The world premiere of Octet opens at the Signature Theatre Off-Broadway May 19, where performances have been extended through June 16. The new a cappella musical from Great Comet composer Dave Malloy marks the Signature's first musical production in its history.
Octet is directed by Annie Tippe. Featuring a score for an a cappella chamber choir and a libretto inspired by Internet comment boards, scientific debates, religious texts, and Sufi poetry, Octet explores addiction and nihilism within the messy context of 21st-century technology.
The cast is made up of Adam Bashian (The Phantom of the Opera) as Jim, Kim Blanck (Alice by Heart) as Karly, Starr Busby (Off-Broadway debut) as Paula, Alex Gibson (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Peter, Justin Gregory Lopez (Jesus Christ Superstar Live) as Toby, J.D. Mollison (X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. the Nation) as Marvin, Margo Seibert (In Transit) as Jessica, and Kuhoo Verma (The Big Sick) as Velma.
The company also includes Jonathan Christopher and Nicole Weiss.
The creative team is made up of Or Matias (music supervision and music direction), Amy Rubin and Brittany Vasta (scenic design), Brenda Abbandandolo (costume design), Christopher Bowser (lighting design), and Hidenori Nakajo (sound design). The production stage manager is Jhanaë Bonnick, and casting is by Caparelliotis.
