As The Curtain Rises - Broadway’s First Digital Soap Opera

After the ‘Broadway Disher’ (Lesli Margherita) leaks news of a top secret, in-the-works, new mega musical, the Broadway community goes off-the-charts batty. Top-of-their-game Broadway Producers Cheryl Philips (Lillias White) and Steve Jones (James Monroe Iglehart), arch enemies, pounce. Who will get the rights? Will way-out-of-their-comfort-zone creators Kaye (Ashley Park) and Bobby (Michael Urie) manage to deliver a draft of the show before their marriage implodes? Will Director/Choreographer Zoey Taylor (Ariana DeBose) send the show’s budget into a free fall with her wildly ambitious vision?  Will Broadway Diva Emma-Olivia (Sarah Stiles) get a Schmackery’s cookie (with Sprinkles) named in her honor? Will newbie Agent Maxwell Fernsby (George Salazar) step into his new big shoes? And will Science Consultant Andrew Barth Feldman (Andrew Barth Feldman) protect the integrity and authenticity of the in-the-works mega musical, before he needs to leave this top secret show to star in a new Broadway musical? The drama on stage pales in comparison to the drama behind the curtain…. You don’t want to miss this. This is an original radio play produced by the Broadway Podcast Network. As The Curtain Rises proudly supports The Actor's Fund, the Broadway Podcast Network Frontline Initiative, and is a sponsored project of IFP (www.ifp.org). THE CAST Alex Brightman as The Narrator James Monroe Iglehart….as Producer Steve Jones Lillias White…..as Producer Cheryl Phillips Ashley Park….as Book Writer/Lyricist Kay Fields Michael Urie…as Composer Bobby Kerns Sarah Stiles…as Diva Emma-Olivia George Salazar…as Agent Maxwell Fernsby Ariana DeBose….as Director / Choreographer Zoey Taylor Andrew Barth Feldman…as Science Consultant Andrew Barth Feldman Lesli Margherita…as The Broadway Disher Ilana Levine…as the CAAA Receptionist Mauricio Martinez….as Thomas Jacob Smith as Randolph, the Lyft Driver, the N’avi Ticket Buyer and the Barista Danny Marins as the Soul Cycle Instructor Mark Peikart as the Box Office Manager Alan Seales as Alexis WITH SPECIAL APPEARANCES BY Matt Britton – CEO Broadway Briefing David Korins - Set Designer Natasha Katz - Lightning Designer Alex Lacamoire - Music Director/ Arranger Lynn Nottage - Playwright/Lyricist Jordan Roth - Producer and President, Jujamcyn Theatres THE CREATORS Written by Dori Berinstein & Mark Peikert Directed by Dori Berinstein Sound Editing & Design by Bart Fasbender Music by Matthew Sklar Sound Engineering by Alan Seales Banshee Wrangling by Bill Berloni Executive Produced by Liz Armstrong Produced by Dori Berinstein Alan Seales and the Broadway Podcast Network And absolutely everything else….by the extraordinary BPN Team: Brittany Bigelow, Yoanna Nikolova, Katie Rosin, Cyndy Schatz and Beatriz Westby AS THE CURTAIN RISES was created and recorded entirely in quarantine. This Broadway Soap Opera celebrates and supports The Actor’s Fund and the BPN Frontline Worker Initiative which you can find at: Bpn.fm/frontlineworkers with Tremendous Gratitude To our Producing Partner Liz Armstrong.