Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival to present "Turkeys Go On Strike: A New Satirical Musical," written by Ethan Felizzari with music and lyrics by Brian Sweeney and music and orchestration by Michael Janover.

WHEN AND WHERE
August 25 at 2:00 pm, August 26 at 9:00 PM, August 27 at 6:30pm, August 28 at 9:00 PM, August 29 at 9:00 pm, August 31 at 8:00 pm, September 1 at 5:00 pm
Theater for the New City (Johnson Theater) 155 1st Avenue
Presented by Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Artistic Director) as part of Dream Up Festival 2019
Tickets: $20 Box Office: (212) 254-1109, www.dreamupfestival.org
Running time: 90-105minutes
Crititcs are invited to all performances

NEW YORK July 26 – Written in the midst of the 2016 election, "Turkeys Go On Strike: A New Satirical Musical" by Ethan Felizzari, Brian Sweeney and Michael Janover is a satirical musical about finding truth and acceptance in a place where politicians don’t play fairly. The piece will be presented by Theater for the New City's 2019 Dream Up Festival from August 25 to September 1 for its New York debut.

This show centers on Turk, a young turkey who feels as though his town’s local government has been plagued with greed, corruption and other scandals. While searching for answers Turk, with the help of his friends, uncovers the dirty truth behind their town's political figures and fights to save the place from oppression and brutality. It is up to the flock to save the town from corruption, fight for their species from oppression and brutality and to finally receive acceptance for who they are. Social issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, the treatment of indigenous people, police brutality and political corruption are viewed from the perspective of turkeys, providing a clear-eyed satirical look at the social climate of today. Music ranges in style from classic musical theater hits to Hip Hop to 60s Doo-Wop to Tango and more.

Ethan Felizzari is a director, writer, producer and activist in New York who has worked in many projects ranging from theatrical ventures to films. He founded the production company CK Productions Inc. in December 2013. Felizzari's theatrical directing credits include "Backyard / Desert," "Columbinus," "The Great Gatsby" and "Big Bad Wolf Story" (for which he also wrote the script). Felizzari's film "La Sangre en Nuestras Venas" won an honorable mention at the Queens World Film Festival and the Golden Whiskers Award at Indieworks Festival.

Brian Sweeney is a composer, musical director and accompanist based out of Long Island. He is a faculty member at AMDA's Manhattan campus, where he coaches students in their musical theater program. In addition to "Turkeys Go on Strike: A New Satirical Musical," Sweeney has contributed music and lyrics to "A Big Bad Wolf Story" and "Day and Age."

Michael Janover is a songwriter, orchestrator, rock musician and musical director from East Meadow, New York with over 12 years of professional experience. He attended the Crane School of Music at SUNY Postdam for Music Education with a performance medium of voice for four years. He has been working as musical director in both community and professional theater for five years and acting for eight years.

ABOUT THE DREAMUP FESTIVAL
The tenth annual Dream Up Festival (www.dreamupfestival.org) is being presented by Theater for the New City from August 25 to September 15. An ultimate new works festival, it is dedicated to the discovery of new authors, fresh ideas and edgy, innovative performances. Audiences savor the excitement, awe, passion, challenge and intrigue of new plays from around the country and around the world.

The festival does not seek out traditional scripts that are presented in a traditional way. It selects works that push new ideas to the forefront, challenge audience expectations and make us question our understanding of how art illuminates the world around us.

In addition to traditional plays, a unique and varied selection of productions will again be offered, drawing upon a variety of performance genres including musicals and movement theater. The Festival's founders, Crystal Field and Michael Scott-Price, feel this is especially needed in our present time of declining donations to the arts, grants not being awarded due to market conditions, and arts funding cuts on almost every level across the country and abroad.

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