12/01/2023
SUNY Cortland Performing Arts Department and CreateTheater continue their College/Professional Theater Partnership with a new musical, In Emily's Words, based on the life and work of groundbreaking ,Victorian era novelist, Emily Brontë.
With Music and Lyrics by new theatre artist Jessy Tomsko and libretto by Ms.Tomsko and including material from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights , the musical brings out the story of Brontë’s creation of the internationally successful, groundbreaking novel. woven through the story of the Brontë sisters and the challenges they faced as women writing in the Victorian Era.
The two-week development workshop will give our Cortland Musical Theatre students the opportunity to work with the writer to bring these characters to life and be a significant part of the play’s development.
The workshop culminates in two staged readings for audiences, Thursday, February 1st at 7:30pm and the second on Saturday, February 3rd at 3:00pm. Both presentations will be followed by a “talk-back” with the audience, cast and creative team. These sessions provide the writer and team with invaluable responses from an audience about the play and how it impacted them. That information will significantly shape the revisions and growth of the piece as it moves forward.
The cast includes: Olivia Celis as Emily Brontë, Heather Hayes as Charlotte Brontë, Jessie Karlin as Ann Brontë, Harry Sperduto as Heathcliff, Ann Marie Thorell as Cathy, Ryan Rodrigues as Hindley, Louis Bianco as Edgar, Nick Webster as Earnshaw, Bethany Griffin as Isabella, Emily Reilly as Elizabeth/Young Hindley, Olivia Goodman as Frances/Young Heathcliff, Allie Fried Maria/Young Cathy
Jeff Cox, the Musical Director from last year’s inaugural production, The Bone Harp, return as music director and Kevin Halpin is directing.
For more information contact Kevin Halpin
Email: kevin.halpin@cortland.edu