"Fagan stands out because she plays guitar, banjo, and has even been called upon to learn and play drums for a previous show that featured the music of The Carpenters.”-KC Applauds
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“As for Fagan, maybe Fanny Brice’s most famous song, “My Man” established her as a singer... Fagan delivers the song with confidence and emotion and astounds the QHP audience. Later, she makes a strong statement that she should play Rose in the next local mount of “Gypsy.” Her version of “Some People” is strong and emotionally packed.”-KC Applauds
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"Valerie Fagan, a KC and UMKC Alum, returns from a long list of Broadway and National Touring shows to a home town crowd eager to see what she's been up to. She delivers a performance, that while funny as can be, truly shows she has the chops to sing most anything." -Broadwayworld.com
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"Hysterical and superlatively acted: Val Fagan's Witch." - KC Star
"There is no small nor lesser-skilled actor, but the standouts of the night are Val Fagan's Witch" -KC PerformInk.com
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"Val Fagan threatens to steal the second act as Mrs. Fleming, the empathetic/narcissistic school principal who gathers the student body so that everyone can share their feelings about the recent tragic deaths." - Robert Trussell, KC STUDIO
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| Click Link For Reservations! |
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"Valerie Fagan as Patsy Cline could not be better cast. Fagan stepped onstage, walked to a microphone, introduced her character and burst into Cline's repertoire of well-loved songs. As for the characterization, she was Patsy Cline from the moment she stepped on the stage through the end. What a bravura performance!" - KC Performing Arts Examiner
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| KC Live - KSHB 41 |
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| w/ Stasha Case as Louise |
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Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Los Angeles Ovation Award 2012 Nomination
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| link to Times article |
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| Just Played the Title Role in this Exciting New Musical |
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| link to article |
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| Addams Family on Broadway |
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| Had a Wonderful Time Covering Two Roles in the Show! |
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SRO & Standing Ovation!
Valerie Fagan & Blair Ross
starred in
New Jersey Rep's
April 27th staged reading of the hilarious new play:
"Soccer Moms"
by John DeVore
"a couple of ridiculously ambitious housewives sell their souls so their daughters can become pee wee soccer stars."
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| link to Transport Group |
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"The cast is strong and effective...the best voices belong to Valerie Fagan and Mark Ledbetter, both of whom get their chance to show their wares."
-Barbara and Scott Siegel, TheaterMania.com "Valerie Fagan lends a supple voice to a couple of charming songs." -Diane Snyder, Time Out New York
"Valerie Fagan sings the show’s two best songs, the pop-tinged 'Call Me Crazy,' and the torchy, 'Curve of the Moon,' in an impressively sultry voice." -Victor Gluck, Theatrescene.net
"The play has the overtone of a madcap adventure, where characters and situations melt into others. The cast is consistently up to the challenge...the cast switch between their various roles with ease." -J. Bartz, Philadelphia Bulletin
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The York's Reading Series new musical of
"The Road to Qatar!"
Book & Lyrics by Stephen Cole
Music by David Krane
Starring:
Ed Dixon, Valerie Fagan, Jason Graae,
David Hibbard & Troy Britton Johnson
MUSIC DIRECTION by PAUL FORD
DIRECTED BY DAVID GLENN ARMSTRONG
click Playbill link for more info:
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"Chicago's 'Forbidden Broadway' is fresh and funnier than ever!"
-Chicago Tribune
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"Fagan, one of Alessandrini’s most deadly weapons, delivers musical venom with a cherubic visage and beguiling sincerity."
-Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
"Of particular note, get a load of Val Fagan. She should be starring on Broadway, not just making fun of it."
-William Scott, Newcity Stage
"Many of the performers over the years have gone on to notable careers and the irony is that frequently the "FB" cast members are as good or better than their higher profile Broadway counterparts. In an ideal world (and probably one in which Gerard Alessandrini is declared King of Broadway), a name like Valerie Fagan would be lighting up Broadway marquees and playing to SRO, so completely does she inhabit and enhance the various stage personas she takes on. Fagan’s performance is the highlight of the Chicago engagement.” -Chicago Steadstyle
"...funny take-offs on Sarah Brightman (a marvelous piece by Val), "Mary Poppins (again, Val) and Patti LuPone (again Val- this woman is a bundle of energy with a powerful voice) but all four of these singers are loaded with talent, have great vocal range and just the right comic touch." -Al Bresloff, EpochTimes
"Fagan sings circles around Sarah Brightman's high C's, gives Patti LuPone a run for her money as "Gypsy's" Mama Rose, captures the ear-splitting Idina Menzel as Elphaba in "Wicked" and nails little Eponine's boredom as she text messages from the stage in "Les Mis." -Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"Feed the 'Burbs," sings Valerie Fagan, in a Mary Poppins spoof so hilarious you'll clutch your sides." Chris Jones, Hottest Ticket In Town- C. Jones, Chicago Tribune
"every bit as good as many of the stars they impersonate. Valerie Fagan's huge voice and wide-eyed, expressive delivery will knock you out as she channels Patti LuPone, Mary Poppins, Idina Menzel and "The Lion King"'s Rafiki. " - Chicago Steadstyle
"performed by only four beautifully sinister mimics...a contextualizing, Daily Show–style primer for musical neophytes"
-Christopher Piatt, Time Out Chicago
"But here's the thing to remember as you watch the bravura cast of four as they move through the show's 95 marathonlike minutes: While Broadway stars can put a distinctive mark on a single role, the four virtuosos here whip off a half-dozen star turns with voices and faces to match marquee names."- H. Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
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Sold out run, extended four times and the highest grossing show in MGR's history...Val just starred in the East Coast Premier of:
"Church Basement Ladies"
" 'Ladies' scores high as crowd pleaser."
-J. Vadebocoeur -The Post-Standard, Syracuse NY
"The five characters are classic Midwestern types and the actors bring them splendidly to life."
-B. Adams Ithaca Times, NY
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Val just finished a sold out run at theYork Theatre Reading Series'
JENNY AND ME
The musical biography of Sardi's
Book by Darryl Hickman - Music by Peter Matz
(original concept : Darryl Hickman & Charles Nelson Reilly)
Directed by Guy Stroman
Musical and vocal direction by Jack Lee
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"Forbidden Broadway : Rude Awakening"
Valerie's "On My Phone"
chosen as an
Elaine Paige Broadway Essential
for the BBC
Winner of the
2008 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue
Winner of Broadway.com
2008 Audience Award
Top Cast Album : Billboard
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| link to drama desk site |
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| Gerard and Val at the Drama Desk Party : Link To Corine's Corner Interview |
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| Link To Elaine Paige News |
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| link to opening night! |
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| link to broadwayworld.com review |
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| Opening Night Party Rude Awakening |
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| Link to Corine's Corner Interview |
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Val recently appeared in
North Shore Music Theatre's hit show
THE PRODUCERS
May 13 - June 1
"North Shore Music Theatre’s production has all the qualities that make the show so appealing -- politically incorrect humor that generates belly laughs, glitzy costumes and toe-tapping numbers delivered with gusto by thoroughly, enjoyably over-the-top characters...the musical highlight of the NSMT production goes to "Keep It Gay"...Marland and Berman, aided by Tim Falter, Joel Briel, Kyle Brown, and Valerie Fagan execute a swirling, swishing, sequins and purple vision of a "Keep It Gay". -J.Bubriski, EDGE-Boston
"While the production values are an essential part of the show, "The Producers" also requires a first-rate cast with terrific singing voices who can jump right into these outrageous characters. This North Shore production has an outstanding ensemble." -Terry Byrne, The Boston Globe
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Playbill News:
Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening CD Debuts and Disney Musicals Climb on Billboard Chart
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| link to playbill article |
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What the critics are saying about the original cast album:
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"Gerard Alessandrini has been drinking that funny water again...as usual, Forbidden Broadway succeeds on the talents of its performers." -Steven Suskin, Playbill
"...delivered by the expert cast of Jared Bradshaw, Janet Dickinson, James Donegan and Valerie Fagan...for musical theatre buffs. They will find it hilarious." -William Ruhlmann, Billboard
"Chalk up another point in the "win" column for Forbidden Broadway for the latest in its series of skewerings of Broadway shows and trends...Casting chameleons is the key to the performances working, and the cast members here are versatile and strong voiced....Valerie Fagan is successfully brash in a wide variety of roles, from angst-ridden Spring Awakening teen to one of The Jersey Boys. -talkinbroadway.com
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FB's new addition is open in NY and the reviews are in:
"The cast of two men and two women is, as usual, perfect. Special mention, however, must be given to Valerie Fagan, who belts it out of the park as the Merm. She also does well as a man complaining of having to sing falsetto as the lead in Jersey Boys." -EDGE New York City
"...immensely talented and uniquely hilarious. They're all gifted mimics — especially Fagan's "swell" impression of Ethel Merman — their voices can also raise the rafters." -The Associated Press
"Valerie Fagan is brilliant in her Eponine moment, "On My Phone," a number perfect for our techno-manic age. Fagan proves she can belt like Merman, be as "wicked" as Idina Menzel and as adorably falsetto as John Lloyd Young in "Jersey Goys."-New York Theatre Guide
"Valerie Fagan is another jewel of a performer. Her Ethel Merman impression ranks high among those who have imitated The Merm over the years, but the fun also lies in using her to show how a real singer doesn’t need the sort of amplification we have these days." -Wolf Entertainment Guide
""The latest and possibly best edition...legendary belter Ethel Merman’s, channeled to perfection by the formidably coiffed Valerie Fagan." -TheatreScene.net
"Valerie Fagan plays Mary Poppins, Wendla and Ethel Merman among many others. She's brassy and booming and can bring the house down." -Brooklyn View
"Valerie Fagan's big voice and comic chops come in handy playing "Wicked" woman Idina Menzel and musical maven Ethel Merman." -NY Daily News
"..grand new passages including one for Fagan (who captures the show's current Eponine – Celia Keenan-Bolger – with sureness. Fagan – in Idina Menzel Wicked drag proves she can also belt with the best of them." -American Theater Web
"But the indisputable highlight is the cast's gut-busting capsule rendition of the "Les Miserables" revival, including "On My Phone," with Fagan as a bored Eponine killing time behind the barricades with her iPhone while waiting to be shot." -Variety
"Valerie Fagan perfectly copies the gesture, she sings, "Mama, who bore me/Mama, my booby." Simple, silly, funny. In short, Forbidden Broadway at its best." -Backstage.com
Rude Awakening offers moments as salty and savage as anything he has written. Just 30 seconds in, Valerie Fagan, in a white nightshirt and little else, gives us Spring Awakening’s nubile heroine Wendla: “Mama who bore me/Mama my booby/I need a training bra/And a maxi pad so bad/Mama, please give me sex education/No sleep in heaven for a horny undergrad. When Fagan, now playing Eponine in Les Misérables, sings “On My Phone,” the point is clear: Those goddamn cell phones should be turned off, people, and not just by ticket-buyers, but by actors, too. Jersey Boys fast becomes “Jersey Goys” as two terrific men in the show, Jared Bradshaw and James Donegan, help Fagan sing a rewritten lyric to “Sherry” (“Scary Broadway.”) I loved when Fagan, all dolled up as prickly Mary Poppins, makes an absolute farce out of a familiar tongue-twister of a tune: “It’s stupid-careless-fictional-nonsensical verboseness.” -New York Press
"...showstoppers like Valerie Fagan's take on "On My Own" from Les Miz ("On My Phone," about a texting chorine behind the barricades..." -HX, New York
"Like past casts, the current quartet is beyond terrific. Valerie Fagan as the tragically innocent, and here hilarious, Wendla comes on only to have her woeful and wailing "Mamma" number unceremoniously interrupted by Cole Porter's "De-Lovely" -CurtainUp.com
"Valerie Fagan as Eponine sang, "On My Phone" a take off of "On My Own," which would make a great Sprint commercial...very funny stuff. The best moment of the show was when Ethel Merman (Fagan) appeared from the back of the theater, yelled to the Phantom of the Opera (Donegan) to sing out and then dived into a rousing duet." -TheCelebrityCafe.com
"The first act comes to an uproarious close with an extended Les Miz parody ...Valerie Fagan's Eponine sings of being On My Phone.(Where are you guys? Act Two?" she asks a friend. We're still in Act One!) ...zippy sendup as Idina Menzel in Wicked Fagan proclaims, No one's going to turn my volume down!" -Theatre News online
"astonishing mimics, spectacular singers, and 24-carat comedians" -TalkinBroadway.com
"...electric cast...extraordinary track record for hiring wildly talented people-but rarely are all four performers in the same show as gifted as the quartet who take the stage in the current edition...Valerie Fagan is a robust Ethel Merman among others."
-Theatermania.com
"The cast upholds the show's impeccable standards for imitation...these are leather-lunged, quick-change chameleons. Are there really just four of them? Seems like 30" -Newsday.com
"The four performers go through their paces with comic virtuosity." -NY Post
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| link to photo page |
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| Link to Photo File |
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| Link to Diva Talk |
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| Link To Celeb Buzz |
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While on hiatus from New York - Chicago raved!
Tony Award Winning
"Forbidden Broadway SVU"
What the critic's are saying...
“The funniest, fastest 90 minutes in Chicago, bar none…everyone in this show could be in the actual cast of the shows they're spoofing.” -Chicago Tribune
“Many of the performers over the years have gone on to notable careers and the irony is that frequently the "FB" cast members are as good or better than their higher profile Broadway counterparts. In an ideal world (and probably one in which Gerard Alessandrini is declared King of Broadway), a name like Valerie Fagan would be lighting up Broadway marquees and playing to SRO, so completely does she inhabit and enhance the various stage personas she takes on. Fagan’s performance is the highlight of the Chicago engagement.” -Chicago Steadstyle
"All it takes to carry it all off -- and to get the tears running down your face along with any mascara you might be wearing -- is a bravura cast of four. " -Chicago Sun Times
“…an amazing cast. Members morph and contort seamlessly into a mind-boggling array of Broadway celebrities…Valerie Fagan is particularly adept at getting down all of Liza Minnelli's spastic tics plus former "Phantom of the Opera" star Sarah Brightman's bug-eyed daze while launching her shrill soprano trills.” -Chicago Daily Herald
“Hilarious. Highly Recommended” -Chicago Sun Times
"Knockout Valerie Fagan!" - Chicago Tribune
“Dean’s List Recommended. A must See.” -Dean Richards. WGN TV
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| Leisa, Val, Jared & Michael on Opening Night! |
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Val received great reviews in the Regional Theater Premiere of ...
HAIRSPRAY
at
North Shore Music Theatre
Oct 19- Nov 24
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"In support, Valerie Fagan and North Shore favorite David Coffee deserve special mention. They both give standout performances as multiple oddball characters. Fagan alternates between the ultra-conservative-bordering-on-fanatical Prudy Pingleton, the rough-and-tumble, girl-friendly Gym Teacher, and the sexy and slightly sadistic prison Matron. Her remarkable belt in the Act II opener “The Big Dollhouse” lifts the already rousing jail cell number into the stratosphere." - Jan Nargi, Broadway World
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"Fagan makes the most out every line and gesture, turning numbers that could fall flat in less capable hands into some of the shows most memorable material." -B. Heath, Broadway.com
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| LINK TO NYMF |
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Forbidden Broadway SVU
at
The Huntington Theatre of Boston
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A 2006
"ELLIOT NORTON AWARD"
Nominee
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| (LINK TO THEATERMANIA ARTICLE) |
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| As Brooke Shields |
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| Mamma Mia Girls |
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| As Kathleen Turner |
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“The cast is up to the hilarious caricaturing task, particularly Valerie Fagan whose Yoko Ono impersonation is a scream - literally.” -James A Lopata, In Newsweekly
"Laugh-out-loud funny, especially at the show's highlights -- a Sarah Brightman 'Time to Say Goodbye' and a Yoko Ono parody by show standout Valerie Fagan” -Alexa DeGennaro, Daily Free Press
"Fagan, in particular, has a strong, supple singing voice that she puts to good use in brilliant impersonations of Sarah Brightman and Yoko Ono." -David Frieze, Back Stage
“The show's performers are fine mimics and supple singers, Fagan supplies some of the standout bits, such as her wicked version of singer Sarah Brightman.” -Bill Marx, WBUR-NPR
“…equally funny is Fagan’s wonderfully malicious buck-toothed Sarah Brightman, as is her delectable Merman.” -Robert Nesti, EDGE National Arts & Entertainment Editor
“Fagan, opening with a grown-up Annie in a short red dress, puffing on a cigarette and lamenting that she’ll be "thirty years old…Tomorrow, the laughs start and do not stop." -Nancy Grossman, Broadwayworld.com
“that certain something that eludes so many belters, charisma.” -Nick Dussault, Metro
“Finally, the woman who should have her own solo show is veteran Forbidden Broadway performer, Valerie Fagan. Her renditions were dead on but there was always this hint of a smirk behind the famous faces revealing the fun she and the audience were having at Broadway’s expense. The best, and I mean the best, was Fagan as Sarah Brightman. Without singing a note her entrance garnered guffaws from the house. She has the timing, the comedy, the look, and the pipes to back it all up.” -Ashley Love, WERS
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| Link to Article! |
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Extended thru June 11th. The San Diego critics loved it...
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| A West Coast Smash! |
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Chosen a 2005
"Vegas at Its Best"
Entertainer!
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What the critics are saying...
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| “Valerie Fagan does everything, or pretty near smashingly!” -Alvin Klein, The New York Times
“Tremendously versatile…total commitment and a major talent!” -Howard Kissel, The Daily News
“The showmanship and sassiness of a diva deluxe.” -Wayman Wong, Talkin’ Broadway.com
“Open-hearted with a soprano that can soar!” -Alvin Klein, The New York Times
“Bright, slick, cheerful and superbly performed!” -Peter Goodman, Newsday
“Nothing beats that kind of energy spilling off the stage and onto the audience.”-Shirley Mathews, Connecticut Post
“Black-haired with a sparkling smile, Valerie Fagan is top notch.” -Rosalind Friedman, WMNR Fine Arts Radio
“Sharp, funny, and thoroughly entertaining.” –Thomas Harper, Allience
“Multi-talented!” –Jackie Vaugh, Hartville News
“Valerie Fagan is astounding!” –K. Barnett, The Weekender
“Valerie Fagan wraps her powerful pipes around ‘Colored Lights’ and loads ‘How Lucky Can You Get’ with sensuality.” -David A. Rosenburg, The Sunday Hour
“Valerie Fagan can belt out or nurture a ballad with the best. She sets the tone for the entire evening.” -Irene Backalenick, Westport News
“Wonderfully Funny!" -Jerry Fink, Las Vegas Sun
“Witty and Wickedly Funny!” -Vegas.com
“You’ll leave with a big smile on your face and feeling good inside.” - Las Vegas Leisure Guide
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Co-author of Award Winning Musical...
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Friday, September 9, 2005; Posted: 12:55 PM - by BWW
WHY I REFUSED TO LET 6 WOMEN WITH BRAIN DEATH DIE
by Valerie Fagan
 One endless night, I decided to feed my restless ego with a vanity search of “6 Women With Brain Death,” a musical I co-wrote in my senior year in college. I saw something that sleepless night that drove me into an uberfrau frenzy and I’ve been awake ever since. “Brain Death” has been experiencing a kind of resurrection. It’s opened to amazing reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe and is slated for a run at the New York Musical Theatre Festival this fall. “Brain Death” has been around for a while and is even described as a “cult hit” by many people on the West Coast. Katherine Shulz, founder of the League of Sacramento Theaters, was interviewed about the show. This was the google that spun me into my latest dance with insomnia .
"You wonder why people come to this show over and over," Schultz said. "A woman with cancer, in hospice care, has seen it a dozen times. She has no idea if she'll be alive a week from now, and she said to me, 'This is a blessing. I come here and laugh so hard that it lasts me a week.' Women drag in other women: women with cancer, widows who've just lost their husbands, women with horrible things going on in their lives. This show allows you to laugh at yourself, to laugh at life.”
I’ve been obsessed with getting “Brain Death” into New York ever since I read that online at 5am. This merciless trip with my conscience has even launched this show into the prestigious NYMF. By the way, I’ll also be performing in “Brain Death.” Look for me; I’ll be the one with the bloodshot eyes.
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| LINK TO ARTICLE |
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| LINK TO ARTICLE! |
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A 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival
INVITED SHOW
Playing Sept 26 - Oct 1
45th Street Theatre
CLICK LINK BELOW FOR INFORMATION!
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