New Orleans-based Nine Lives, produced by Michael Cerveris

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Posted: 3/1/11 at 10:09pm

Michael Cerveris wants to bring the book, Nine Lives, now made into a song cycle, to Broadway. To this end, he had a ny sneak peek at Symphony Space Sunday, and has a performance planned in New Orleans in early May. The cd was released today. It features Michael Cerveris, Wendell Pierce, Harry Shearer, Lucia Micarelli, Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint, John Boutte, Lillian Boutte, Kevin Griffin, Michelle Shocked, Shamarr Allen, The Dixie Cups and Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

From the playbill link, Cerveris had this to say:

""At this point, 'Nine Lives' is just a stunning song cycle with endless possibilities for theatrical realization. The source material has a Studs Terkel aspect to it, but we envision something with a stronger narrative thread than, say, Working. In some ways, it's a story of a vivid and multifaceted community, not unlike In the Heights, but possibly less conventional in its story telling than a traditional book musical — a Hair or Fela! kind of experience, perhaps. The fun part is, as with New Orleans itself, there are no rules and we want to honor the chaotic and singular beauty of the city itself as Nine Lives tells us what it wants to be. The one thing I know is that we have to continue to nurture the project in as organic and authentic a way as it has grown thus far."

Did anyone attend the Symphony Space performance?
Playbill article