Bystander
Book & Lyrics by Ed Levy
Music by Eric Grunin
Directed by Rachel M. Stevens+
Music Direction by Adam Wiggins
+ indicates member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
On a late-night subway, a passenger accuses a young woman wearing a hijab of terrorism, which puts the only other rider in a precarious situation.
Setting
On the Q train to Brooklyn, 2018
Cast
Anna……………………………………………… Mikki Sodergren
Niaz……………………………………………..… Neda Lahidji
Doug………………….……….…………….…… Danny Kornfeld
Conductor (offstage) …………………………….. Kristen Kress Parness
Songs
“Q Train” - Anna, Doug, Niaz
“Anna’s Decision” - Anna
“Rumi” - Niaz
“Q Train (reprise)” – Anna, Doug, Niaz
Musicians
Adam Wiggins (keyboard)
Ed Levy (Bookwriter/Lyricist, Bystander) wrote the libretto and lyrics for Bystander (Best Short Play or Musical, NY Summerfest, Hudson Guild Theater, 2017). He wrote the lyrics for Uncomfortable Sex (Players Theater Short Play Festival, 2017). He has had 3 short musicals produced at Lincoln Center Across a Crowded Room, 2017 and 2015). Ed studied lyric writing at BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. He is a member of the Dramatist Guild, the Directors Guild of America, and BMI. Upcoming productions include: Picket Line, 1936 at the Association for Theater in Higher Education conference (August 2018).
Eric Grunin (Composer, Bystander) is currently participating in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Recent work includes short musicals RansomWhere? (Book; Across a Crowded Room at Lincoln Center, 2017), Bystander (Music; Hudson Guild, 2017), and full-length musicals Our Woman, Frank Thompson (Music & Lyrics; Musical Theater Factory / Playwrights Horizons Downtown, 2017), and Brooke Astor's Last Affair (Music; Emerging Artists Theater, 2013). He has contributed songs to MuseMatch (Feinstein's/54 Below, 2018), and The Resistance Cabaret (The Tank, 2017); blogged for Ryan Scott Oliver's CrazyTown; and reviewed for TheaterScene. He holds a Doctorate in Composition from Juilliard.
Rachel M. Stevens+ (Director) Broadway: (Assistant Director), Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Directing: Quantum Theatre of Pittsburgh, Theatreworks USA, New York Film Academy New Works Festival, Momentum Festival City Theatre of Pittsburgh, NYMF, New York Fringe, Front Porch Theatricals of Pittsburgh. Assistant Directing: Preludes (dir. Rachel Chavkin, LCT3), The Bandstand (dr. Andy Blankenbuehler, Paper Mill Playhouse) Outside Mullingar (dir. Tracy Brigden, City Theatre of Pittsburgh) Smart Blonde (dir. Peter Flynn, City Theatre of Pittsburgh) In Development: Leni Riefenstahl is Going to Tell You the Truth, a new musical by Christie Baugher. Rachel is a dedicated teaching artist and coach with the Broadway Jr. Program and MTCA. Rachel holds her MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School and her BFA from Point Park University. Rachel is a proud SDC Associate.
Danny Kornfeld (Doug) recently starred as Mark Cohen in the 20th Anniversary Tour of RENT. New York credits: Wringer (City Center) directed by Stephen Brackett, What Do Critics Know? (NYMF), Republic directed by Michael Arden, First Family of Second Avenue, Peter Pan directed by Thom Southerland, We are the Tigers. Regional: Fiddler on the Roof (Barrington Stage), Moritz in Spring Awakening. Catch him Off-Broadway this fall in Transport Group’s All I Could See. Recent Syracuse University grad. www.DannyKornfeld.com @dannyhkorn
Neda Lahidji (Niaz) American-Iranian soprano Neda Lahidji is known and praised for her incredibly rich and flexible voice which allows her to sing in an array of genres including jazz, musical theatre, opera, sacred and popular. She now lives in Los Angeles pursuing TV and Film while teaching voice and Sight-Singing at AMDA LA. New York Theatre: Grand Hotel. Online Short: 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins: Feed the Birds (cover). (Awards: Lenya Competition: Emerging Artist Award, San Francisco Y.E.S. Foundation for the Arts Finalist. Education: NYU, Chapman University.) www.nedalahidji.com
Kristen Kress Parness (Conductor) is an NYC-based writer, director & performer. She wrote & directed the award-winning short film Super Grannies Bridge Club, as well as the web series, Ditmars Angels. After completing her Masters of Fine Arts in Directing at the Actors Studio in 2014, Kristen spent a year in Los Angeles working on the Warner Brothers lot, learning about various aspects of production. Now back on the east coast, she directs in conjunction with her production company, Brain Fry Productions, and is the Coordinator of Student Affairs and director for the S!NG program at the Bronx High School of Science.
Mikki Sodergren (Anna) New York theatre includes Kerrigan & Lowdermilk’s The Bad Years and Republic, Scott Evan Davis’s Indigo, Levy and Grunin’s Bystander, and Nine. Regional: Aldonza/Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha opposite Ron Raines, Les Miserables, Next to Normal. Opera/Classical: Carmen (upcoming), Looking at You (BRIC), Vivaldi’s Gloria (Pro Arte Chorale, upcoming), International Tour with Grammy®-nominated Clarion Choir (upcoming). Concerts: Pops with Jacksonville Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, New Jersey Festival Orchestra. TV: most notably for “12 Days of Christmas” on Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Mikki currently serves as Artistic Director of the American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, Georgia. www.mikkisodergren.com @mikkisodergrenach with the Broadway Jr. Program and MTCA.
