May 6, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeffrey James Arts Consulting
516-586-3433 or jamesarts@worldnet.att.net
 
Booth, The Musical at New York University Skirball Center From June 2 Through 7 with Music by Barbara Harbach
 
Booth – The Musical, with music by Barbara Harbach, will be given its New York Premiere performances from Tuesday, June 2 through Saturday, June 6 at 8 PM each evening and on Sunday, June 7 – 2 PM at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South on the campus of New York University in Manhattan. Booth is presented by the University of Missouri, Saint Louis in association with NYU’s Africana Program.
 
Featured performers include Jan Prokop as Mother, Keith Boyer as Edwin Booth, Amanda Boyer as Edwina Booth, Jessica Marasco as Asia Booth and Kyle Minshew as John Wilkes Booth. A complete cast and bios of principals can be found online at http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/cofac/booth/home.html .
 
Booth – The Musical, with lyrics by Jonathan Yordy, book and direction by Niyi Coker and artistic direction/conducting by James Richards, is an examination of the life of 19th-Century maverick actor Edwin Booth, told from the perspective of his daughter, Edwina. Undoubtedly, the infamous assassination of Abraham Lincoln by his brother, John Wilkes, plays a major part in shaping and influencing Edwina’s exploration of the life of her father. Engulfed in this reflection, the show is a musical voyage into the sometimes disturbing relationships that defined Edwin as son, husband, father, brother and actor. Much more about the production at http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/cofac/booth/home.html .
 
Tickets for these performances are $30 and can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or online at http://www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu/page/tickets . For more information, please call the Skirball Center at 212-992-8484.
 
These performances coincide with the release of Ms. Harbach’s new CD Music of Barbara Harbach – Chamber Music II on MSR Classics (MS1255), in which five of the composer’s most important chamber works for string orchestra and woodwind quintet are presented. Much more about it at http://www.msrcd.com/1255/1255.html . This is Volume 4 of MSR’s Music of Barbara Harbach CD series.
 
As a composer, Barbara Harbach has a large catalog of works, including symphonies, works for chamber ensemble, string orchestra, organ, harpsichord, musicals, choral anthems, film scores, modern ballets, and many arrangements for brass and organ of various Baroque works. She is also involved in the research, editing and publication of manuscripts of eighteenth-century keyboard composers as well as historical and contemporary women composers. Her works are available in both recorded and published form through labels including MSR Classics, Naxos, Gasparo Records, Kingdom Records, Albany Records and Northeastern Records, and publishers including Hester Park, Robert King, Elkan-Vogel, Augsburg Publishing, Agape Music and Vivace Press. Her website is at http://www.barbaraharbach.com/ .
 
For press inquiries, photos or more information about Barbara Harbach, please contact Jeffrey James Arts Consulting at 516-586-3433 or jamesarts@worldnet.att.net .
 
-30-