HE PLAYS THE VIOLIN

Written by Edmund Bagnell with Michael Schiralli
Conceived by Mark Cortale
Music Directed by Matthew Aument
Directed by Michael Schiralli
Date of Commission: September 5, 2019
Date of Premiere: November 1, 2019

New Works Provincetown began its inaugural season in the fall of 2019 with Edmund Bagnell's one man show He Plays The Violin. Bagnell, the first violinist and vocalist of the critically acclaimed singing string quartet Well-Strung co-wrote the show with director Michael Schiralli. He Plays The Violin also includes an original song by composer Scott Frankel.  The show premiered at The Art House in early November followed by an immediate New York debut at 54 Below.   A national tour of the show and subsequent summer run at The Art House have been postponed to 2021.  


Edmund 2019 image crop.png

EDMUND BAGNELL (Artist/Writer) played Tobias in the first national tour of Sweeney Todd directed by John Doyle. Recent credits include Rich in The Last Cyclist (Off Broadway), Toby in Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium (Off Broadway), Charlie Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Summer Theater of New Canaan), Charlie in The Big Holiday Broadcast of 1959 written by Joanna Gleason (Fairfield Theater Company), and Oramel Howland in The Great Unknown written by Jim Wann (Pump Boys and Dinettes) and Bill Hauptman (Big River) as a part of NYMF.  Other Credits include, Tom Sawyer in Big River (STONC), Enoch Snow Jr. in Carousel (Barrington Stage Company), Stewart Smalls in Band Geeks (Ars Nova NYC), Huck Finn in The Adventures of… (Cotton Hall Theater), and Dennis in Smoke on the Mountain (CHT).  A native of South Carolina, Edmund is happy living life in the Big Apple.  


MattAument.jpg

MATT AUMENT is a music director and orchestrator based in New York City. Previous cabaret pieces include Molly Pope (Molly Pope A Gay Man and a Piano, Polly Mope) and Seth Sikes' tributes to Judy, Barbra, and Liza. Other projects include SWEENEY TODD (Barrow Street Theater, NYC), GIGI (Broadway), and WE ARE THE TIGERS (Theater 80, NYC). 


MichaelSchiralliphoto.jpg

MICHAEL SCHIRALLI is Artistic Director of Half Moon Theatre at CIA’s Marriott Pavilion where he’s directed numerous productions including: John Cariani's premier of Cul-De-Sac; Yours, Anne; Vanya and Sonia and Masia and Spike; I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti; Side By Side By Sondheim among others.  Some recent Off-Broadway credits include: Why’d You Do It? (NY Times critic’s pick); Nico Underground (NY Times critic's pick); The critically acclaimed A Chanukah Charol starring Jackie Hoffman (New World Stages); Jeff Ward's Take One (Fringe)  David Simpatico's Prom Queen (Playwrights Horizon).  Other notable productions:  Sleepless Variations with Mary Testa & Michael Starobin (Barrington Stage); Jackie Hoffman’s solo shows including The Kvetching Continues (Time Out Award); The Tragic And Horrible Life Of The Singing Nun (NYMF, 3 awards); Varla Jean Merman shows and videos including Enough About Me: An Unauthorized Autobiography and the current A Star Is Bored; Coco Peru shows including Undaunted (GLAAD Award best theater LA); The Vendler Television Playhouse (Guiding Light TV Cast); Bob&Carol&Ted&Alice with David Rackoff (Culture Project); Born Again Again! with Tammy Faye Starlite; Valentine’s Day Massacre with Jackie Hoffman, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, David Rackoff (Drama Dept.); Wasp Cove with Julie Klausner; Nothin’s Easy and Nobody’s Happy with Colette Hawley; Gas, Food, Talent (West Bank); Darlene Love’s True Love with musical direction by Bette Sussman (N.Y., L.A.); Laura Nyro Project with Catherine Russell, Elaine Caswell and Jenifer Kruskamp (MTC); Songs for a New World with Beth Leavel and musical direction by Jason Robert Brown (Hellen Hayes PAC); Damaged Care (U.S. House of Congress); Everything's Coming Up Moses with Seth Rudetsky; MTW’s Holiday Extravaganza with Kristin Chenowith; All You Can Sing with Phoebe Snow; Free & Equal (Yip Harburg Foundation); the feature film Varla Jean And The Mushroomheads; the new musical Hit Her With The Skates (UCPAC Hamilton Stage) Broadway World pick; and the American Songbook with Jackie Hoffman at Lincoln Center.