Our founder, Francine A. LeFrak, on co-producing a new musical, the cast that rallied to open it, and why every seat filled this summer matters.

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There are moments in the theater that remind you why live performance matters. Not because everything goes to plan, but because artists find a way to rise above the unexpected.

Music City opens tonight at St. Luke's Theatre, and just days ago we faced the kind of challenge every producer hopes never comes. We lost a leading member of our cast with almost no warning. Then Lauren "Lolo" Pritchard stepped in with two days to learn the role. Two days to absorb the music, the choreography, the emotional arc, and the chemistry of an ensemble that has lived with this show for years. Watching her, you would never guess. She has been extraordinary.

Her performance says something larger than her own talent. It speaks to the resilience and generosity that define the theater community. Great productions are never built by one person. They are built by artists who trust one another and show up when it matters most.

That spirit is one reason I chose to support this show. For me, co-producing Music City is a natural extension of what I have always believed. Philanthropy is about investing in people, nurturing talent, and creating room for artists to share their gifts. I am proud to serve as co-producer alongside lead producer Gabrielle Palitz and a team that believed in this production from the start. Under the direction of Bedlam Artistic Director Eric Tucker, with a heartfelt book by Peter Zinn and songs by multi-platinum songwriter J.T. Harding, Music City shows what happens when real creative talent gathers around a shared vision.

Walk into the theater and you step into The Wicked Tickle, an East Nashville bar where the music fills the room and dreams are born one song at a time. The setting pulls you in, but it is the honesty of the performances that holds you. For a couple of hours you are not sitting in a New York theater. You are living alongside these characters, sharing their hopes, heartbreaks, and triumphs.

That is the power of live theater. It builds an emotional connection that cannot be replicated. It asks us to see the world through someone else's eyes. It sparks conversation and reminds us of our shared humanity, and those shared experiences matter more than ever.

This is also a hard moment for theater. Many strong productions are struggling to fill seats this summer, with audiences pulled toward the FIFA World Cup and countless other options. Global events bring people together in wonderful ways, and they also make life harder for independent and Off-Broadway shows. Even productions with glowing reviews and gifted casts can find themselves fighting to keep going.

For smaller productions, every seat counts. Every ticket helps keep actors, musicians, stage managers, designers, and technicians working. Every full house gives a company the chance to keep telling its story. Every person who tells a friend helps another show find its audience.

Supporting theater is about far more than buying a ticket. It is an investment in creativity, community, and the next generation of artists. The arts have always been central to how I think about well-being. They nourish us emotionally, challenge us intellectually, and bring us together in ways little else can.

What I admire most about Music City is that its story reaches beyond the stage. The perseverance of this company mirrors the themes the musical explores. They met the unexpected, adapted with grace, supported one another, and delivered a performance full of heart. That resilience is worth celebrating.

So I am asking you to make time for live theater this summer. See Music City or see another production you love. Either way, your presence matters. The future of theater depends not only on talented artists but on audiences who believe these stories deserve to be told.

Bring a friend. Support an extraordinary cast and creative team. Help make sure great storytelling keeps thriving.

Great theater can entertain us, but its deeper gift is the reminder of what becomes possible when people come together to create something meaningful. That is a gift worth preserving, and one we all have a chance to support.

Congratulations to Gabrielle Palitz, Eric Tucker, Peter Zinn, J.T. Harding, Lauren "Lolo" Pritchard, and the entire cast, band, design team, crew, and producing team. Your creativity and commitment remind us why live theater continues to bring people together.

About Music City

Music City is a new musical with songs by multi-platinum country songwriter J.T. Harding, whose work has been recorded by Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, and Uncle Kracker. It features a book by Peter Zinn and direction by Bedlam Artistic Director Eric Tucker. First staged by the theater company Bedlam in 2024, the production earned two 2025 Drama Desk nominations, including Outstanding Musical, and a 2025 Off Broadway Alliance Award nomination for Best Musical.

For the run, St. Luke's Theatre is transformed into The Wicked Tickle, a fully working honky-tonk with two real bars. Audiences can sign up for a pre-show open mic, and country and Broadway guests have been known to drop in.

The show plays at St. Luke's Theatre, 308 West 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues), New York. Opening night is Wednesday, June 24, 2026, and the production runs through October 16, 2026. Tickets start at $77.

Tickets: https://ci.ovationtix.com/37029/production/1272606Learn more: https://musiccitythemusical.com

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