Jean Cheever and Tom Polum, producers of The Toxic Avenger - named the "Best New Off-Broadway Musical" by the Outer Critics Circle - welcomed a new hire in the town library of Tromaville, New Jersey! Celina Carvajal assumed the role of Sarah, the sexy, blind librarian on Monday, June 15th. Original cast member Sara Chase left the production to create three roles in the musical The First Wives Club premiering at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
Featuring book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change), music by David Bryan (Bon Jovi) and direction by Tony Award winner John Rando (Urinetown), The Toxic Avenger is playing an open-ended run at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).
Ms. Carvajal joins original cast members: Nick Cordero, Demond Green, Matthew Saldivar and Nancy Opel.
Based on the classic 1985 cult film by Lloyd Kaufman, The Toxic Avenger is set in the mythical town of Tromaville, Exit 13B, off the New Jersey Turnpike. An aspiring earth scientist, Melvin Ferd the Third, is determined to clean up the town's burgeoning toxic waste, until he is tossed into a vat of radioactive goo and emerges as a seven-foot mutant freak and New Jersey's first superhero. Armed with superhuman strength and a heart as big as Newark, he's out to save New Jersey, end global warming and woo Sarah, the prettiest, blindest librarian in town.
The production team for The Toxic Avenger includes: Beowolf Boritt (Scenic Design), David C. Woolard (Costume Design), Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Kurt Fischer (Sound Design), Mark Adam Rampmeyer (Hair & Make-Up Design), John Dods (Prosthetics & Special Effects Design), Rick Sordelet & David DeBesse (Fight Direction), Wendy Seyb (Choreographer), David Bryan & Chris Jahnke (Orhestrations) and Doug Katsaros (Music Director).
The performance schedule for The Toxic Avenger is: Monday, Wednesday - Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 2 & 8PM and Sunday at 3 & 7PM. Tickets are $51.50 & $71.50 and may be purchased through TeleCharge at (212) 239-6200/www.telecharge.com.
For further information and fun online content, please visit the show's official web site (www.TheToxicAvengerMusical.com). The original cast recording was released by TimeLife on May 5, 2009.
Celina Carvajal - Born and raised in San Francisco, Celina Carvajal traveled the world performing and received her first big break singing for Pope John Paul II at Candlestick Stadium for over 50,000 people at the young age of 7. Ms. Carvajal was a member of the Young People's Teen Musical Theatre Company in San Francisco and at the age of 17, joined the national tour of Cats. Celina went on to appear in the films Sex and the City, The Stepford Wives and The Graduates, as well the television shows "All My Children" and "‘Legally Blonde, the Search for the Next Elle Woods'" on MTV. Broadway credits include Tarzan (Original Cast), Dracula (Original Cast), 42nd Street (Anytime Annie) and Cats (Demeter). Off-Broadway shows include starring roles in Bed Bugs at NYMF, Green Eyes at the NYC Fringe Festival and Radiant Baby.
When not on the stage, Carvajal performs around New York City with her rock band, ‘Cocaine.' www.celinacarvajal.com.
