The Great Mortality, a new musical set in plague-era Venice, has two staged readings at The 28th Street Theatre on November 12 and 13, both at 4pm, with Gabriel Barre directing. They are part of Emerging Artists Theatre’s first Spark Musical Theatre Festival NYC.
Ben Jones plays Antonio Vivaldi and Jordan Jones plays the castrato Farinelli, with Elizabeth Raquel Ramirez as Anna Girò, the mezzo-soprano who was Vivaldi’s muse. Adam Lucas is her father, Del Frutto; Max Jacob Zaner plays Charles de L’Orme, the physician credited with the beaked plague-doctor mask; and Brayden Co is The Pope. BroadwayWorld reported the casting.
The Plague tells the story. Vivaldi is broke; Farinelli is rich and famous; the two are friends. Vivaldi meets Anna again, years after she sang in his choir of orphans, while her father earns his money dressed as a plague doctor and brings the disease home with him. Anna and Farinelli both die, and Vivaldi stops composing until her voice comes back to him and becomes “Spring.”
Holly Doubet conceived the piece and wrote the music and lyrics with Kathy Babylon and John Vester. The book is by Doubet and James McCarthy. David J. Madore is musical director and Ashley Wren Collins associate director.
Spark is a festival of works in progress, and each reading ends with a talkback so the writers can hear from the audience. The festival runs through November 22 at The 28th Street Theatre, also known as TADA!, on the second floor of 15 West 28th Street; we covered the full festival lineup when it was announced. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, from the festival’s ticket page.
