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“How to Dance in Ohio,” a poignant new musical about a group of autistic young adults getting ready for a spring dance, will open on Broadway later this year, with a cast of seven autistic performers playing the lead roles.
The musical is based on a 2015 documentary filmmaker Alexandra Shiva who followed participants in a social skills therapy program for people with autism; the musical is also set as part of a therapy program and tells the story of young adults getting ready for a dance that they hope could help them through some of the challenges they face in navigating the social interactions.
The musical previously took place last year at Syracuse Stage in central New York; the production schedule was cut short when Covid cases arose among the cast and crew. THE review of the show in The Post-Standard, a Syracuse newspaper, was titled “The Musical You’ll Be Talking About For The Rest Of Your Life” and called it “invigorating, groundbreaking, celebratory”.
The casting is not yet complete, but will include several actors making their Broadway debut: Desmond Edwards, Amelia Fei, Madison Kopec, Liam Pearce, Imani Russell, Conor Tague and Ashley Wool. Others on the bill so far include Haven Burton and Darlesia Cearcy.
“How to Dance in Ohio” features book and lyrics by Rebekah Greer Melocik and music by Jacob Yandura; it is directed by Sammi Cannold and choreographed by Mayte Natalio. The famous director and producer Hal Prince was originally attached to the project; he died in 2019.
The musical is produced by a company called P3 Productions, directed by Ben Holtzman, Sammy Lopez and Fiona Howe Rudin. It is capitalized up to $15.5 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The show is slated to begin previews Nov. 15 and open Dec. 10 at the Belasco Theater.
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