On this edition of Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, check out my sneak peek of Prospect Theater’s New York premiere of the award-winning new indie-rock musical Lizard Boy, currently playing at Theater Row through July 1, 2023. Production photos by Billy Bustamante.
On Friday, June 16, Prospect is hosting an AANHPI affinity night for Lizard Boy, where you’ll meet Filipino American author and star of Lizard Boy, Justin Huertas. Enjoy a post-show, onstage Q&A with Justin, hosted by actor and writer Jason Ma. Use promo code AANHPI to save on your ticket, and receive a free drink voucher to the post-interview reception.
Lizard Boy features book, music and lyrics by Justin Huerta, direction by Brandon Ivie, and music direction by Steven Tran.
Following a successful run at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Prospect’s production of Lizard Boy features the original actor-musician cast of Justin Huertas, Kiki deLohr, and William A. Williams, and includes understudies Kai An Chee (Mr. Holland’s Opus, Miss Saigon), Milo J. Marami (A Chorus Line, Dog Man: The Musical), and Jacob Ryan Smith (Disney+’s “Hamster & Gretel”).
The creative team for Lizard Boy also includes Suzu Sakai (Scenic Adaptor / Environmental Design), Erik Andor (Costume Design), Brian Tovar (Lighting Design), Kevin Heard (Sound Design), and Katherine Freer (Projection Design), with L.B. Morse (Original Production Design). The Production Stage Manager is Victoria Whooper, and Assistant Stage Manager is Josh-Andrew Wisdom. Cara Hinh is the Associate Director, and the Assistant Music Director is Keiji Ishiguri.
Lizard Boy tells the story of Trevor—a young man with green scaly skin. He feels like a monster, and rarely braves the city outside his apartment. But when a powerful voice calls to him in a dream, he impulsively finds a date (on Grindr) and begins an adventure beyond his wildest apocalyptic nightmares… Sparks fly in this queer-indie-rock-action-romance that pulses with fierce conflict and fiercer harmonies, and takes us on a heart-pounding ride of self-discovery that asks: If the world were against you… would you still save it?
Equal parts comic book adventure and coming-of-age love story, Lizard Boy has been called “Ingenious” (San Francisco Chronicle), “Phenomenal” (San Jose News), “Ferocious & Funny” (Seattle Times), “Wildly Original” (The Guardian), and “Must-See Theater” (BroadwayWorld.com).
The Mercury News wrote, “Lizard Boy is an absolute delight, a humorous story that challenges comic book hero mythology and connects those objectives deeply through three performers who are big on talent and bold on ideas. Justin Huertas is the phenomenal mind behind the show, a multi-hyphenate who unleashes a character on the world who is the ultimate outsider. In addition to writing the book, music and lyrics, he portrays the reluctant hero Trevor, and plays guitar and cello.”
Lizard Boy is the winner of six 2021 San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, including Best Entire Production, Best Stage Direction, and Best Ensemble. The original cast recording, which is available online, has been streamed over three million times on Spotify.
The show was originally commissioned, developed by, and received its world premiere at Seattle Repertory Theatre. It was presented in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s 2020 Festival of New Musicals, further developed and produced by the 2019 TONY-winning TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and most recently appeared at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Lizard Boy is presented by special arrangement with Creative Endeavor Office (Carolyn D. Miller & Matthew J. Schneider), Blair Russell, Dawn Smalberg, Bev Ragovoy, and Lynne Halliday.
Lizard Boy is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. The production also receives support from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs through the Cultural Development Fund.
Performances are June 1 – July 1, 2023 on the following performance schedule:
Tuesdays – Fridays at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 3pm and 7:30pm.
Sunday performances are June 4 at 7:30p, June 11 at 3p, June 18 at 3p, and June 25 at 7:30p.
On Friday, June 9 there is a special 5pm performance, and no 7:30p evening performance.
Lizard Boy runs 90 minutes with no intermission.
Lizard Boy will also offer a calendar of special events:
Friday, June 16 – AANHPI Affinity Night at Lizard Boy
Join Prospect for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) affinity night! Meet Filipino American author and star of Lizard Boy, Justin Huertas. Enjoy a post-show, onstage Q&A with Huertas, hosted by actor and writer Jason Ma, captured for Backstage Pass with Lia Chang. Use promo code AANHPI to save on your ticket, and receive a free drink voucher to the post-interview reception.
Saturday, June 17 – Patron Dinner at 5pm
After the 3pm matinee or before the 7:30pm evening show, join Prospect artists and fellow theater goers for a three-course, prix fixe meal at a restaurant near the theater at 5:00pm. Glass of wine and coffee or tea included. (Add on dinner ticket price: $75, does not include show ticket)
Tickets, starting at $27.50 for “first look” performances, are now on sale, and can be purchased by visiting www.ProspectTheater.org/lizardboy or by calling the Theatre Row Box Office at 212-714-2442 x45 (https://bfany.org/theatre-row/). Theatre Row is located at 410 West 42nd Street. The Box Office is available by phone Monday – Friday from 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm.
Rush tickets, priced at $32.50, are available 1-hour before curtain, in-person at the Theatre Row box office. Limit 2 tickets per individual purchaser. The student rush price is $27.50, with valid student ID required. (Both prices include a $2.50 restoration fee.)
For more information, please visit ProspectTheater.org.
ABOUT PROSPECT THEATER COMPANY
Prospect Theater Company is dedicated to fostering and showcasing today’s new voices shaping tomorrow’s musicals. Over two decades, the company has premiered more than 35 musicals in New York City, in addition to new plays and numerous re-inventions of classic works. Reflecting its investment in the future of the field, Prospect leads a variety of developmental initiatives: including an annual Musical Theater Lab for emerging writers, and the IGNITE Series of new musical theater in concert. In 2020, Prospect launched the VISION Series of original music-theater works on film, created for online streaming. In recognition of its enterprising and risk-taking new musical theater, the company has received an OBIE Award grant, and its role as a community anchor for emerging artists that strengthens the quality, diversity, and dynamism of American theater was honored by the American Theatre Wing.
Recently, Prospect produced the musical song-cycle Notes From Now – Songs of Resilience & Renewal (2022) featuring a lineup of newly-commissioned original songs created by 21 of today’s brightest musical theater writers. Previously, Prospect produced the Drama Desk Award-nominated Einstein’s Dreams (2019) by Joanne Sydney Lessner & Joshua Rosenblum, adapted from the novel by Alan Lightman, and the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-nominated The Hello Girls (2018), by company founding artists Peter Mills & Cara Reichel. Both of these shows ran Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters and have original cast albums available from Broadway Records. Other notable productions include: Kerrigan & Lowdermilk’s The Mad Ones (2017); Milburn & Vigoda’s Long Story Short (2015); Ryan Scott Oliver and Hunter Foster’s Jasper in Deadland (2014); the Drama Desk nominated Tamar of the River (2013) by Joshua H. Cohen and Marisa Michelson; Carner & Gregor’s Unlock’d (2013); Gordon Greenberg’s revisal of Working (Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble, 2012) including new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda; Elizabeth Lucas’ re-imagining of Guettel’s Myths and Hymns (2012); and John Gregor’s With Glee (2010).
ProspectTheater.org
Facebook: @ProspectTheater
Instagram: @ProspectTheaterCo
Twitter: @ProspectTheater
YouTube: @ProspectTheaterCo
ABOUT THEATRE ROW
Theatre Row is an Off-Broadway multi-theater complex in the heart of NYC’s Theater District that serves as an affordable home for performing artist organizations, and a lively, accessible venue for diverse audiences. Located just two blocks from Times Square, Theatre Row offers theater rentals, rehearsal studio rentals, office space, ticketing and box office, as well as tech support to actors, producers, dancers, and musicians. Theatre Row encourages its varied mix of nonprofit theater companies to share ideas and resources as they work in its intimate spaces. Over 160,000 patrons come to Theatre Row each year.
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang 