Unknown Soldier 2020

For BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, Michael Friedman whipped up an emo rock score that comically skewered white male privilege. For LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST his music and lyrics embraced the open-hearted awkwardness of lovers testing the waters of adulthood, and in THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, they nostalgically provided a tapestry of pop harmonies, soul and rap. And then there was the abundance of fresh material created for The Civilians, the investigative theatre company he co-founded.

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director Tim Sanford, Managing Director Leslie Marcus) today announced the cast and creative team of Unknown Soldier, a sweeping, elegiac chamber musical that melts time, spanning three generations as it follows a woman's journey to unearth the secrets buried in her family's past. With a book and lyrics by Daniel Goldstein, making his New York writing debut, Unknown Soldier is also the last work from the late, beloved Michael Friedman (music and lyrics) to be premiered in the city. Together, they created a work that profoundly illustrates the search into the existences of those who've passed, connecting the love and loss, hope and regret of two womena?'and a country forever scarred by wara?'across a century. Unknown Soldier follows Ellen Rabinowitz, a woman who's inherited her grandmother's homea?'and with it, a clue that her understanding of her family and of herself are incomplete. Directed by Trip Cullman and choreographed by Patrick McCollum, this New York premiere production will take place in the Mainstage Theater at Playwrights Horizons (416 West 42nd Street), February 14-March 29, 2020.