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Area Stage Company (ASC) in Coral Gables, known for its critically acclaimed, reimagined Mainstage productions of Broadway classics, as well as its professional-level youth Conservatory, will present The Ballad of Janis Matthews and the Dodo Scouts — a world premiere musical written, directed, and designed by ASC’s own Giancarlo Rodaz — with music by Rachel Dean and performed by a stellar cast of theater veterans from New York City and Miami.
This captivating story will not be told like your typical musical, but as a series of podcast episodes released online.
This folk rock, coming-of-age musical story follows Janis Matthews, a young girl living in 1960s Colorado. During the course of a summer, she is set on a rollicking journey through an increasingly divided America, which will decide the fate of her little Rocky Mountain town. An exciting adventure for all ages, Janis Matthews delves into the cultural revolution of the ’60s, and shines new light on its consequences for our families and children.
ASC will release Janis Matthews this time as a radio play-style series of podcast episodes throughout the month of November. All episodes will be released on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, and will be free to download. Listeners will, for the first time, have the entire cast album of this new musical at their fingertips along with the full book.
This production marks the fourth workshop of Janis Matthews in four years. The first also took place at Area Stage, with the second taken on by the Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken, NJ in 2016. Most recently, the show received a full onstage production at ASC’s former home in the Riviera Theatre.
Librettist Giancarlo Rodaz, who currently serves as Area Stage’s associate artistic director, has continued developing the book throughout the show’s iterations. Likewise, composer Rachel Dean has enhanced her score, taking inspiration from Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, and other artists of the time.
Following the immense success, and critical acclaim, of his directorial efforts on Shrek The Musical and She Kills Monsters in 2018, and The Wizard of Oz and the blockbuster Matilda the Musical in 2019, the young visionary Giancarlo Rodaz is fast becoming one of South Florida’s most original and prolific theatrical forces. He has previously presented original works at Area Stage Company, MicroTheater Miami, and with his own company Wild Theatre. Florida Theatre On Stage has lauded his work as “imaginative” and “delightful.”
Similarly, Rachel Dean has made quite the splash in the New York City theater community.
A graduate of NYU Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, Dean currently serves as rehearsal pianist for Broadway’s Hamilton. Her work has been performed in New York, Miami, Ohio, Phoenix, and New Jersey, and she is a recipient of the ASCAP Foundation Max Dreyfus Award, created to identify up-and-coming talent and encourage the study of musical theatre as an art form.
A cast of 10 talented actors will lend their voices to the project. Simon Pincus will serve as stage manager and Katie Duerr pulls double duty as both a cast member and the nusic director.
The Ballad of Janis Matthews and the Dodo Scouts: Episodes releasing dates are Nov. 7, 14, 21, and 28.
