The musical will debut at the 29th Annual Houston's Children's Theatre Festival June 15-29. The production boasts music and lyrics by Bock with a book by Sidney Berger, who founded the theatre festival in 1978.
Chesley Santoro Krohn will direct The Princess Who Could Not Be Heard, which will play the University of Houston's Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre. The musical, according to press notes, tells the tale of a "deaf princess who is rejected by her own family because of her hearing disability but finds acceptance among circus performers." Hanna Alcorn will star in the title role.
Jerry Bock penned music and/or lyrics for Mr. Wonderful, The Body Beautiful, Fiorello!, Tenderloin, Never Too Late, Man in the Moon, She Loves Me, Fiddler on the Roof, Baker Street, Generation, The Apple Tree, The Rothschilds and The Madwoman of Central Park West. He won Tony Awards for Fiddler on the Roof (Best Composer and Lyricist; Best Musical) and Fiorello! (Best Musical). The latter also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The festival has previously presented new works created by Ntozake Shange, Charles Strouse and Mark Bramble.
For more information about Children's Theatre Festival 2007, visit www.theatre.uh.edu or call (713) 743-3003.