Todd Almond-Matthew Sweet Boy-Meets-Boy Musical Girlfriend Will Play Joe's Pub

By Adam Hetrick
01 Feb 2012

Curt Hansen
Curt Hansen

Composer-playwright Todd Almond's musical Girlfriend, which brings to life Matthew Sweet's 1991 album of the same name, will receive a one-night-only concert staging at Joe's Pub Feb. 7.

Almond's dramatic adaptation of Girlfriend, which charts a boy meets-boy-romance, debuted in an extended run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2010, where it was well-received by critics. It features music and lyrics by Sweet and a book by Almond.

Obie Award winner Les Waters (In the Next Room, Three Sisters), who also staged the Berkeley Rep run, will stage the 9:30 PM concert. Featured are original cast member Ryder Bach and Curt Hansen (Next to Normal). Julie Wolf will musical direct.

Here's how Girlfriend is billed: "Romance unfolds around the tender love songs of Matthew Sweet's landmark album, Girlfriend. Meeting in homeroom. Cruising through town. Holding hands. Cheering from the stands. That awkward first kiss. In Girlfriend, boy meets boy. It's an eternal story turned upside down, a dual-Romeo duet..."

Almond has penned the musicals People Like Us, Kansas City Choir Boy, Ahraihsak and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, which premiered at Yale Rep. He is currently collaborating with Warren Leight and Stafford Arima on a musical adaptation of "A Separate Peace." His adaptation of "The Odyssey," with DeBessonet, debuted at the Old Globe Theatre in September 2011. His solo album "Mexico City" is currently available.

For tickets, priced $20, visit JoesPub. Joe's Pub is located within the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street.