Randy Redd presents We Are The Song 2: After The Storm, a second helping of extraordinary new music to benefit The North Rampart Community Center and to celebrate the work that began in New Orleans...After The Storm. We Are The Song 2: After The Storm will be presented at Joe's Pub on Monday, December 7th at 7 PM.
The concert fundraiser will feature original songs by songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Chris Miller, Sam Willmott, Rob Rokicki, Jason Loffredo, Michael Cooper and Hyeyoung Kim, David Sisco and Tom Gualtieri, Michael Walker and Kyle Ewalt, Barbara Anselmi, Ken Clifton and performances by songwriters Maddy Wyatt, Leenya Rideout (Company, Cabaret) and Wesley Whatley, singers Kyle Dean Massey (Next To Normal, Xanadu, Wicked), Stephanie Umoh (Ragtime), Alyse Alan Louis (Mamma Mia), Cole Burden (Applause), Kathy Deitch (Wicked, Footloose), Matt Doyle (Spring Awakening, Bye Bye Birdie), Jeremy Hays (Les Miserables), Rachel Bay Jones (Hair, Showfolk), Fabio Monteiro, Robin Skye (Parade, Cyrano), Ali Stroker, Janine LaManna (Seussical, The Drowsy Chaperone, Sweet Charity, Ragtime) and Gerry McIntyre (Once On This Island). Musical Director Aaron Jodoin will lead a five-piece band with additional vocals by Matt Dengler, Caroline Dooner, Molly Hager, Justin Lopez and Mary Catherine McDonald. Song/Storm 2 will also feature a very special musical tribute to Once On This Island. The title of this concert event is taken from "After The Storm," the new song written for the film by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
Almost three years ago, on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Redd went to New Orleans with Academy Award-winning writer James Lecesne, actor and director Gerry McIntyre and filmmaker Hilla Medalia. With the help of countless dedicated friends and generous artists in New York and the resilient people of New Orleans the team helped to reopen the North Rampart Community Center (formerly St. Mark's) and staged Lynn Ahren's and Stephen Flaherty's musical Once On This Island with local students, musicians and young artists.
AFTER THE STORM is the feature-length documentary film that follows the production of the musical Once On This Island at St. Mark's from auditions through performances in New Orleans and New York and also includes the story of each young actor's life in the wake of Katrina. The focus is not on rescues, evacuations and losses, but on survival, hopes and dreams. The award-winning film opened the LA Film Festival in July and premiered in New York on October 5th.
The film explores the cultural landscape of New Orleans as seen through the eyes of these teenage artists. The goal of the film is to create an emotional and entertaining storytelling experience that celebrates the spirit and culture of New Orleans at a specific point in history. AFTER THE STORM depicts a unique American city and how it is beginning to piece itself back together. The film also explores how art can be used as a tool for healing and growth and the power a community wields by sharing its story, locally and beyond.
Filmmaker Hilla Medalia explores the young actors' daily lives, how they are coping with a struggling school system, limited job opportunities and the loss of family members and friends. Through their eyes, the film's audiences can view the recent history of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina's impact through the lens of a group of talented young people.
The After the Storm Foundation was established to offer assistance and support not only to North Rampart Street Community Center (formerly St. Mark's Community Center) but also to other already existing relief organizations currently serving the youth of New Orleans. The first step in the foundation's creation was the formation of a life-to-life link between the New York music, theater and film community and North Rampart Street Community Center. By getting to know its people and programs, the foundation is better able to assist community center staff members in setting up new opportunities for youth and buoying up already existing programs -- by providing the needed funds and offering technical and moral support. By creating ties to local arts organizations, the foundation also intends to leave behind the means and personnel to keep music and theater training programs going and to set up video and film archiving capabilities so that the kids can continue to tell their own stories.
For tickets, priced $20, visit www.joespub.com or call (212) 967-7555. Joe's Pub is located within the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street.
