Be Part of MADDIE's Journey Off-Broadway

Hi! Thank you for being here. Allow us to introduce ourselves.

Andy Crosten is a New York based theater maker. You may know him from his work on stage and off with Bound For Broadway, ATG Entertainment, the Triad Theater, The Golden Gays and more.

Andrew Winans is a New York based director, choreographer, and performer. You may know him from his work with The Public Theater, The Players Theatre, Steps On Broadway, Peridance Center, and more.

Together, we are Bennett Theatricals, LLC. This Spring, we are embarking on our most ambitious project to date - producing our first full Off-Broadway musical. (*gasp*) We are thrilled to present the US premier of MADDIE A New Musical , coming to The Players Theater this May for a five-week run.

This is where you come in! We are currently seeking to raise $100,000 to fund the run. We have set a goal of $25,000 to come from crowdsourcing through our friends, colleagues, and connections to help get us started. By funding our production you will be investing in not only MADDIE but our company as a whole, as we are planning and prepping for even bigger dreams down the road.

Keep scrolling for more information about the show and thank you for sharing your precious time with us today.

Warmly,

Andy Crosten, Andrew Winans

and the team of

Bennett Theatricals, LLC

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Here's how we got involved:

MADDIE first premiered at the Lyric Theatre on the West End in 1997 to critical acclaim. As the director, Andrew is honored to have been passed the torch of this show from one of his teachers and mentors, Broadway’s Chet Walker, who cultivated the show with his long time collaborator and co-book writer of MADDIE, Shaun McKenna. After Chet’s unfortunate passing, Andrew made it his mission to pass on the legacy of Chet’s work, quickly picking up this project and running forward.

In 2023, we produced a staged reading, a concert version at 54 Below, and a workshop at the New York Theatre Festival, where we were nominated for 7 awards and won for Best Score.

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So what's the backstory?

MADDIE delivers a mysterious love story inspired by the real life of silent screen star Marian Marsh. This newly imagined musical features an illustrious score by Stephen Keeling and lyrics by Shaun McKenna, book by McKenna and Steven Dexter.

The show is based on the 1973 book “Marion’s Wall” by acclaimed author Jack Finney, who most famously wrote “The Body Snatchers”, which has been made into several feature films. “Marion’s Wall” was made into a film in 1985 called “Maxie”, which starred Glenn Close, Mandy Patinkin, and Ruth Gordon. Glenn Close received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of Maxie.

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The musical synopsis:

In the liberated 1970s of downtown New York City, we meet our protagonists Nick and Jan Cheyney who have just moved into the dilapidated attic apartment (not) of their dreams. Beneath the crumbling wallpaper, they are astonished to uncover a message scrawled in lipstick by one of the building’s original inhabitants- a 1920s dancer named Madeline Marsh, Maddie for short. Fascinated by the discovery, they are completely unprepared for the wild return of its ghostly author, still desperate to become a movie star.

Through her reckless yet invigorating pursuit of the unrealized dreams of her past life, Maddie manages to entangle the newlyweds in a very unlikely love triangle that has them questioning their entire relationship.

After many hilarious rendezvous with acquaintances old and new alike, Maddie somehow does make it to Hollywood. But what will she choose when presented with the opportunity of a lifetime? And how will she ultimately inspire others to follow their dreams?

Above all, MADDIE is a story about two people learning to love each other and how sometimes life’s answers can show up in the most unexpected of places.

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Contact info:

For even more information, check out our PITCH DECK .

If you are a serious theater producer and would like to get more involved, feel free to shoot us a message and let's make it happen.