The acclaimed Manhattan Theatre Club production of Murder Ballad is heading downtown. The new musical, directed Trip Cullman, will play off-Broadway’s Union Square Theatre beginning May 7, with an official opening night set for May 22. The show will play a nine-week limited engagement.
Caissie Levy (replacing Tony winner Karen Olivo, who performed the role in the original production) joins original cast members John Ellison Conlee, Rebecca Naomi Jones and Will Swenson. Conceived by Julia Jordan, with a book and lyrics by Jordan and music and lyrics by Juliana Nash, Murder Ballad tells the story of Sara (Levy), an Upper West Sider who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. The new rock musical explores the complications of love, the compromises we make and the betrayals that can ultimately undo us.
Levy most recently starred on Broadway in Ghost after appearing in the West End production. She appeared in the Broadway and West End productions of Hair, the Los Angeles company of Wicked, the national tour of Rent, and the Broadway and national touring company of Hairspray.
Swenson’s Broadway credits include Priscilla Queen of the Desert, 110 in the Shade, Lestat and Brooklyn, as well as the off-Broadway, Broadway and West End incarnations of Hair. Swenson earned a Tony nod, as well as a 2009 Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Onstage Pair (with Gavin Creel) for Hair. His film and TV credits include The Good Wife, The Singles Ward, The Switch and The R.M.
Jones appeared on Broadway in American Idiot and Passing Strange after starring in the off-Broadway production. Her additional off-Broadway credits include This Beautiful City and Wig Out! Her film and TV credits include The Switch, Miracle at St. Anna, Smash and Nurse Jackie.
Conlee appeared on Broadway in The Constant Wife, 1776 and The Full Monty, for which he earned a Tony nomination. His off-Broadway credits include The Madrid, Pig Farm, The Butter and Egg Man, Once in a Lifetime, Henry VIII and Two Gentlemen of Verona. His film and TV credits include Serendipity, Kinsey, Stephanie Daley and Dedication.