"National Coming Out Day is so important to Bare and to our allies in the fight for LGBT equality," said Bare producer Paul Boskind in a statement. "We invite all supporters of equality to join us on Oct. 11 to learn more about our partners, our musical and how we can all work together to ensure that everyone is free to be themselves."
At the 10:30 AM event, Bare celebrated its newly announced coalition with Athlete Ally, the Human Rights Campaign, Faith in America and The Tyler Clementi Foundation to champion anti-bullying, tolerance and equality.
Hosted by the producers of Bare — Boskind, Gregory Rae, Randy Taradash and Carl D. White — the event featured speakers including former NHL star Sean Avery on behalf of Athlete Ally; activist Fiona Dawson on behalf of HRC; executive director Brent Childers and LGBT and women's rights advocate Roberta Sklar on behalf of Faith in America; James Clementi and executive director Steven Guy on behalf of the Tyler Clementi Foundation; and Bare director Arima and choreographer Wall.
The speakers will share their personal experiences, speak about their individual organizations and their collaboration with Bare, and the event will include a performance from the upcoming musical. 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."
The Snapple Theater Center is located at 210 West 50th Street (3rd floor). Visit BareMusicalNYC.com.
