It's Happening!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Revised 1/20/20

Ethos in association with

The VORTEX presents the WorldPremiere ofSelfie!The Musical by Rembert Block Directed by Bonnie Cullum

When: March 26-April 4, 2020 8pm — 2 weeks only! March 26-29 (Thurs-Sun) and April 1-4(Wed-Sat), 2020

ASL-interpreted Saturday, March 28 (Free to deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences)

“Industry Night”, Wednesday, April 1

Live-streaming on howlround.tv, Friday, April 3—8pm CST

Where: The VORTEX, 2307 Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722 On the Eloise Brooks Cullum Stage @ The VORTEX Free Parking. Bus Route.

The Butterfly Bar @ The VORTEX opens nightly at 4pm with hand-crafted cocktails and snacks.

Patrizi’s @ The VORTEX opens nightly at 5pm with delicious homemade Italian food.

Tickets:$37-$15 $37 Priority Seating $27 General Admission $15 Discount/Child/Artist/Student/Senior www.vortexrep.org or 512-478-5282 Advanced Reservations Recommended. Limited seating. Blue Star Theatre: Discounts for Military, Veterans, and their families. 2-for-1 admission with donation of 2 cans for SAFE Austin (Wed. Thurs.Sun.) Radical Rush Free Tickets: Limited free tickets for each performance in the spirit of sustainability, accessibility, and the gift economy. Radical Rush tickets released at 7pm each night--in-person only.

AUSTIN, TEXAS--The 21st-century Selfie phenomenon has rapidly evolved from 2013 word of the year to a social media foundation to daily occurrence to bizarre tragedy. Ethos presents the commissioned World Premiere of Selfie! The Musical--a new musical by Rembert Block, directed by Bonnie Cullum, debuting at The VORTEX on March 26, 2020 for a limited 2-week run. A rash of selfie-cides arouse the attention the ultimate Influencers--the Gods. “What are those crazy humans doing to themselves now”?! Fascinated, the Influencers set up a super-secret purgatory laboratory where they investigate several humans who have accidentally killed themselves while taking selfies:Ugly Selfie Girl, Dude Face, and Chasing Sunsets. As this whimsical and profound new musical unfolds, they grapple with the cultural and psychological currents underlying this new epidemic, especially identity, image, and narcissism. Will they cling to their manufactured identities or seek authentic human connections? But wait . . . can we post to Insta from the Underworld?

Selfie! The Musical features live music by the Brooklyn-based band, Rembert and the Basic Goodness as the Influencers. Also starring Austin performers Allegra Jade Fox as Ugly Selfie Girl, Michael Galvan as Dude Face, Emily Christine Smith and Trey Deason as Chasing Sunsets. Directed by Bonnie Cullum. Scenic Design by Ann Marie Gordon. Lighting Design by Patrick Anthony. Costume Design by Pam Fletcher Friday, Sound Design by Johann Mahler. Projection Design by Jose Lozano. Stage Management by Tamara L. Farley. Assistant Direction by Blaise Ricin. Production Management by Teresa Cruz. Photography by Errich Petersen. Ethos Artistic Director, Chad Salvata. Managing Director and Graphic Design, Melissa Vogt. Director of Finance and Operations, Krystle Kelley. Producing Artistic Director Bonnie Cullum. Selfie! The Musicalis funded and supported in part by Ethos, VORTEX Repertory Company, a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department. Tickets and more information www.vortexrep.org

About Rembert& the Basic Goodness: Rembert & the Basic Goodness is a Brooklyn-based cabaret-pop band known for originality, sophistication and humor. The band was founded by Rembert Block in 2016 and evolved into the current and definitive group it is today, featuring Russell Alderson on bass and vocals, Jagoda on drums, Jeff Hudgins on saxophone, and Rembert Block, lead vocals and accordion. Rembert & the Basic Goodness play regularly in the New York City boroughs at clubs such as Rockwood Music Hall, Pangea, The Way Station, Footlight, Pete’s Candy Store, and The Treehouse at 2A. Block’s intensely vivid, psychologically oriented poetry is offset by her charmingly catchy, rhythmically surprising melodies. Each band member brings their unique quirky virtuosity to the songs, creating an original, organic and dramatic sound. Rembert & the Basic Goodness released their debut recording Stay Plastic in 2018. Block and her band were commissioned by The VORTEX to create Selfie!The Musical. A full-length CD recording of Selfie Songs will be released in conjunction in March 2020.

About Rembert Block: Rembert Block is a multifaceted Texas-born, Brooklyn based singer, writer and accordionist. Block also performs and records with many NYC-based music projects, including original bands Bubble, The Gershwin Brothers and The Karen Haglof Band, as well as being a core member of the critically acclaimed tribute band Murderers’ Row. She also writes and performs original songs for the Bushwick Book Club. Block earned an MFA from Naropa University in Writing and Poetics. Her Austin performances in the late-90’sinclude her award-winning roles in Ethos’ cybernetic operas and her original show, Beauty Vultures and the Plague of Sleep.