MEET THE ARTISTS

Lucy/Bluebeard Creative Team

               ED LEVY             

             Book & Lyrics           

  • my retirement in 2011, I have been working exclusively on musicals, taking tons of workshops and classes, studying lyric writing for two years in the Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, producing my short musicals in six festivals, some at Lincoln Center, and getting one of my musicals (Bystander) published and licensed by MTI. I’m a member of the Dramatists Guild and BMI.

         ERIC GRUNIN       

                  Music                  

  • includes full-length musicals Brooke Astor's Last Affair (Music; Chicago Musical Theater Festival, 2019; Emerging Artists Theater, 2013) and Our Woman, Frank Thompson (Music & Lyrics; Musical Theater Factory / Playwrights Horizons Downtown, 2017). Also music for short musicals Bystander (Sound Bites 2018, winner "Best Music"; published by MTI) and Double Double (Lincoln Center, 2020). Also book for Dybbuk of the Opera (Lincoln Center, 2019) and RansomWHERE? (Lincoln Center, 2017). He has contributed songs to MuseMatch (Feinstein's/54 Below, 2018), and The Resistance Cabaret (The Tank, 2016 & 2017); blogged for Ryan Scott Oliver's CrazyTown; and reviewed for TheaterScene. He is an alumnus of the BMI Musical Theater Workshop, and holds a Doctorate in Composition from Juilliard.

        RACHEL KLEIN       

                Director               

  • featuring the music of the Grateful Dead), Around the World in 80 Days (The Davenport Theatre), The Anthem ("What makes this show pop is the bracing vision of its director, Rachel Klein."-The New York Times). Selected NYC: Tink! (NYMF), More Than All the World (adapted from Marlowe's Edward II), Circus of Circus (The House of Yes). Selected Regional/Workshops/Labs: The Suffragist (Starring Nancy Opel), The Gospel According to Heather (Signature Theatre), Stories (National Black Theatre of Harlem), Dead Certain (Composed by Air Supply's Graham Russell). Ms. Klein is the director/showrunner of the audio series, The World to Come, founding member of Iconoclast Theatre Collective, and directed the charity roast of Michael Musto featuring appearances by Rosie O'Donnell, Bruce Vilanch, and Bianca Del Rio. Upcoming: Pup! A Chew Story at NAMT 2022. rachelkleindirector.com

Lucy/Bluebeard Cast

    SAMANTHA ECHO    

                 Lucy                 

  • performer. She has been featured on ABC World News Now as a singer of the opera incarnation of Barry Mitchell's "the World News Polka." Echo is known for her powerful dramatic soprano voice and her snarky but soulful lyrics, as well as her stylistic versatility in singing everything from opera to pop to rock music. Her music video "Nick's Mom" has been called "the most beautiful, nuanced work of our time" (Ruby McCollister, actor/singer/comedian). Her forthcoming projects for 2023 and 2024 include a tribute EP to the 1982 film The Last Unicorn and a new music video inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

   KATHERINE SHORE   

                 Anne                

  • She is a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Her most recent credits include “A Play of Angelic Visitation” at the Queens theatre festival and “The Baroque Cycle” at the NY theatre festival, where she was awarded Fall 2022’s “Best singer” award. Katherine is very excited to work with this wonderful group of creatives! @katherine.shore

DAVID MICHAEL KIRBY

             Bluebeard           

  • conservatory program. He acts, sings, writes, and directs. His play, "Ephemory Lane", premiered at Blurring Boundaries 2021. Favorite NYC appearances include A Little Princess (US premiere-Signature) and The Spoon River Project (NYC premiere-Greenwood Cemetery). David is a founding member of New Ambassadors Theatre Company.

     JEANÉ CUMMINS      

Narrator/Townsperson 2

  • She has been in numerous musicals and a couple of plays such as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, where she played the understudy of Marcy Parks and ensemble. Working the Musical, where she played the role of Maggie Holmes. Shrek the Musical, where she played the role of Dragon. Little Shop of Horrors, where she played Chiffon. Beauty and the Beast, where she played the role of Wardrobe. Full Circle (Off-Broadway), where she originated the role of Halley. Legally Blonde where she played Paulette. Plays include Midnight Summer’s Dream at the Mile Square Theatre, where she played the role of Moth. Fortune, where she played the role of Mama by the playwright George Cameron Grant. Somewhere I can scream (Off-Broadway), where she played the roles of Alice Bustin, Agnes, and College girl 1. She just recently came back from a 3-month European Tour called “The Original USA Gospel Singer.”

CLAIR RACHEL HOWELL

        Townsperson 1        

  • Clair graduated from AMDA NYC in 2018, and since then has gone on to perform regionally, on national tours and aboard cruise lines! Most recently Clair played Anna in Disney's FROZEN aboard the Disney Fantasy, as well as Cinderella in Disney's BELIEVE. She also was a part of the inaugural cast for Jimmy Buffett's first cruise ship, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, where she worked with the Broadway team of ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE! You can find her online at @clairinthecity and clairrachelhowell.com!

          GAIA VISNAR         

        Townsperson 3        

  • and has been actively involved in her country’s acting community. In addition to an extensive international acting education, she is a graduate of Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City. Her performance as Claire in The Maids with The Seeing Place Theatre earned her a 2019 NYITA nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role. Other credits include the titular role in an international adaptation of Antigone (Outer Gaea Company – UK), Emmy in A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Living Room Theatre), Various Parts in Brecht on Brecht (Theatre Breaking Through Barriers), Ismene in The People Vs. Antigone (The Seeing Place Theatre), Maria in Twelfth Night (The Lady Shakes Theatre Company), Paige in The Doorman (HB Playwrights Theatre), Brutus in Julius Caesar (Circle in the Square PW); as well as various film and TV roles. Following her passion for promoting and exploring female narrative, she has collaborated with Transforma Theatre on The Female Role Model and Science in Theatre projects, and on several projects with Elemental Women Productions. She is an ensemble member of TBTB Theater, a member of NYWIFT (New York Women in Film and TV) and LPTW (League of Professional Theatre Women). Follow her at www.gaiavisnar.com or @gaiavisnar.