ALLIES, a new rock musical featuring the songs of the legendary band Heart, will be presented in concert version at The Zipper Factory Theater (336 West 37th Street) on Monday, January 26th at 9:00 p.m. Industry and the general public are invited to make reservations on the show's official website at www.alliesthemusical.com.
ALLIES features a book by Celina Carvajal and Maggie F. Levin. The staged concert will be directed by Sam Buggein. Paul Leschen is the music director. The cast features Ms. Carvajal, Brian Charles Rooney (Threepenny Opera), Chris Hall (Bedbugs!!!, Twist). Ryan Bogner (Bedbugs!!!, Hey, You Know What Movie Would Make A Good Musical?) will read the stage directions.
In the tradition of Hedwig & the Angry Inch, ALLIES is a raw, concert-style musical about a love triangle that rocks the lives of a brother & sister. Gabby & Chris Ford are as close as struggling twenty-something siblings can be, when their bond is blown apart by the seductive - and secretive - Matt Rhode. Part live rock show - complete with roadies changing the set and a kickass lead axe - and part heartstring-plucking drama, ALLIES features the songs of the legendary band Heart, including hits like "Barracuda," "These Dreams," and "Alone."
Celina Carvajal (Gabby/Co-Book Writer). Born and raised in San Francisco, Celina 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. Carvajal was a member of the Young People's Teen Musical Theatre Company in San Francisco and the age of 17, left home to join 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 Bedbugs!!! at NYMF, Green Eyes at the NYC Fringe Festival and Radiant Baby at The Public Theater. Carvajal also played Pinky Tuscaderro in the workshop of Happy Days directed by Garry Marshall. Celina's favorite thing is being a rock star as the lead singer in her band, Cocaine (www.cocaineband.com).
Brian Charles Rooney (Chris). Broadway: Lucy Brown in The Threepenny Opera (Roundabout Theatre Co.); Camelot in Concert w/ NY Philharmonic (2008 Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: Piers Gaveston in Edward the King; The Dodger in the Drama Desk nominated Twist!; Dionne Salon in Bedbugs!!!; Avery Brundage in Warrior (NYMF); Deacon Jones in The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde (NYMF). Tours: Tony in West Side Story (Europe); Featured Soloist in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber with Petula Clark (North America). Regional: Tennessee Williams in Becoming Tennessee (Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center); Homer in Floyd Collins (Carbonell Award Nom. / Actors' Playhouse, Miami); Jinx in Forever Plaid (Metro-Carolina Award Nom. / PCLO & Blumenthal P.A.C.); Younger Brother in Ragtime (White Plains P.A.C.); title role in Batboy, The Musical! (Charleston Stage Co.); The Student Prince (Paper Mill Playhouse). Brian was awarded The Kurt Weill Foundation's Lys Symonette Award for Outstanding Dramatic Talent in 2007, and made his solo concert debut at The Zipper Factory the same year. He has appeared as a featured soloist at Symphony Space in NYC, as well as with the Seattle and Oregon Symphony Orchestras.
