a new musical inferno
Music by Joey Contreras
Book & Lyrics by Benjamin Halstead
There are exactly nine ways to break a heart, and there’s a special place in Hell for each type of heartbreaker. This modernized, pop-music adaptation of "Dante's Inferno" intertwines Dante Aligheieri’s medieval mythic Hellscape with the realities of modern day dating. We follow Dante, a contemplative poet, as he journeys deeper and deeper into the fiery depths, falling in and out of love with the sinners, monsters, and demons within each circle of Hell. "Ye who enter" should expect an experience like the intimate, conceptual storytelling of the musical "Company," erupting with the ferocious grandiosity of a Lady Gaga arena concert.
The First Date Mixtape EP
New York University • Steinhardt School of Vocal Performance
Starring Kolby Lamont Bates Yumeko Stern, Victoria Nichols, Alivia Quattrocki, Jack Murphy, Aaron Pierce, Toby Chernesky, Kenzie Elizabeth, Lily Soto, Augustine Maiorino, Joe Kotze
Director: Hunter Bird
Music Director: Brian Russell Carey
Production Stage Manager: Mars Juno Bartolome Neri
Choreography: Marissa Powers
Lighting & Projections Designer: James Kolditz
Development
Workshop Production – September 2023 New York University, Steinhardt
Developmental Reading – November 2021 Open Jar Institute
Premier Production – October 2021 Rubber City Theatre