PHOTO CALL: Molly Bell Is Becoming Britney at FringeNYC
By Matthew Blank
15 Aug 2008
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Molly Bell as Britney Spears
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| photo by Dixie Sheridan | How does an international pop sensation wind up bald and trapped in her own musical? Performer Molly Bell attempts to answer that question in Becoming Britney, a new work currently making its world premiere at FringeNYC.
Production notes describe the piece as "a caustic (but loving) PG-13 fable that chronicles the rise, the dip and the salvation of a foolhardy celebrity phenom. The show features eleven original songs that pay homage to multiple musical theatre genres including shows like Annie and Rent, and composers like Rogers and Hammerstein among others."
Some of the tunes one can expect to hear include a comical waltz between Britney and K-Fed as they both agree the other is "The Love of My Life (So Far)"; a production number called "Push It Out" in which Spears has two babies and; "Out of Control," a swingin' jive number in which she is aided in her downward spiral by friends Lindsay and Paris.
Portraying Britney Spears is Bell, who co-wrote the piece with director Daya Curley. A familiar face in the Bay Area professional theatre scene, she has appeared in three notable premieres with Mountain View-based TheatreWorks: as Shelley in the West Coast premiere of Bat Boy, as Miss Amelia in the world premiere of Andrew Lippa's A Little Princess, and as Clara in the world premiere of Memphis. Bell was most recently seen in their developmental production of Stephen Schwartz's Snapshots.
Also featured in the cast are Riette Burdick (Crazy for You national tour), Keith Pinto (Fame, the Musical European tour), Alison Ewing (Cabaret on Broadway), Carrie Madsen (Cabaret tour) and Sean Grady (Guys and Dolls at AMTSJ).
Becoming Britney performs at downtown's Bleecker Street Theatre at 45 Bleecker Street.
There are three remaining performances: at 9:45 PM on Aug. 15, 5:15 PM on Aug. 19 and 2:30 PM on Aug. 23.
Tickets, priced at $15, may be purchased at www.FringeNYC.org. Visit www.becomingbritney.com for further information.
Here is a first look at the production:
Photos copyright Dixie Sheridan
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