secret love affair between two teenage boys at a Catholic boarding school, will host a series of post-performance TalkOUTs with leaders of the LGBT community throughout the run of the show.
By
Michael Gioia
November 01, 2012
Each TalkOUT, a discussion and Q&A following the performance, will focus specifically on the organization represented that evening, and audience members will have the opportunity to learn about each organization's role in the ongoing fight for LGBT equality.
The TalkOUT series will begin on Bare's first preview, Nov. 19, with Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student who died from a hate crime in Laramie, WY, in 1998. Judy Shepard is the founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the force behind the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Also scheduled to take part in TalkOUTs are Jane Clementi of The Tyler Clementi Foundation (Nov. 21); Chuck Wolfe of The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund (Nov. 26); Hudson Taylor of Athlete Ally (Nov. 28); James Clementi of The Tyler Clementi Foundation (Nov. 29); Paul Boskind, Bare producer and Human Rights Campaign board member, and other HRC board members (Dec. 3); Mitchell Gold of Faith in America (Dec. 5); Travis Wall, choreographer of Bare (Dec. 6); Joseph, Jane and James Clementi of The Tyler Clementi Foundation (Dec. 12); and cast members from Bare (Dec. 19).
A calendar of TalkOUTs will continue to be updated and can be viewed at BareMusicalNYC.com.
As previously announced, Taylor Trensch (Broadway's Wicked) and Jason Hite, in his Off-Broadway debut, will star as undercover lovers Peter and Jason, respectively. Bare will also feature Elizabeth Judd (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) as Ivy, Gerard Canonico (Spring Awakening) as Matt, Jerold E. Solomon (South Pacific) as Father Mike, Barrett Wilbert Weed (Lysistrata Jones) as Nadia and Missi Pyle (Boeing-Boeing) as Sister Joan. Rounding out the cast are Casey Garvin (West Side Story national tour) as Zack, Ariana Groover as Vanessa, Sara Kapner (Hollywood Arms) as Madison, Alice Lee (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) as Diane, Justin Gregory Lopez ("Law & Order: SVU") as Beto, Michael Tacconi as Nick and Alex Wyse (Lysistrata Jones) as Alan. Anthony Festa and Megan Lewis (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) are swings.
The musical, featuring music by Damon Intrabartolo and book and lyrics by Jon Hartmere, will begin performances Nov. 19, prior to an official opening Dec. 9, at Off-Broadway's New World Stages.
Here's how producers bill Bare: "Set in a co-ed Catholic boarding school, Bare explores the subject of teens exposed to the issues of identity, sexuality and religion. With provocative lyrics and a thrilling rock score, the musical demonstrates how today’s generation is forced to navigate, for the first time, the tightrope between adolescence and adulthood and how far they will go to keep their world intact."
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