Kerry Butler, who is currently starring as Penny Pingleton in this season's runaway hit, Hairspray, will take part in the workshop of a new musical by the composers of Prodigal.
Entitled Virgins Etc., the work by Mathew Frank (music) and Dean Bryant (book and lyrics) is comprised of two mini-musicals, The Virgin Wars and Jumpin' the Q. Both will receive a workshop production Oct. 11 at the York Theatre Company, where Prodigal played a limited run last winter.
Bryant, a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and a 2001 winner of the inaugural Green Room Award for Best Original Score, recently spoke with PBOL about his new show. "The Virgin Wars is about a group of teenage girls that tour high schools promoting sexual abstinence through song and dance," said Bryant. "However, when one of the girls in the group recognizes a guy in the audience, it's up to Tracy Schifitz, the team leader, to save all their reputations. The Virgin Wars is a satire of the phenomenon of abstinence clubs in high schools, the funding of these groups by the Bush government in the name of economic rationalism and our culture's hysteria about teen sexuality, using plenty of bump-n-grind choreography!"
Butler will head the cast of The Virgin Wars, which also features Nikki James, Liza Lapira, Maryanne McCormack, Jodie Katz and Eric Millegan. The same company will take part in Jumpin' the Q, the second of the two black comedies. About Jumpin', Bryant had this to say: "[The show] is a talent quest for potential immigrants. The winning girl 'will be flown into the heart of our great country, where she'll sign citizenship papers and a record deal, simultaneously.' However, the winning girl has a secret which throws all the competitors' futures into doubt. Jumpin' the Q is an exploration of the power the media wields, their manipulation of the public's view of national issues, focusing on the plight of refugees seeking better lives in the Western world."
In related news: Prodigal will be recorded on Oct. 7 and 8 by JAY Records for an upcoming release.
