BAY STREET THEATER AND GUILD HALL IN ASSOCIATION WITH JAMIE CESA AND BEL CHIASSO ENTERTAINMENT PRESENT...
BAY STREET THEATER AND GUILD HALL
IN ASSOCIATION WITH JAMIE CESA AND BEL CHIASSO ENTERTAINMENT
PRESENT
FREE CONCERT STAGED READING OF
THE ROMEO & JULIET PROJECT
A NEW MUSICAL FEATURING THE MUSIC OF
PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO
AUGUST 16 & 17
AT MASHASHIMUET PARK
June 16, 2019 (Sag Harbor, NY) – Bay Street Theater and Guild Hall present Under the
Stars, a free concert staged reading in Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor, NY on August 16 and
17 at 7pm. The Romeo & Juliet Project, a new musical, features the music of Pat Benatar
and Neil Giraldo, with the book by Bradley Bredeweg. It will be directed by Scott Schwartz,
Bay Street Theater’s Artistic Director. Jamie Cesa and Bel Chiasso Entertainment are the
producers for the show. Entry to the concert is FREE and no tickets are required. Bring chairs,
blankets and picnics for a night of new musical theater on a balmy summer evening. Information
about VIP seating will be announced soon.
The Romeo & Juliet Project reimagines the story of our star-crossed lovers using the power of
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo’s music to remind us what happens when we forget the impact of
love, equality, and acceptance. The show brings the audience into the modern, war-torn
metropolis of Verona as the newly minted Chancellor Paris takes control and promises to return
the city to its traditional roots and destroy the progressive resistance. This new musical is an
intricate weaving of Benatar’s and Giraldo’s deeply emotional rock anthems and new songs,
exploring the question – what does it take to regain a world where peace is possible?
Since 1979, PAT BENATAR AND NEIL GIRALDO (Music) have formed one of the most
successful partnerships in music history. During their four-decade career, they have created two
multi-platinum, five platinum and three gold albums as well as nineteen Top 40 hits. They have
sold over thirty million records worldwide, won an unprecedented four consecutive Grammy
awards and three American Music awards.
Their undeniable chemistry, Benatar’s take no prisoners attitude and passionate mezzo-soprano
vocal range with Giraldo’s trail blazing work as a producer, guitarist and songwriter, created
some of rock’s most memorable hits. These include, “We Belong,” “Invincible,” “Love Is A
Battlefield,” “Promises In The Dark,” “Heartbreaker,” “Hell Is For Children,” and “We Live For
Love.” Their musical career has endured for forty years and they continue to tour every year
thrilling their fans everywhere.
BRADLEY BREDEWEG (Book) began his career partnering with Madonna and her Maverick
Films. Together, they developed and wrote his first passion project, Alyx, which sold to ABC
Studios. Bredeweg connected with his current producing partner, Peter Paige, in 2007 and
together they opened Blazing Elm Entertainment. With Paige, he has written television projects
for Universal Cable, Showtime, ABC Studios, DreamworksTV, USA, Warner Bros. Television,
The CW, and Freeform. Bredeweg is one of the creators, executive producers and showrunners
of the critically-acclaimed new television series, Good Trouble, a spin-off of the award-winning
Freeform series, The Fosters, of which Bredeweg was also a creator, executive producer and
showrunner, alongside partners Jennifer Lopez, Paige and Joanna Johnson. The Fosters garnered
many awards, including Outstanding Drama Series at the GLAAD Awards, Emmy’s Television
Academy Honors Award for Excellence in Television, The Television Critics Award for
Outstanding Drama Series, and the Teen Choice Awards Best Drama Series. Bradley directed
two episodes of Good Trouble in the first season, as well as multiple episodes of The Fosters.
Bredeweg also co-wrote Tut, starring Sir Ben Kingsley, for Muse Entertainment which
premiered on Paramount/Viacom’s SpikeTV. Bredeweg produced the critically-acclaimed
revival of Side Show on Broadway, as well as Green Day’s American Idiot on the West End.
SCOTT SCHWARTZ (Director) is the Artistic Director of Bay Street Theater, where he
directed the world premiere of The Prompter this season. Previous directing credits at Bay Street
include Intimate Apparel starring Kelly McCreary and Conviction starring Sarah Paulson. Most
recently outside Bay Street, he directed the world premiere of the new musical The Prince of
Egypt at both TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in California and at Fredericia Teater in Denmark.
Prince of Egypt will open on the West End in London at the Dominion Theatre in February of
2020. As a director, he has worked on and off-Broadway, in major regional theaters across the
country, and in the UK and Japan. On Broadway, he directed Golda’s Balcony and Jane Eyre
(co-directed with John Caird). Off-Broadway, he directed Murder for Two, Bat Boy: The Musical
(Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama
Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical), tick, tick…BOOM! (OCC,
Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical; Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Director of a
Musical), Gigantic (Vineyard), The Foreigner (Roundabout), Rooms: A Rock Romance, Kafka’s
The Castle (OCC nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play), and No Way to Treat a Lady. At
New York City Opera he directed Séance on a Wet Afternoon. The regional theaters he has
worked at include ACT, Alley, Alliance Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Dallas Theatre
Center, Denver Center, The Geffen, Goodspeed Opera House, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe,
Pasadena Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Signature, Theatre Under the Stars, and
Westport Country Playhouse among others. He is a member of the Stage Directors and
Choreographers Society and a graduate of Harvard University.
JAMIE CESA (Producer) Broadway producing and general management credits include: Pippin
(Tony Award for Best Musical Revival), Colin Quinn Long Story Short (directed by Jerry
Seinfeld), Wishful Drinking (written by & starring Carrie Fisher), Kiki and Herb: Alive on
Broadway (Tony Award nomination for Best Special Theatrical Event), Lombardi, and Godspell.
On London’s West End, Cesa produced the Tony Award winning Best Musical Revival of Hair.
Off-Broadway producing and general management credits include: Nothing to Hide (directed by
Neil Patrick Harris), Bullet for Adolf (written & directed by Woody Harrelson); CELIA: The Life
and Music of Celia Cruz; La Barberia; Los Big Names (Drama Desk nomination), The Women of
Lockerbie (starring Judith Ivey); 21 Dog Years: Doing Time @Amazon.com (written &
performed by Mike Daisey); Love, Janis; Criss Angel, Mindfreak and many more.
Sponsors (list in progress) include BNB, Invisible Fence Company, Douglas Elliman Real
Estate, Peak Savers, PSEG, Slomin’s, and more.
The historic partnership for this event between the area’s two leading cultural institutions Bay
Street Theater and Guild Hall – is a first-time joining of the forces and combining of resources
that benefits the entire East End arts loving community.
Bay Street Theater and Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is a year-round, not-for-profit 299 -
seat professional regional theater and community cultural center located on the Long Wharf, in
Sag Harbor, NY. It was founded in 1991 by Sybil Christopher, Emma Walton and Stephen
Hamilton. The organization is currently run by Scott Schwartz, Artistic Director and Tracy
Mitchell, Executive Director. The theater’s purpose is to innovate, educate, and entertain a
diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. It serves as a social and cultural
gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists. Many
productions that premiered or were developed at Bay Street have moved to Broadway, Off
Broadway, regionally and abroad.
Guild Hall, located in East Hampton, NY, is one of the first multidisciplinary centers in the
country to combine a museum, theater, and education space under one roof, was established in
1931 as a gathering place for community where an appreciation for the arts would serve to
encourage greater civic participation. For nearly nine decades, Guild Hall has embraced this
open-minded vision and provided a welcoming environment for the public to engage with art
exhibitions, performances, and educational offerings. Andrea Grover is the current Executive
Director and Josh Gladstone is the Artistic Director for Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater. Guild
Hall is excited to engage in productions outside its physical walls. Art and artists have long been
the engine of Guild Hall’s activities and the institution continues to find innovative ways to
support creativity in everyone.