Invisible Wall Productions has announced that The View UpStairs, a new musical written by Max Vernon and directed by Scott Ebersold, will launch an Off-Broadway run at Culture Project – The Lynn Redgrave (45 Bleecker Street). Choreography is by Al Blackstone with James Dobinson serving as Music Supervisor and Orchestrator. Previews begin on Wednesday, February 15, opening night is Sunday, February 26 and the production runs through Sunday, May 21.
The View UpStairs pulls you inside the UpStairs Lounge, a vibrant 70s gay bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter. This forgotten community comes to life in all its gritty, glam rock glory when 40 years later a young fashion designer buys the abandoned space, setting off an exhilarating journey of seduction and self-exploration that spans two generations of queer history.
Inspired by one of the most significant yet all-but-ignored attacks against the LGBTQ community, The View UpStairs examines what has been gained and lost in the fight for equality, and how the past can help guide all of us through an uncertain future.
The cast of The View UpStairs features Jeremy Pope (Invisible Thread, Choir Boy) as Wes, Taylor Frey (How to Succeed…, South Pacific) as Patrick, Nathan Lee Graham (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Zoolander) as Willie, Frenchie Davis (Rent, “The Voice”) as Henri, Benjamin Howes (Scandalous,Mary Poppins) as Richard, Michael Longoria (Jersey Boys, Hairspray) as Freddy, Ben Mayne as Dale, Doreen Montalvo (On Your Feet!, In the Heights) as Inez, Randy Redd (Million Dollar Quartet, Ring of Fire) as Buddy, in addition to Richard E. Waits and Anthony Alfaro.
Through its developmental history, selections from The View UpStairs have been performed at Joe’s Pub, Goodspeed Opera House, NYU, The Living Room, NYMF, Two River Theater, The Dramatist Guild, Pride Films and Plays and the Rhinebeck Writer’s Retreat. A concert version was presented at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in July to raise money for Equality Florida to benefit the victims of Pulse Orlando.
The View UpStairs will be performed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:00 PM, Friday at 6:30 PM and 10:00 PM, Saturday at 6:00 PM and10:00 PM and Sunday at 6:00 PM. The show is at Culture Project – The Lynn Redgrave Theater (45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012). Tickets, which are available at www.TheViewUpStairs.com, are $45-90.
