Hypokrit Theatre Company in association with Satvik arts will present the World Premiere of THE MUSIC IN MY BLOOD. It is an original new work by Sonalee Hardikar and Shubhra Prakash. It is a play about Indian music that spans generations and countries and is designed and directed by Sonalee Hardikar. Original music compositions are by Laxmikant Bongale. Previews of this limited Off-Broadway engagement begins June 6 at American Theatre of Actors. Opening is slated for Sunday, June 10.
Before this the Show has been performed by invitation at the “South Asian theater festival” in Rutgers university alongside works by Mahesh Dattani and Usha Ganguly. It was the opening show at “Natya Darpan” in New Jersey, and an independent stand alone performance at Natya Bharati in the DC metro area.
THE MUSIC IN MY BLOOD crosses the boundaries of time and space to bring together Prema and Walter, two people bound by their love of Indian music. In 1934, Jewish Czech musicologist Walter Kaufmann (1907 – 1984) fled from the Nazis and temporarily resettled in India where he fell in love with the music of his new home land. He became a noted scholar and composer of Asian music and even composed a signature theme song for All India Radio that is still used today. Meanwhile, Prema is born in India to parents from a musical dynasty. When she flees to Brooklyn in the 1980’s to pursue a degree in history Prema discovers the writings of Dr. Kaufmann. Soon, the unlikely pair begin to converse across time and space about music, tradition, culture and heritage.
THE MUSIC IN MY BLOOD features original music performed live by Amod Dandawate, Rucha Muley Jambhekar and Manoj Govindraj.Starring : Monica Sharma, Ariaki Dandawate, Michael Gentile, Toby Miller, Richa Rudola, Meera Narasimhan, Ashok Chaudhary, Gautam Gurnani, Sumend Wankhade, Anand Rao, Miriam Eusebio, and Aanya Rastogi.
The production team includes), Hassan Khan (set construction), Priya Rohatgi (wardrobe and props), and Madison Hartke-Weber (projections).
THE MUSIC IN MY BLOOD runs June 6 – 17, Wednesday – Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday at noon & 5pm. American Theatre of Actors is located at 312 West 54th Street between 8th & 9th Avenues. Tickets are $45, available
