Stoneham Theatre to Conclude Season with World Premiere of New Musical Lobster Girl

Stoneham Theatre closes its 16th Season with Lobster Girl, a World Premiere musical written and directed by Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes with music and lyrics by Steven Barkhimer. Choreography is by IRNE and Elliot Norton Award-winner Ilyse Robbins. When Hank invites his girlfriend's 14-year-old daughter, Cora, out for the day on his lobster boat off of Cape Ann, things go swimmingly until his assistant lets it slip that wedding bells will soon chime. That's when the seas start to get a bit choppy. Performances run from June 9 - 26, 2016. Press Opening is Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 3:00pm.

Shares Symes, "the original inspiration for Lobster Girl was Guys on Ice, a musical about ice-fishing that Stoneham Theatre produced in 2007. Our audiences completely fell for the silliness and warmth of that family- friendly musical, and I immediately thought that someone could write a similar musical about lobstering in this area and set it on a lobster boat. I pretty quickly came up with the initial notion of a lobsterman taking his soon- to-be step-daughter out for the day. It seemed like a strong premise to build a show around, and then everything else just fell into place around that basic idea. It certainly helped that one of my older brothers used to be a lobsterman. That gave me a basic understanding of this world, and I've also sent him dozens of emails over the past year saying things like 'did you ever find strange things in lobster traps when you pulled them?' or 'did you ever repair traps on the boat, and how?'"

Lobster Girl features all original music by Steven Barkhimer, a local actor/writer/composer who recently appeared in Laura at Stoneham Theatre. "Weylin knew the story he wanted to tell, and the characters were already well-formed; in fact, it would have made a perfectly viable play. But he thought it might make for an entertaining musical. He sent me a draft with suggestions of where songs might go and what their tone might be, and the music evolved from there," says Barkhimer.

Lobster Girl will include a student actor alongside professional artists as part of the young company comes to Mainstage program. young company actress Brigit Smith plays 14-year old Cora. Brigit was last seen on the Mainstage at Stoneham Theatre in The Secret Garden (May-June 2014). She received an IRNE Award nomination for Promising Performance by a Young Actor for her role as Mary Lennox.

The set for Lobster Girl meets some challenging script demands. Scenic Designer Katy Monthei was tasked with creating two boats onstage, as well as enabling the characters to have the ability to actually pull lobster traps on the set. In addition to Monthei, the design team is comprised of Lighting Designer Jeff Adelberg, Costume Designer Rachel Padula-Shufelt, Sound Designer John Stone, Props Master Michela Tucci, and Music Director Bethany Aiken.

Single Tickets for Lobster Girl: $50-$55 Adults; $45-50 Seniors; $20 Students (with valid ID). "Thrifty Thursday" tickets cost $15 at the door and are available for the Thursday, June 9, 2016 performance at 7:30pm. Student Rush Tickets start one hour prior to each performance, and 2 Student tickets may be purchased for the price of one (subject to availability). There will be a talkback after the performance on Sunday, June 12, 2016 at 2:00pm. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Stoneham Theatre's Box Office at (781) 279-2200, or visit www.stonehamtheatre.org.