UK Premiere of Vote for Me: a Musical Debate

The London Theatre Workshop will present the UK premiere of American musical comedy Vote for Me: a Musical Debate by Drew Fornarola and Scott Elmegreen at their west London venue from 5 to 23 May 2015, with an official opening on 8 May 2015.

Vote for Me: a Musical Debate is a musicalized Presidential debate where you pick the winner. Candidates dance and sing their way through the three-ring circus of American politics, and audiences cast their votes to help determine the outcome of the show.

The musical was commissioned by Robyn Goodman, the producer of Avenue Q, and penned by Drew Fornarola and Scott Elmegreen, who sought to create a heightened satire of American life that spoke to the state of their culture - in their case American political culture - at its best and its worst.

The musical premièred at the 2010 New York Musical Theater Festival, and recently played a run off-Broadway at Roy Arias Stages in the summer of 2014.

The UK premiere will be produced by Olga Marie-Pratt on behalf of the London Theatre Workshop and directed by Dom O'Hanlon with musical direction by Chris Guard. Casting for the production is yet to be announced.

Composers Drew and Scott said of the announcement:

"VOTE FOR ME is our first full-length show to be produced in London, and the opportunity to present this material to you in the run up to your own elections is extra special to us. At the end of it all, this is a show about how lucky we are to live in free societies and the obligation we have as citizens to make sure they stay that way. And who doesn't enjoy laughing at Americans?"

Drew Fornarola is a songwriter and playwright from New York. He is currently developing both a new stage musical and an animated movie for DreamWorks. His theatre credits include Molly Shannon's 'Tilly The Trickster', 'Thucydides'; 'COLLEGE The Musical'; and 'Claudio Quest: A Videogame Musical'. His new play 'STRAIGHT' is under option by Tony Award-winning producer Andy Sandberg, and highlights from his new musical 'Tiananmen' premiered at 54 Below.

Scott Elmegreen is a playwright and songwriter whose shows include 'Tiananmen', 'COLLEGE The Musical' (NYMF Award for Excellence), 'Vote For Me: A Musical Debate', 'Thucydides', 'Straight' and the children's shows 'Ivy + Bean: The Musical', 'Magic School Bus, Live! The Climate Challenge', 'Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee' and 'Boy, The Musical'.