Skylight Music Theatre Announces World Premiere Developmental Presentation of Women-Led Empowering Rock Musical, SuperYou

Milwaukee, Wis. (February 28, 2023) — Skylight Music Theatre announced today it will produce the world premiere developmental production of the uplifting rock musical, SuperYou, by Lourds Lane, running May 26 – June 18, 2023 at Skylight’s beautiful Cabot Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. Skylight is Milwaukee’s professional Equity music theatre company. SuperYou will replace the previously announced world premiere developmental production of The Song of Bernadette. Tickets for SuperYou will go on sale to the public on Monday, March 6, 2023.

An Empowering Musical Featuring Diverse Women

SuperYou, written and composed by Filipino-American rock artist and global humanitarian, Lourds Lane, celebrates the journey of a comic book artist who is reminded of the power of her voice when her own superheroine creations come to life. Throughout this uplifting tale, expressed through diverse women’s voices, the protagonist overcomes personal tragedy, reconnects with her dreams, and learns to love herself.

A World Premiere Developmental Presentation

“Skylight Music Theatre is thrilled to present this world premiere developmental presentation of the new rock musical, SuperYou by Lourds Lane,” said Skylight Music Theatre Artistic Director Michael Unger. “This show is on its way to London’s West End and Broadway, and Milwaukee’s own Skylight will be the next step on its journey. We are also proud that SuperYou will be Skylight’s entry into the World Premiere Wisconsin Festival.”

SuperYou has previously only been staged in concert versions. Skylight’s production will be a “more fully realized version of SuperYou,” said Unger. The show will be directed and choreographed by JoAnn M. Hunter, choreographer of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School of Rock, and Bad Cinderella which is about to open on Broadway. The music supervisor is Wendy Bobbitt Cavett, who was music director of Broadway’s Come From Away, Mamma Mia! and the first woman conductor of Broadway’s Hamilton.

The show is produced by Melissa M. Jones, who is a Tony-nominated producer and investor in Broadway productions, including Jagged Little Pill, Come From Away, and Allegiance.

The full cast and creative team for SuperYou will be announced at a later date.

Mind-Blowing Performers and Inspirational Modern Rock Score

Featuring mind-blowing performers, new, iconic superheroines, and an instantly singable modern score running the gamut between rock, pop, hip hop, swing, gospel, and thrilling power ballads, SuperYou is the heartwarming story of a woman remembering the power of her own voice.

“SuperYou features as catchy a score as you are likely to hear in any contemporary musical, belted out by a phenomenally gifted cast, with a story as empowering as it is exciting,” Unger said. “SuperYou shines a massive spotlight on the superheroes within all of us.”

Show Has Resonated Since the Pandemic

Originally scheduled to premiere Off-Broadway in May 2020, SuperYou made history in June 2020 as the first live theatrical production since the start of the pandemic, performing socially distanced concerts on the backs of pick-up trucks for audiences at a drive-in theatre in upstate New York, and receiving a slew of national and international press. Lourds Lane’s anthemic music has inspired thousands of fans from around the world to post videos of themselves singing SuperYou music, which is celebrated on SuperYou’s social accounts on #FANCOVERFRIDAY. A concert version of SuperYou sold out Carnegie Hall in New York City and has generated almost 50,000 followers and 22 million views on social media, even though the show has yet to be fully staged.

“SuperYou is an inspiring story about resilience, inclusivity, overcoming grief, and remembering your worth,” said producer Melissa M. Jones. “Now more than ever, this message has resonated with fans from around the world, despite the show never having been fully staged. We look forward to working with Skylight to share this powerful and beautiful story.”

‘The Song of Bernadette’ Ticketholders Automatically Moved

The performance dates are May 26 – June 18, one week later than the previously announced The Song of Bernadette. Current subscribers and ticket holders for The Song of Bernadette have been automatically moved into corresponding performances, and can arrange to reschedule, credit, or refund their tickets. They will have priority access to SuperYou tickets before they go on sale to the public beginning March 6, 2023.

The show is recommended for ages 8 and up.

World Premiere Developmental Presentation

SUPERYOU

May 26 – June 18, 2023

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Lourds Lane

Director/Choreographer: JoAnn M. Hunter

Music Supervisor: Wendy Bobbitt Cavett

Skylight presents SuperYou, an inspiring story about resilience, overcoming grief, and remembering one’s worth. SuperYou follows the journey of a comic book artist whose superheroine creations come to life, reminding her of the incredible power of her own voice.

Creative Team Biographies

Lourds Lane (Book, Music, Lyrics, Arrangements). A Filipino-American rock performer and multi-instrumentalist, classically trained on piano and violin at age three, Lourds is the composer and writer of SuperYou, originating the role of Rise, the electric violin-playing “misfit” superhero. Songs from Lourds Lane’s SuperYou Musical was performed by the Broadway cast at sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2022, receiving resounding standing ovations. The visionary and heart behind the SuperYou’s social good mission, Lourds Lane teaches global youth and adults to connect to their most empowered superhero selves through the educational arts and music-based 501c3 she founded and created, The SuperYou FUNdation. A Harvard honors grad, Lane is a 2018 Actors’ Equity Association Paul Robeson Award Finalist for her dedication to the “betterment of humankind,” winner of the 2019 Ideagen Global Leadership Award, a two-time Fred Ebb Musical Theater Award finalist (2012 and 2018), Johnny Mercer Writer’s Colony at Goodspeed alumni, a celebrated speaker at TEDWomen, TEDYouth, the United Nations, and Forbes Women, inspiring global audiences with empowering, music-infused talks, the creator of a female indie rock musician community in NYC, The Medusa Festival, and was the lead singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist of her own critically acclaimed nationally touring rock band. Upcoming: Composer and Lyricist to new Mulan musical. Follow: @lourdslane

JoAnn M. Hunter (Director, Choreographer) has 20 Broadway shows to her credit as a Choreographer, Associate Choreographer and Performer. Choreography: Broadway: School of Rock (Broadway, US National Tour and West End, Australia), Disaster!, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Bad Cinderella. West End: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. National Tour/Regional: Ever After (Alliance Theatre), World Premieres of August Rush with John Doyle, Beatsville by Glenn Slater, A Sign of The Times by Bruce Vilanch, Harmony (Alliance/ Ahmanson Theatre) by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, and Marvin Hamlisch and Rupert Holmes’ The Nutty Professor directed by Jerry Lewis, UnMasked, Pump Boys and Dinettes, Grease, Oliver, & Curtains all at Paper Mill Playhouse, National tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She has directed Debra Monk in her one woman show with special guests Ron Rifkin, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, and David Hyde Pierce. Associate Choreographer on Broadway: Spring Awakening, Curtains, The Wedding Singer, All Shook Up. As a performer, 12 Broadway shows.

Wendy Bobbitt Cavett (Music Supervision & Co-Arrangements) has Broadway and Off-Broadway credits including Come From Away, Hamilton, Mamma Mia!, The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Year with Frog and Toad, The Most Happy Fella, A Tale of Two Cities. US National Tour and International productions include The Who’s Tommy, Mamma Mia!, A Chorus Line. Wendy is on the theater faculty of Wagner College.

Melissa M. Jones (Producer) is a Tony-nominated producer and investor in productions including Jagged Little Pill, Come From Away, and Allegiance. She is also President of All Awesome LLC production company, director in the global empowerment non-profit, The SuperYou FUNdation, and a Ball State University Dept. of Theatre & Dance Alumni board member.

Performance Information

Performances of SuperYou are Friday, May 26 through Sunday, June 18, 2023 in the beautiful Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

Box Office

Purchase tickets at the Broadway Theatre Center Box Office. Call (414) 291-7800 or visit 158 N. Broadway, Monday – Saturday, from Noon – 6 p.m. or email tickets@skylightmusictheatre.org. Please let the Box Office know if accessible seating is needed, or if patrons will have a wheelchair or walker.

• Box Office hours Mon. – Sat., Noon – 6 p.m. The Box Office window is also open two hours prior to performances.

• Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more by calling (414) 291-7800

• If you have ADA needs, please contact the Box Office (414) 291-7800 or tickets@skylightmusictheatre.org.

• Skylight offers a risk-free guarantee to exchange, credit, or refund tickets for any canceled performances.

• For more information visit www.skylightmusictheatre.org or email info@skylightmusictheatre.org

Sponsors

Skylight thanks season sponsors United Performing Arts Fund, Wisconsin Arts Board and CAMPAC – the Milwaukee County Arts Fund. Additional sponsorships are available. Please contact development@skylightmusictheatre.org.

Skylight Bar & Bistro

Skylight Bar & Bistro, operated by Noble Catering and located on the second floor of the Broadway Theatre Center, is open two hours prior to curtain for light fare (see current menu here) and during intermission for beverages, including beer, wine, soda and bottled water, and snacks. Skylight Bar & Bistro is not open after the show.

Special Events

Skylight Insights. In-depth discussions about the background of each production with Artistic Director, Michael Unger and special guests take place one hour before all Wednesday and Sunday performances.

ASL Performance. SuperYou will be interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL) on Thursday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets for this performance, email tickets@skylightmusictheatre.org or call Skylight Music Theatre’s Box Office at (414) 291-7800. Mention ASL performance for seating in the appropriate section. Supported by UPAF Connect.

Parking

Purchase $5 parking vouchers from the Broadway Theatre Center Box office for use in the Historic Third Ward parking garage at 212 N. Milwaukee Street (one block east and one block north). Vouchers are valid between 5 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. for evening performances. Matinee vouchers are valid 12-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Not valid for Wednesday matinees. Voucher sales stop 30 minutes before showtime. Advance purchase recommended so that vouchers can be mailed with tickets. No refunds. Meter parking is available on the street (free after 6 p.m. and on Sundays).

Health & Safety Protocols

Proof of vaccination or negative test is no longer required. Wearing masks indoors is optional but recommended. Skylight’s health and safety protocols follow local and state guidelines and are subject to change. For up-to-date information, please visit www.skylightmusictheatre.org/health.

About Skylight Music Theatre

Founded in 1959, Skylight is Milwaukee’s professional Equity music theatre company and the largest employer of Wisconsin actors in the state. We are Milwaukee’s Home for Music Theatre — the only professional Milwaukee arts company devoted solely to music theatre. Skylight produces the full breadth of music theatre ranging from blockbuster Broadway musicals to reimagined operas, and from exciting world premieres to contemporary off-Broadway hits. Skylight’s mainstage home is the Cabot Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center, which was built by Skylight in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward in 1992. Considered to be one of Milwaukee’s most beautiful theatres, the Cabot Theatre is based on the design of an 18^th-century French opera house. With just 350 seats it offers audiences great views of the performance and allows audiences to feel close to the action and emotion onstage. Skylight Music Theatre marks its 63rd season in 2022-2023. Skylight Music Theatre is a proud Cornerstone Member of the United Performing Arts Fund.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.