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Circle Players Hosts Dan Elish, Author of the Broadway Musical "13"

Presented by Circle Players, Inc. at The Larry Keeton Theatre

April 30, 2011

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April 30, 2011, will be a special day for the cast, crew, and fans of Circle Players’ upcoming musical “13.” The all-youth cast will get a chance to meet with Dan Elish, the New York-based author of the show which has become a hit among teenage musical theatre fans. Dan Elish collaborated with award-winning composer, lyricist and pianist Jason Robert Brown to write “13,” a musical about growing up and fitting in. He said he looks forward to discussing the process of writing for the Broadway stage with Nashville theatre fans.

“I enjoy talking about “13,” it is such a great showcase for talented kids who love to act, sing and dance,” Elish said. He had written two musicals in college while majoring in music, and is the author of several dozen children’s and Young Adult books. Elish admires Jason Robert Brown’s work, and jumped at the chance to collaborate with him. He developed the book using Brown’s basic story line: a Jewish teenager from New York named Evan Goldman has to adjust to life in rural Indiana, just before he goes through the ritual of Bar Mitzvah, which, according to Jewish law, symbolizes the transition from childhood to adulthood.

 However, Elish said the show works so well because it goes beyond what a Jewish teenager experiences in his religion.

“The story is about growing up, about trying to fit in and being true to yourself,” he said. It doesn’t hurt that the plot has hilarious twists and turns when Evan makes some painfully bad choices in his quest for becoming popular.

It took six years of developing, writing and workshopping the production before it looked promising enough for New York. After a successful run in Los Angeles in 2007, the show moved to the Big Apple, where Dan Elish worked with co-author Robert Horn to fine-tune the script. “13” premiered on Broadway in September of 2008, where it ran for several months before closing in January 2009. It now plays in community theatres across the country, with Circle Players’ being the first company to produce “13” in Nashville.