Join creators Jill Hoffmann and Ryan M. Luévano, director Justin Braun and music director Bryan Blaskie for a reading of the in progress musical 57 BUS from Los Angeles. This reading will feature local NYC actors in a public presentation of this exciting new musical.

WEBSITE: www.57busmusical.com

THE STORY

57 BUS is inspired by a true event that took place on a bus in Oakland, California in 2013, when an 18-year-old agender high school student’s skirt was set on fire by another student. The musical explores how the lives of these two children are changed forever. After being the victim of this “hate crime” Skylar is left to decide if the cost of self-expression in an intolerant world is worth the freedom of living as your true self. By re-evaluating Skylar’s own pursuit for self-expression, they learn more about themselves and discover what they must do to find the path to healing.

The other student, John Michael, is seen as an attacker, however, given his background, and ultimate fate by the court, audiences must determine if he is perhaps also a victim. In the end, John Michael must decide to accept the consequences of his actions and find a way to rise against society’s expectations and emerge out of his circumstances better than before.

57 BUS is a refreshingly honest look at the impact of intolerance on children and the power of understanding to achieve peace and ultimately break down the cycle of hate.