Yeast Nation, From Tony-Winning Urinetown Writers, Rises at FringeNYC Aug. 13 | Playbill

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News Yeast Nation, From Tony-Winning Urinetown Writers, Rises at FringeNYC Aug. 13 Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life), the new musical by the Tony-winning authors of Urinetown, starring Tony-winning actress Harriet Harris, begins performances Aug. 13 as part of the 15th annual New York International Fringe Festival.

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Harriet Harris in Yeast Nation Photo by Jay Sullivan

Featuring music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and book and lyrics by Greg Kotis, Yeast Nation has sold out all performances of its five-show run at La Mama ETC. It is presented Aug. 13, 18, 21, 22 and 25.

Co-author Kotis directs the engagement, which has choreography by Wendy Seyb (Pee-wee Herman Show on Broadway) and musical direction by William Wade.

In addition to Harris (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Cry-Baby), the cast includes Erik Altemus, Jennifer Blood, Rheaume Crenshaw, Rick Crom, Nick Gaswirth, Kimiko Glenn, Douglas Goodhart, Antwayn Hopper, Lauren Lebowitz, George McDaniel, Manu Narayan, Charlie Plummer, Emily Tarpey and Joy Suprano.

According to the creators, "Yeast Nation takes us back to the year 3,000,458,000 B.C., when the world’s first salt-eating yeasts float in the brine of the primordial sea. The yeasts' aging and tyrannical king is unwilling to confront the depletion of their saline food supply. But when the king’s son dares to venture where no yeast has ventured before, the course of existence is changed… forever! Equal parts Greek tragedy and Shakespearean court drama, Yeast Nation features an eclectic rock score, bizarre hilarity, and a story of love and hope that, as the yeasts sing, 'is not only our story, but yours.' Also, everyone is named Jan ('yahn')."

Hollmann and Kotis' Urinetown also debuted at the Fringe Festival in 1999, where it played an extended run and took the Overall Excellence Award for a Musical. It later transferred Off-Broadway to the American Theatre of Actors on April 1, 2001, and transferred to Broadway in July 2001 to the Henry Miller's Theatre, where it ran for 965 performances. It earned Tony Awards for Best Book (Kotis), Best Score (Hollmann) and Best Direction (John Rando). John Arthur Pinckard and Ryan Bogner produce the FringeNYC run.

Visit FringeNYC, or phone (212) 279-4488. La Mama ETC is located at 74 East 4th Street.

View a Playbill Video feature about Yeast Nation:

 
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