CONTACT:
[email protected]
PRODUCTION COMPANY: TONYA & NANCY:THE ROCK OPERA LLC
PRODUCER: PAUL BOGHOSIAN/HARBORSIDE FILMS
[email protected]
ABOUT THE SHOW
TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA is a darkly comedic original musical done with a great deal of heart. This work of fiction, inspired by actual events, utilizes the 1994 Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan media scandal to explore America’s obsession with celebrity scandals and its “go for the gold at all cost” attitude. With libretto and concept by Elizabeth Searle and music by Michael Teoli, audiences can expect hilarity, poignant moments, a radical score and non-stop energy in this unique theatrical experience.
Follow TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA's adventures ON FACEBOOK / CD out from Broadway Records
2020 Production starring Andrea McArdle won four Broadway World Regional Theater Awards.
Film of 54Below concert now available in 2021 on StreamingMusicals.com
[email protected]
PRODUCTION COMPANY: TONYA & NANCY:THE ROCK OPERA LLC
PRODUCER: PAUL BOGHOSIAN/HARBORSIDE FILMS
[email protected]
ABOUT THE SHOW
TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA is a darkly comedic original musical done with a great deal of heart. This work of fiction, inspired by actual events, utilizes the 1994 Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan media scandal to explore America’s obsession with celebrity scandals and its “go for the gold at all cost” attitude. With libretto and concept by Elizabeth Searle and music by Michael Teoli, audiences can expect hilarity, poignant moments, a radical score and non-stop energy in this unique theatrical experience.
Follow TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA's adventures ON FACEBOOK / CD out from Broadway Records
2020 Production starring Andrea McArdle won four Broadway World Regional Theater Awards.
Film of 54Below concert now available in 2021 on StreamingMusicals.com
The Story Behind the Show
In the early 90s Nancy Kerrigan was America’s “ice skating princess” from a supportive middle class family. She wowed judges and spectators with her superb artistic interpretation on the ice. Meanwhile Tonya Harding was the dynamic “bad girl” of the sport who'd risen from a rough childhood. She amazed everyone with incredible jumps and became the first US woman to land a triple axel in competition. The two were thrust into the tabloids when Tonya’s ex-husband was linked to a vicious “knee whack” attack on Nancy leading up to the 1994 Olympics. Mayhem ensued. Rumors swirled and a full-fledged media circus erupted as both young woman desperately prepared for the few minutes on Olympic ice that would define their careers and in many ways their lives. The actual Harding/Kerrigan skating final at the '94 Olympics remains one of the most-watched sporting events ever.
Note from Elizabeth Searle
“It was one of the first crazy tabloid stories that took over 24/7 news coverage. One of my inspirations for pursuing it was that at that time, the conservative commentator George Will made the comment, ‘This is a ridiculous story that has nothing whatsoever to do with life in America today.’ And I thought, ridiculous story, yes, of course. But it has everything to do with life in America.”
Elizabeth Searle: book, lyrics, original concept of Tonya & Nancy
Elizabeth Searle: book, lyrics, original concept of Tonya & Nancy
THE HISTORY OF THE SHOW
TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA premiered in 2008 in Portland, OR, produced by Triangle Productions, directed by Don Horn. It featured libretto by Elizabeth Searle and music by Michael Teoli. The show was based on Searle and Abigail Al Doory Cross's Tonya & Nancy: the Opera, libretto and concept by Elizabeth Searle. The initial Portland script, which was written by Elizabeth Searle, was 'adapted' for the Portland production by Searle with help from director/producer Don Horn, based on Searle's chamber opera script. Searle later wrote an entirely new Book for the rock opera. The Portland production received widespread media attention including a review calling the show "brilliant and touching" by the Portland Mercury and a headline,"'Tonya' Rocks the Stage," in a front page story of The Oregonian.
The chamber opera Tonya & Nancy: the Opera by Searle and Cross had premiered in Boston in 2006 at the ART's Zero Arrow theater, produced by Tufts music, drawing national and international media including ESPN Hollywood, NPR, MSNBC, Sports Illustrated, two AP stories, USA Today and more. The opera was performed at Opera Vista in Houston and was selected there as one of the top three best new operas of the year. Later the operetta group Mixed Precipitation produced the show in St Paul/Minneapolis in both 2010 and 2014, most recently in Feb 2018, always with previews 'on ice.'
Tonya & Nancy: the Rock Opera premiered in a new version with new Book by Searle in January 2011, produced by Harborside Films/Paul Boghosian and performed at the American Repertory Theater's Oberon Theater. Boston reviews included these comments: "Black Swan on Ice" (The Boston Herald); "Absurdly funny; surprisingly poignant moments amidst the comedy and a rousing soundtrack" (The Boston Phoenix); ; "An explosive cabaret of over-the-top rock tunes sung with operatic glass-shattering intensity…practically Shakespeare on ice"; (The Noise); "Brilliant; amazing music; one of the most exciting spectacles I have ever seen' (Steve Almond; WGBH Boston).
In 2013, the rock opera was performed as a Staged Reading Showcase in NYC, produced by Harborside Films and directed by Kenny Howard of Broadway Consortium; the NY cast included Broadway performers Melissa van deer Schyff and Janine Divita. A 'rock concert' performance of the show (Music by Michael Teoli and Libretto with new Book material by Elizabeth Searle) premiered in Hollywood at the King King Club on February 4, 2014, as a benefit for the LA theater Celebration. The LA show played to sold-out houses.
The show went on to a sold-out extended run as an official selection at The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) in NYC in 2015, drawing national and international media, including People.com, AFM news service in Europe and Asia, New York Daily News, Pardon the Interruption on MSNBC, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, The Nation and more. THE SHOW PLAYED IN CHICAGO FOR A 6 WEEK RUN PRODUCED BY UNDERSCORE THEATER WITH HARBORSIDE FILMS, nominated for two 2016/2017 Jeff Theater awards; winner of Best Supporting Actress. Featured in the NEW YORK TIMES in 2017 and on ABC Jan 11, 2018. A packed concert event in NYC at 54 Below IN FEB 2018 featured Broadway Stars Singing Songs from TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA. In SUMMER 2018, the show made its Regional Debut in suburban DALLAS, TEXAS at the award-winning Ohlook Performing Arts Center, playing on a Summer 2018 bill with Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hedwig. Another concert event took place in 2019 in NYC at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in association with Abingdon Theatre Co. and Paul Boghosian and Tony-winning Broadway producer Jim Kierstead (KINKY BOOTS, PRETTY WOMAN, HADESTOWN).
In 2020, Broadway legend Andrea McArdle starred as the show made its regional debut in Naples, FL at THEATRE ZONE, a longtime Equity theater which fully produced the show in FEB, 2020, winning four Broadway World Regional Theater awards. The 2020 TheatreZone production was reviewed as a 'JOYOUS THEATER PACKAGE.'
The CONCERT CD is out from Broadway Records, recorded at 54Below, earning strong reviews. The film of the conccert is now available as a Fundraiser for Actor's Fund, in 2021, via StreamingMusicals.com. 2022 productions are in the works. Stay tuned!
The chamber opera Tonya & Nancy: the Opera by Searle and Cross had premiered in Boston in 2006 at the ART's Zero Arrow theater, produced by Tufts music, drawing national and international media including ESPN Hollywood, NPR, MSNBC, Sports Illustrated, two AP stories, USA Today and more. The opera was performed at Opera Vista in Houston and was selected there as one of the top three best new operas of the year. Later the operetta group Mixed Precipitation produced the show in St Paul/Minneapolis in both 2010 and 2014, most recently in Feb 2018, always with previews 'on ice.'
Tonya & Nancy: the Rock Opera premiered in a new version with new Book by Searle in January 2011, produced by Harborside Films/Paul Boghosian and performed at the American Repertory Theater's Oberon Theater. Boston reviews included these comments: "Black Swan on Ice" (The Boston Herald); "Absurdly funny; surprisingly poignant moments amidst the comedy and a rousing soundtrack" (The Boston Phoenix); ; "An explosive cabaret of over-the-top rock tunes sung with operatic glass-shattering intensity…practically Shakespeare on ice"; (The Noise); "Brilliant; amazing music; one of the most exciting spectacles I have ever seen' (Steve Almond; WGBH Boston).
In 2013, the rock opera was performed as a Staged Reading Showcase in NYC, produced by Harborside Films and directed by Kenny Howard of Broadway Consortium; the NY cast included Broadway performers Melissa van deer Schyff and Janine Divita. A 'rock concert' performance of the show (Music by Michael Teoli and Libretto with new Book material by Elizabeth Searle) premiered in Hollywood at the King King Club on February 4, 2014, as a benefit for the LA theater Celebration. The LA show played to sold-out houses.
The show went on to a sold-out extended run as an official selection at The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) in NYC in 2015, drawing national and international media, including People.com, AFM news service in Europe and Asia, New York Daily News, Pardon the Interruption on MSNBC, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, The Nation and more. THE SHOW PLAYED IN CHICAGO FOR A 6 WEEK RUN PRODUCED BY UNDERSCORE THEATER WITH HARBORSIDE FILMS, nominated for two 2016/2017 Jeff Theater awards; winner of Best Supporting Actress. Featured in the NEW YORK TIMES in 2017 and on ABC Jan 11, 2018. A packed concert event in NYC at 54 Below IN FEB 2018 featured Broadway Stars Singing Songs from TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA. In SUMMER 2018, the show made its Regional Debut in suburban DALLAS, TEXAS at the award-winning Ohlook Performing Arts Center, playing on a Summer 2018 bill with Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hedwig. Another concert event took place in 2019 in NYC at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, in association with Abingdon Theatre Co. and Paul Boghosian and Tony-winning Broadway producer Jim Kierstead (KINKY BOOTS, PRETTY WOMAN, HADESTOWN).
In 2020, Broadway legend Andrea McArdle starred as the show made its regional debut in Naples, FL at THEATRE ZONE, a longtime Equity theater which fully produced the show in FEB, 2020, winning four Broadway World Regional Theater awards. The 2020 TheatreZone production was reviewed as a 'JOYOUS THEATER PACKAGE.'
The CONCERT CD is out from Broadway Records, recorded at 54Below, earning strong reviews. The film of the conccert is now available as a Fundraiser for Actor's Fund, in 2021, via StreamingMusicals.com. 2022 productions are in the works. Stay tuned!