Dec. 6-22: Photo Exclusive of Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri’s BUMBUG The Musical at The Clurman Theatre

I can’t wait to get my holiday cheer on at the world premiere of BUMBUG The Musical, a new Rock Opera by Samrat Chakrabarti and Sanjiv Jhaveri, presented by LAUGHistan, during its limited engagement at The Clurman Theatre (Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street) in New York. I loved the workshop production of Bakwas Bumbug, presented by Desipina at the Wild Project in 2011, and have been anxiously awaiting its return.

(Photo) Internationally Acclaimed singer Falu (center) shares her breathtaking voice and dance moves with the Angel Crew (left to right: Lipica Shah as Sunita, Matthew Knowland, Kiarri Andrews & Brooke Ishibashi) in the show stopper song “Ajaa Ajaa” from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

Performances begin Thursday, December 6 and continue through Saturday, December 22. Opening Night is Saturday, December 15 (8 p.m.).

Helmed by Mercedes Murphy, BUMBUG The Musical, is an electrifying musical reinvention of “A Christmas Carol” told through the looking glass of NYC Immigrants and Hyphenated America. Like so many immigrants, disillusioned Deli-owner Scroogewala left his motherland years ago to pursue the American dream. Amidst his battle with holiday merriment, Scroogewala is visited by a motley crew of misfits who remind him that love, loss and laughter are all a part of that dream he’d almost given up on.

(Photo) Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” (center) with the Angel Crew (left to right: Brooke Ishibashi, Kiarri Andrews & Matthew Knowland) from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

BUMBUG The Musical is the FIRST Full Length Musical authored and produced by the Indian-American diaspora in New York City. The production stars Kiarri Andrews, Andrew Guilarte*, Brooke Ishibashi*, Matthew Knowland*, Adrienne C. Moore*, Debargo Sanyal*, Lipica Shah*, and Falu.
*Performing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association. AEA approved showcase.

(Photo) The cast of LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” and the band from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

The band includes Keyboard: Samrat Chakrabarti, Guitar: Ranjit Arapurakal, Bass: Konrad Payne, Percussion: Shiv Puri.

(Photo) Lipica Shah as “Sunita” and Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

BUMBUG The Musical, general managed by Darling & Company, features scenic design by Mercedes Murphy, lighting design by D.M. Woods, costume design by Amanda Seymour.
BUMBUG THE MUSICAL plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, December 22:
Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sundays at 3 p.m.
There is no performance on Friday December 7th.
Tickets are $19.25 (including a facility fee) and are now available online at www.Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Row Box Office,12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Running Time: 75 minutes
Website: www.BUMBUGTheMusical.com

(Photo) Sanjiv Jhaveri and Samrat Chakrabarti, co-creators and co-directors of Bakwas Bumbug at The Wild Project in the East Village after the opening night performance on June 22, 2011. Photo by Lia Chang

SAMRAT CHAKRABARTI (Book, Lyrics, Music) is an award-winning actor and internationally acclaimed musician. His musical collaborators include: Robert Brustein (founder of Yale Repertory Theatre & American Repertory Theatre), Sabir Khan (son of musical maestro Ustad Sultan Khan), Jared Stein (from the Broadway show American Idiot), Deborah S. Craig (from the Broadway show The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Roopak Ahuja (from the band, House Jacks), Jerold E. Solomon (from the Broadway show South Pacific), Meetu Chilana (from Cirque Du Soleil), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (from the upcoming Broadway show Cyndi Lauper’s Kinky Boots), Manu Narayan (from the Broadway show Bombay Dreams), Eric Pillai (Music Producer of Anurag Kashyap’s film Gangs Of Wasseypur), Shabbir Ahmed (Award winning Bollywood Lyricist), DJ Suketu, DJ Aqeel, John Clark, Ajay Naidu and others. Chakrabarti has also composed music for over a dozen films, including, Deepa Mehta’s film adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Soham Mehta’s Student OSCAR winning film: Fatakra (Firecracker), Rachel Greenberger’s The Only Thing, Rehana Mirza’s Hiding Divya, Ted Wallach’s Oil: A Love Story, Sundaram Tagore’s Natvar Bhavsar: Poetics of Color, and Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab Presents. He is the recipient of a U.S. CARA for Best Original Pop/Rock Song for his composition “What’s It all About” and the 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers in the category of Film, TV and Drama, for his outstanding body of work as an actor. Samrat holds a MFA in Acting from the A.R.T/ Moscow Art Theater School Program at Harvard University. For more info on his works, check out:http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1589782/

(Photo) Adrienne C. Moore as “Angel” and Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) Falu as “Mrs. Scroogewala” and Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

SANJIV JHAVERI (Book, Lyrics) is a veteran actor of TV, Film, and the Theatre. Film: Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab Presents (with scenes opposite the legendary Shabana Azmi); Walkaway, Shailja Gupta’s debut film. Television: All the series of “Law and Order” (NBC), “Conviction” (NBC), “Rescue Me” (FX), and 3 Pilots, “Drift,” “Hate,” and the Tim Robbins directed “Possible Side Effects.” Regional Theatre: Yale Rep, Washington D.C.’s award-winning StudioTheatre, and Missouri Rep. In New York City: The Play Company (Sakharam Binder), the Lark Theatre, Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab, the Cherry Lane Theatre, and the Hypothetical Theatre Company. Director: Desipina Production of “7-11″, seven 11- minute plays set in a convenience store, in 2007. Writer: Collaborations with Samrat Chakrabarti to write 3 mini musicals A Very Desi Christmas, Soonderella, and Who Killed Mr. Naidu First? A Very Desi Christmas has grown into a full-length musical, called Bakwas Bumbug, which has been workshopped with Desipina, receiving a workshop production at the Wild Project in 2011. He has also worked as an accent/dialect coach. Audiobooks: Audible.com and Brilliance Audio. Titles include: Confessions of a Thug, Alif The Unseen, The Truth About Me and Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke.

(Photo) Adrienne C. Moore (center) as “Angel” and The Angel Crew (left to right: Matthew Knowland, Kiarri Andrews and Brooke Ishibashi) from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

MERCEDES MURPHY (Director) is a veteran of the Theater business as a Director, Artistic Director, Writer, and Designer. She has directed theater and dance at various venues including the prestigious Moscow Art Theater, Lincoln Center, PS 122, the Vineyard Theater, the Market Theater, the C. Walsh Theater and the AmericanRepertory Theatre. In addition, her works have also toured throughout Europe. Mercedes has worked as an Art Director for music videos and collaborated with artists including Coleman Hough, Jody Oberfelder, Robert Woodruff, Jay Scheib and John Bucchino. For two years, she was the resident director at the New Opera and Musical Theater Initiative in Boston. She is the Founding and Artistic Director of Théâtre Trouvé and has taught at the New York Film Academy and Harvard University. Currently, Mercedes is a professor at Montclair State University’s Department of Theatre.

LAUGHistan is a production company dedicated to bringing contemporary works of theater and film into the mainstream with a strong emphasis on preserving authenticity.

(Photo) Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” (center) with the Angel Crew (left to right: Brooke Ishibashi, Kiarri Andrews & Matthew Knowland) from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) The Angel Crew (left to right: Brooke Ishibashi, Matthew Knowland & Kiarri Andrews) from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) Internationally Acclaimed singer Falu (center) shares her breathtaking voice and dance moves with the Angel Crew (left to right: Kiarri Andrews, Brooke Ishibashi & Matthew Knowland) and Lipica Shah as “Sunita”, in the show stopper song “Ajaa Ajaa” from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) Lipica Shah as “Sunita” and Debargo Sanyal as “Mr. Scroogewala” from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) Adrienne C. Moore as “Angel”, Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as “Scroogewala” with the Angel Crew (left to right: Brooke Ishibashi, Matthew Knowland & Kiarri Andrews) from LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

(Photo) Internationally Acclaimed singer Falu in LAUGHistan’s World Premiere of “BUMBUG The Musical”. Photo Credit: Lia Chang

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