The below is part of our Premiere Productions series. Click here to learn more about other first productions of stellar works.
How often is it we take for the stars for granted? The vast, cosmic expanse of beauty that hangs above us in the night sky humming a symphonic soundscape of ideas, love, and above all, connection. As Mr. McClam reminds those around him in Fly By Night, “Life is not the things that we do. It’s who we’re doing them with.”
Conceived by Kim Rosenstock and written by Will Connolly, Michael Mitnick, and Kim Rosenstock, the musical Fly By Night weaves a journey of human interaction that revolves around three pivotal characters in New York City 1965: Harold McClam, a sandwich maker/newfound guitarist; Daphne, an aspiring actress; Miriam, Daphne’s sister and astrophile.
Inspired by the Northeast Blackout of 1965 on November 9 – which affected 30 million people from New Jersey to Ontario, Canada – this musical dares to ask, What does it look like when time stops? And for this cast of disparaged characters, they’ve trapped themselves in the dark for so long, they’ve forgotten how to answer that question. They must learn to “trust the connection” that binds them to one another and rediscover that when all else fails, they will always have themselves.
A musical that redefines what it means to be star-crossed in a city full of circumstance, happenstance, and serendipity, Fly By Night will leave you pleasantly dazed in a cloud of stardust long after you’ve left the theatre.
Original Production
July 13, 2011
TheatreWorks
Palo Alto, CA
Narrator: Wade McCollum
Harold McClam: Ian Leonard
Mr. McClam: James Judy
Daphne: Rachel Spencer Hewitt
Miriam: Kristin Stokes
Crabble: Michael McCormick
Joey Storms: Keith Pinto
New York Premiere
May 16, 2014
Playwrights Horizons
Narrator: Henry Stram
Harold McClam: Adam Chanler-Berat
Mr. McClam: Peter Friedman
Daphne: Patti Murin
Miriam: Allison Case
Crabble: Michael McCormick
Joey Storms: Bryce Ryness
To purchase a copy of Fly By Night, click here, and to learn more about licensing a production, click here.
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