code name: CYNTHIA

Music by Karen Multer
Book & Lyrics by Steve Multer

Directed by Tracey Elaine Chessum

code name: CYNTHIA opens as Paris falls to the Nazis and master spy Betty Thorpe (code name: Cynthia) barely escapes with her life. When a mysterious mastermind blackmails the stunning beauty back into intelligence for the Allies, Betty seduces the enemy to save civilization from a ruthless dictator and her own delicate world from falling to pieces. Based on the true story of a true American patriot, Washington, D.C. becomes a chessboard where honor, sex, and political ethics are as up for grabs as the fate of the free world.

COMING TO THE KENNEDY CENTER’S 14TH ANNUAL PAGE TO STAGE FESTIVAL
Saturday, September 5, 2015
8:00 P.M.
Millennium Stage North
FREE
For more information, CLICK HERE

CRITICS SAY…

“Stephen Sondheim would do well to watch his back. Pallas Theatre Collective has just mounted a new musical, code name: CYNTHIA, that is just as smart and pointed in its book and lyrics and just as telling and theatrical in its musical score as anything the modern master of sophisticated musicals has delivered lately—maybe more so.” – DC Metro Theater Arts

“It is deceptively easy to forget you’re watching a new musical. The orchestration, lyrics, and wit of Cynthia all come together with highly entertaining finesse.” – DC Theatre Scene

“…a tight, effective musical, complete with a satisfying narrative twist near the end.” – The Washington Post

“From Paris to Casablanca, code name: Cynthia follows an ambitious arc. To director Tracey Elaine Chessum’s credit, it’s effortlessly entertaining, a real accomplishment for a new musical.” – Washington City Paper

HISTORY:
code name: CYNTHIA was named the winner of Pallas Theatre Collective’s TableRead in March 2014. Pallas presented a public reading of the show in Washington, D.C. in June 2014, followed by a reading in January 2015 in collaboration with the Ball State University Department of Theatre & Dance, and a reading in April 2015 with the Point Park University Conservatory of Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, PA. Most recently, code name: CYNTHIA received a staged reading at the International Spy Museum, where the the project was inspired.

Pallas Theatre Collective’s world premiere production of code name: CYNTHIA ran from July 30 – August 16, 2015 at the Anacostia Arts Center.

 

Photography by Teresa Castracane Photography, LLC