Each TalkOUT, a discussion and Q&A following the performance, focuses specifically on the organization represented that evening, and audience members have the opportunity to learn about each organization's role in the ongoing fight for LGBT equality.
The TalkOUT series began on Bare's first preview, Nov. 19, 2012, with Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student who died from a hate crime in Laramie, WY, in 1998.
In the month of January, TalkOUTs will feature Ross Murray (GLAAD) with cast member Pyle Jan. 9; Nathan Schaefer (Empire State Pride Agenda) Jan. 16; Maggie Keenan-Bolger and Derrick Miller-Handley (The Point Foundation) Jan. 23; Rabbi Michael Mellen Jan. 24; The Clementi Family (Joseph, Jane and James) with Steven Guy (The Tyler Clementi Foundation) Jan. 30; cast member Trensch with Bare director Arima Jan. 31.
For the conversation with Trensch and Arima, fans are encouraged to submit questions via the Bare Facebook and Twitter pages starting Jan. 29. To submit a question via Twitter, use the hashtag #askStaffordTaylor when tweeting at @BareNYC. Facebook questions can be submitted on the Bare Facebook wall.
A calendar of TalkOUTs will continue to be updated and can be viewed at BareMusicalNYC.com. Trensch (Broadway's Wicked) and Jason Hite, in his Off-Broadway debut, star as undercover lovers Peter and Jason, respectively. Bare also features 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 with additional songs by Hartmere and Lynne Shankel, began 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."
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