PRESS RELEASE:

The Human Race Theatre Company has a confession to make – an entire show of confession, in fact. Next in The Human Race’s nationally noted Musical Workshop Series is The Ambition Bird, an intimate chamber musical by Matthew Sheridan about famed American confessional poet Anne Sexton.
 
Sexton became known for the self-revelation of her work in the 1960s, revelation all the more dramatic because of mental illness so severe she was often hospitalized for treatment. She was a hit on the poetry-reading circuit, but deeply troubled in her private life.
 
Human Race Executive Director Kevin Moore first experienced The Ambition Bird in 2003 when it was part of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s New Musicals Festival.  “It was a spellbinding, one-woman show which I thought would be perfect for one of our resident artists,” stated Moore.  So, it immediately went into his “to-do” pile.
 
In the meantime, The Ambition Bird was selected for the Cardiff International Musical Theatre Festival in Wales in 2005. It was there that Matthew expanded the show, which now includes three additional voices.  The Dayton reading will be the first time the new show will have a full reading.
 
Sexton, a contemporary, friend, and rumored lover of Sylvia Plath, won the Pulitzer Prize for Live or Die, a collection published in 1966. Other notable works were All My Pretty Ones and Transformations, as well as the play 45 Mercy Street. Her later poems turned in a strongly feminist direction.  Sexton’s work inspired the opera Transformations and Peter Gabriel’s song, “Mercy Street.” She attempted suicide on several occasions, succeeding in 1974.
 
The pivotal role of Anne Sexton will be played by Kay Bosse,  Human Race Resident Artist and recent inductee in the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.  Morgan Grahame, Scott Hunt and Scott Stoney will play the three voices. Stoney will also direct the workshop.
 
The Ambition Bird, with book, music, and lyrics by Matthew Sheridan, will be presented at The Loft Theatre in downtown Dayton January 22 and 29 at 7pm.  Tickets are $15. Call 937-461-3823 ext 3118 for ticket reservations.