JOEL B. NEW: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF ORIGINAL MUSICALS is Coming to The Green Room 42
The performance will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. 24, 2025
Award-winning songwriter and performer Joel B. New will return to The Green Room 42 to celebrate 20 years of creating and producing original musicals in New York City. The one-night-only concert will take place on Saturday, August 2 at 7:00 PM EST both in person and via livestream.
With a body of work that spans live theatre, musical theatre podcasts, and an album released by Broadway Records, New invites audiences on a heartfelt and humorous journey through two decades of musical theatre storytelling. The evening will feature a vibrant lineup of fan favorites, world premieres, and deep cuts from across his catalog, performed by an all-star cast of collaborators.
Coinciding with the release of his new songbook, The Songs of Joel B. New, Volume II (coming exclusively to Repertwa.com), the event will spotlight four musical comedies originally staged between 2019 and 2023 and offer a sneak peek at his newest work-in-progress: The Merboy Next Door, a queer, campy musical comedy inspired by the Disney Channel Original Movie genre and Joel's own journey as a first-time foster-adopt dad.
MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
Monkey Trouble Unleashed! - A blood-soaked genre mashup where a trained killer in a collar discovers love, liberation, and Dance Dance Revolution.
Undertaking Christmas - A fallen NYC party planner returns home to rescue the family funeral home in the gayest holiday musical Hallmark never dared to air.
Tempting Mr. Lincoln - A time-bending queer love story between a small-town shopkeeper and a pre-presidential Abraham Lincoln, featuring nods to Julia Roberts and none to historical fact.
R.E.D. Hat Fight Club - This senior-centered satire throws hands (and hats) at ageism, capitalism, and toxic self-discovery.
The Merboy Next Door (Sneak Peek) - Part myth, part high school musical, and fully heartfelt.
CAST INCLUDES:
Lisa Howard (Titanique, ...Spelling Bee), Becca Ayers (1776, The Addams Family), Andrew Cristi (A Christmas Story), Cicily Daniels (Pirates! The Penzance Musical), Travis Kent (Disaster!), and Richard Riaz Yoder (Hello, Dolly!), Madge Dietrich (Kinky Boots, 1st natl. tour), Will Mann (Hadestown, 1st natl. tour), Charles Sanchez (Merce! The Series), and Jill Melanie Wirth (TV/Film: The Normal Heart, HBO). Featuring: Gavin Guthrie, Julianna Ingram, Sierra Jimenez, Marco Miralles, Adam Grant Morrison, and Rachel Schoenecker.
CREATIVE TEAM:
Director: Billy Bustamante (Here Lies Love)
Music Director/Piano: Gillian Berkowitz (Chicago, Wicked)
Band: Colleen Bernstein (percussion), Wesley Bourland (bass), Eli Zoller (guitar)
Backup Vocals: Neal Harrelson, Allison Mickelson, Zibby Nolting
TICKETS:
Starting at $21.75
Reserve now at joelbnew.com/20
Venue: The Green Room 42 (4th floor of YOTEL, 42nd St & 10th Ave)
"It's important to come together to laugh at really gay, really stupid s*** right now. And I'm incredibly proud of myself for still being here, making really gay, really stupid s***, putting it up, and doing it over and over for two decades with the best friends and artists in the city. Lots of people give up on their gay stupid dreams. Not me. Because I'm really gay. And really, really stupid." - Joel B. New
ABOUT Joel B. New
Joel B. New is a composer, lyricist, bookwriter, producer, and performer whose original musicals have been showcased at Ars Nova, Musical Theatre Factory, Prospect Musicals, and the New York Musical Festival. A recipient of the Jonathan Larson Grant and MAC's John Wallowitch Award, Joel's work has been praised for its wit, heart, and originality. His songs have played venues from 54 Below to The Stonewall Inn, and his theatre podcast Something New was named one of BroadwayWorld's Top 20 for fans. Joel holds degrees from NYU/Tisch and Oklahoma City University, is the founder of Benjwelo Theatricals and several artist development initiatives, and lives in Astoria with his husband, their son, and their dog.
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