Welcome to the big dipper!

Music and Lyrics by Jimmy Roberts

Book by Catherine Filloux and John Daggett

Additional Lyrics by John Daggett

Inspired by All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go by Catherine Filloux

Orchestration by Doug Katsaros

 

PREVIEWS BEGIN NOVEMBER 21, 2024 • OPENING NIGHT NOVEMBER 26, 2024
LIMITED RUN THROUGH DECEMBER 29, 2024

 

DeMone Seraphin, Director

Adam White, Associate Director

Beth Falcone, Music Director and Conductor

Ashley Marinelli, Choreographer

Adam Wedesky, Associate Choreographer

The York’s fall season will conclude with Welcome to the Big Dipper, a new musical based on a true event (inspired by the play All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go by Catherine Filloux), with music and lyrics by Jimmy Roberts (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change), book by Catherine Filloux and John Daggett and additional lyrics by Mr. Daggett.

The Big Dipper, an historic inn nestled in Bigelow, New York, near Niagara Falls, has been in Joan Wilkes’s family for decades and is on the brink of closure when a monster blizzard forces two wildly disparate groups of travelers to shelter in place. For three days and nights, within the walls of this sprawling house, secrets are revealed, young love ignites, and lives are changed forever.

Book your tickets!

Meet the Cast

JENNIFER BYRNE – Bonnie Haskins

ROBERT CUCCIOLI – Amos King

DARIUS HARPER – Mr. Sapper/Dez [US]

JILLIAN LOUIS – Sarah Smucker; Bonnie [US]

CHRISTIAN MAGBY – Dez

ELLA OLESEN – Sarah/Rebecca [US]

MIA PINERO – Rebecca King

JAYAE RILEY, JR. – Carly

DEMONE SERAPHIN – Mr. Sapper

ERIK SCHARK – Jake/Amos/Eli [US]

PABLO TORRES – Eli Stolzfus

DEBRA WALTON – Joan Wilkes

MICHAEL YESHION – Jacky Barnes

Post-Show talkbacks

 

Tickets to performances on these dates include post-show talkbacks – don’t miss these illuminating conversations, with insights into the creative process, context behind the show, and so much more!

 

Monday, November 25, 2024 (following the 7:30 evening performance)
Discussion on theater and social justice featuring members of the Welcome to The Big Dipper company, including director/actor DeMone Seraphin, a Helen Hayes Award nominee for his direction of Topdog/Underdog, and librettist and human rights advocate Catherine Filloux. Moderated by Christine Toy Johnson, award-winning actor, playwright, and advocate for inclusion (www.christinetoyjohnson.com/advocacy).

 

Saturday, December 7, 2024 (following the 2:30 matinee performance)
Discussion with the musical’s authors-Jimmy Roberts, John Daggett, and Catherine Filloux-and members of CDI (cdinyc.org) a New York City-based social organization for members of the transgender community in all its forms, on how the production relates to events in their own transgender lives. Participants will include CDI’s president, Allison Davis, members Fiona Black and Erin Ho, and noted transgender activist Bernie Wagenblast, the voice of the MTA.

 

Sunday, December 8, 2024 (following the 2:30 matinee performance)
Discussion with J.P. Miller, the production’s Amish consultant, about how the Amish community is portrayed in the musical.

 

Friday, December 13, 2024 (following the 7:30 evening performance)
Discussion with dramaturg Connie Winston and Welcome to The Big Dipper company members about “The Art of Collaboration.” (https://uitheatreartsjournal.squarespace.com/october-2024)

 

Saturday, December 14, 2024 (following the 2:30 matinee performance)
Discussion with Sonja Griffin Evans, the cultural heritage artist commissioned to create the painting featured in the production. Internationally acclaimed, Ms. Evans is regularly featured in projects documenting African-American history, and her pieces reside in esteemed galleries and collections (www.sonjagriffinevans.com). Moderated by Greta Berman, former Art History professor at The Juilliard School.

 

Sunday, December 15, 2024 (following the 2:30 matinee performance)
Discussion with podcaster Steve Cuden (https://www.storybeat.net/) who has interviewed Robert Cuccioli, Catherine Filloux, Jimmy Roberts and many others for his podcast StoryBeat, will moderate a conversation with the Welcome to the Big Dipper team.