"bursting with memorable numbers … a moving and highly satisfying work"
2017 NYMF AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE
"Brian Charles Rooney is mesmerizing"
"the music itself shows sophistication"
You never know a person 'til you walk in her heels.
1969 New Orleans
It’s standing room only at The Golden Lantern. The band strikes up and begins to play the opening number for “Miss Blanche”, the hottest drag act in the Quarter — but instead, a fiery young man takes the stage. With the aid of a mysterious wardrobe trunk, he explores clues of his family’s past, sings songs about his own life, and sets the course for a new future.
Inspired by the imagination of Tennessee Williams, this intimate and seductive musical takes us on one man’s journey of desire, self-expression and liberation.
Where Miss Blanche Has Been
The show began as a collaborative project in a lab for Columbia MFA theatre alumni, growing from a few scenes inspired by Williams, into a concept for a new musical.
By fall 2015, Jacobs and Pritchard began expanding the show into a full-length musical, workshopping it in June 2016. We presented an excerpt of the show to an enthusiastic audience at the 2016 HOT! Festival at Dixon Place.
We were invited as a full production at New York Musical Festival (NYMF) in 2017. Our sold-out run garnered our star, Brian Charles Rooney, a win for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role and a nomination for Outstanding Book.
Since the NYMF run, we’ve continued to develop the book and songs, with table reads in November 2017 and July 2018. We are currently working with a new director, Jen Wineman, on further development, with a goal of producing a 29-hour reading in the first half of 2019.
Press & Reviews
"(Brian Charles Rooney) is a consummate performer who dazzles (and) peels away the vulnerable layers of Lee's identity in a subtle and polished performance"
"Part cabaret, part literary mystery, Miss Blanche Tells It All is among the top shows at this year's NYMF. Jason Jacobs and Matthew C. Pritchard's musical, bursting with memorable numbers magnificently performed by Brian Charles Rooney, blend the confessional format of Hedwig and the Angry Inch with the breathy nostalgia of Tennessee Williams in a moving and highly satisfying work."
"The music itself shows sophistication and a deep sensitivity to this cabaret style of storytelling. . .nothing prepares us for the crushingly beautiful "Too Much Skin in the Game," the show's most haunting and memorable number"
NYMF 2017: Miss Blanche Tells It All; The Cadaver Synod; The Body Politic
By Pete Hempstead, Theatermania.com
"an intelligent and timely piece"
"Brian Charles Rooney is mesmerizing"
"the band is hot"
"Jason Jacobs book is heartbreaking and touching. The music by Matthew C. Pritchard, and lyrics by the duo, is worth a CD so that it does not get lost in the shuffle. I can not wait to see what these two do next"
NYMF: Miss Blanche Tells It All and Wins Our Hearts
by Suzanna Bowling, TimesSquareChronicles
"a nuanced story and a tour de force performance by a consummate professional"
"Kudos also to Jacobs & Pritchard for writing a piece that both looks back but resonates today, and has layers of interest and meaning to keep us interested and focused"
"jaw-dropping performance by the mega-talented Brian Charles Rooney"
Review of Miss Blanche Tells It All
by Donna Herman, www.TheFrontRowCenter.com
The best musicals to see at NYMF in 2017
by Adam Feldman, TimeOut NY
5 NYMF Shows That Are Grabbing Everyone's Attention
by Zachary Stewart, Theatermania.com
MISS BLANCHE TELLS IT ALL announced as an invited production to NYMF 2017
Click here to read the press release.
MISS BLANCHE TELLS IT ALL (a new, work in progress at Dixon Place HOT! Festival)
Click here to read an interview with Jason Jacobs
"The story is so well crafted by Jason Jacobs and the storytelling by Brian Charles Rooney is so pristine that to give much detail would require a spoiler alert"
"a fine tuned, superbly crafted piece of theatre"
"Jason Jacobs and Matthew C. Pritchard have developed a masterful story"
"Brian Charles Rooney delivers a bravura performance"
Off-Broadway Review: “Miss Blanche Tells It All” at the New York Musical Festival at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater
by David Roberts, Theatre Reviews Limited
“(Brian Charles Rooney) can seemingly do anything and be anything. He can sing and look convincingly dramatic as a man, woman, or the vast spectrum in between. His voice can be lovely and classically feminine without camp, can be delicate or heavy-duty or crackle with fire. With the flicker of a manicured eyelash or fingernail, he can turn on a dime and change moods, gender, persona, or the temperature in the room by forty degrees. The miracle man is mesmerizing.”
“Rooney is everything and anything. You believe him. You root for him. You wonder about his character and want to protect the little boy he was. You want to hear him sing everything and play every role. And he has a better chance of scoring with them than just about anyone. Versatility is his flag and he waves it with command. It’s not quite news to some of us, but it’s solid proof. The audience belongs to him and to his character.”
“(Pete) portrayed by Robert Frost with restraint but unblinking challenge and playing the keyboard with aplomb and suitable stylings"
2 NYMF Weekend Hits Likely to Come Back: Would You Believe Blanche DuBois and Matthew McConaughey
by Rob Lester, NiteLifeExchange.com
"(Brian Charles Rooney) is particularly comfortable portraying bittersweet sexual ambiguity and androgyny, and his vocal agility is the show’s greatest asset."
- ELISABETH VINCENTELLI,
THE NEW YORK TIMES
PHOTOS
Production Photos from the 2017 NYMF production starring Brian Charles Rooney
Photos by Bjorn Bolinder
VIDEO
Live at the Green Room 42 @ YOTEL on 5/11/17 with Brian Charles Rooney and Robert Frost on piano. www.MissBlancheMusical.com
AUDIO SELECTIONS
Music by
Matthew C. Pritchard
Lyrics by Matthew C. Pritchard & Jason Jacobs
* Performed by Brian Charles Rooney
Robert Frost, Piano
Mark van Ziegler, Double Bass
Kylie Andrews, Drums/Percussion
** Performed by Matthew C. Pritchard
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Performed by Brian Charles Rooney
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Performed by Brian Charles Rooney
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Performed by Brian Charles Rooney
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Performed by Brian Charles Rooney
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Performed by Brian Charles Rooney
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Performed by Matthew C. Pritchard
Thank You
Thank You to the actors who have walked in heels in our workshops: Jamie Boswell, Sara Buffamanti, Cameron Clay and Robbie Tann, and to Columbia Collaboration (Coco) Lab, Gisela Cardenas, Dixon Place, Philip Heckman, New York Musical Festival (NYMF), Gwyn Osnos, Kyle Picone, Jessica Rieken, and Isam Rum.
The Kindness of Strangers
Thank you from everyone involved in making Miss Blanche Tells It All such a success at NYMF 2017.
A special thanks goes out to our generous Corporate Sponsors and Individual Donors!
Supported by The Anna Sosenko Assist Trust
Our Individual Donors
Paul and Joy Jacobs
Ralph and Heidi Derbyshire
The Scott L Bennett Charitable Fund at Our Fund, Angie Sanfilippo
Jason & Hillary Booth, Jeffrey Jackman, Carol Tolan
Thomas Bullock, Helena & David Hershkowitz, Jacob Wilson
Florence D. Arrow, Joseph Colletti, Stu Chamberlain, Betty & Richard Derbyshire, Mary Derbyshire, Hook & Eye Theater, James Paulk, Diego Rose, Tomas Seisdedos,
William & Ann Suda
Michael Carr, Trent Hanover, Ralph Lewis, Elisa London, Gordon Miller, David Syner, Dennis Warlick, Casimir J Yanish
Sal Joe Aiello, Erik Andrews, Cheryl Barkin, Blue Bliss, Julia Campanelli, Marty Casella, KF Daves, Elizabeth Dunn-Ruiz, Lee Garro, Jim Gaylord, Lynn Harris, Jackie Hoffenberg, Menachem Horn & Alison Crane, Douglas Levine, Lissenup, Mark Nash, Leah Reddy, Michael Saltz, Ted Sod, Christopher Sunday, Vickie Tanner, Kim Weild, Deborah White
Anonymous (3), Jamie Boswell, Tyler Stettler, Olivia Lodge, Elena LazaroR
