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Art Lab Productions will present an invite-only, industry reading of The King’s Critique, a new musical by Nat Zegree and Eric Holmes. Directed by Tiffani Swalley, the reading is set for Thursday, March 26th in New York City.
A razor-sharp, laugh-out-loud musical comedy, The King’s Critique follows Josephine, a fearless woman who dares to change the world by becoming the first woman to take the stage. Her audacious debut detonates spectacularly, triggering a fragile, power-hungry King to throw a tantrum so epic he bans every theatre troupe in the kingdom. Refusing to let art be silenced, Josephine joins forces with Cora, a viciously sarcastic witch, and Sebastian, a charming rogue actor, to expose the King as the pompous, clueless fraud he truly is. What starts as a theatrical takedown erupts into disguises, sword fights, tap-dancing, secret performances, and escalating chaos—culminating in Josephine disguising herself as a man to survive the madness. But as the kingdom blindly clings to cruelty dressed up as authority, Josephine realizes the real battle isn’t just against a King—it’s against a system terrified of women, truth, and art itself. With electrifying original music, blistering wit, and unapologetic social satire, The King’s Critique is a bold, crowd-pleasing musical about power, rebellion, and the exhilarating danger of stepping into the spotlight anyway.
The cast features: Taylor Iman Jones (Hamilton), Jordan Fisher (Dear Evan Hansen), Raymond J. Lee (Sweeney Todd), Lillias White (Dreamgirls), Matthew Patrick Quinn (Hadestown), Gabi Carrubba (Just In Time), Nyla Sostre (Shucked), Nick Cearley (The Skivvies), Christian Fary (The Office: A Musical Parody), Adam Fane (Titanique), Nick Drake (& Juliet), Timothy H. Lee (Hadestown), Bridget Beirne (That Time of the Year), and Olivia Hardy (Kimberly Akimbo)
The presentation is produced with Jordan Fisher and executive-produced by Lisa Dozier Shacket. Additional Orchestrations and Arrangements by Ian Chan. Nat Zegree serves as the music director. Sheena Laird serves as the choreographer. Kevin Sciretta serves as Comedy Consultant. Sound Design by Elisabeth Weidner. Grace Cutler serves as Assistant Director. Allison Hohman serves as Production Stage Manager. LDK Productions/Michael Shannon serves as General Manager.
