A 29 Hour Reading of The New Folk Musical

About

1692.

New England.

To Cry Witch follows a family struggling to rebuild itself, even as the world outside works to tear it apart....

When the Salem Witch Trials come for her mother, Sarah Carrier must reconcile the world’s evils-and the evils of her own community.

Through the evocative sounds of a haunting folk score, an intimate portrait of womanhood in a world gone mad against it.

Act I:

Prologue: The Giant and the Witch: Ensemble

Opening: When the Wind Blows: Ensemble

Family Hymn: MARTHA, THOMAS, RICHARD, SARAH

When It Was Before: SARAH

Those Who Deserve: MARY, ALLEN

Family Hymn (Reprise): MARTHA, THOMAS, MARY, ALLEN, RICHARD, SARAH

Man of the House: RICHARD, SARAH

The Giant and the Witch (Reprise): ALLEN, BENAJMIN

Part of Me: MARTHA, SARAH

Wrath of God: Ensemble

Act II:

On and On: THOMAS

The Winding Sheet: BENJAMIN, ALLEN, Ensemble

Part of Me (Reprise): MARTHA

Choosing: MARTHA, THOMAS

The Testimony: MARTHA

On and On (Reprise)/Finale: SARAH, Ensemble

Cast

  • Shannon McCarren

    MARTHA CARRIER

    Shannon recently earned her MFA in Acting from The Ohio State University, where she specialized in devised theatre and the creation of new works. She is honored to give voice to Martha Carrier, a character who embodies the pain, the resilience, and the enduring beauty of women across time. Select theatre credits include Blood Wedding (OSU), Earthen Echoes (OSU), Machinal (MadLab Columbus), The Seagull (Serenbe Playhouse), Titanic: The Musicial (Serenbe Playhouse).

  • Gabrielle Filloux

    SARAH CARRIER

    Select Credits: Off-Broadway: THE Z TEAM (Tiffany) at Theatre Row, MORE THAN THIS WORLD (Diane) at The York Theatre Company, THE OFFICE! A MUSICAL PARODY (Angela & Others, dance capt.) at The Jerry Orbach, DOUBLE CROSSED (Rachel) at AMT Theater Nat’l Tour/Cruise: HAIRSPRAY (Penny) & FLIGHT (Katie) at RCCL, THE OFFICE! A MUSICAL PARODY Regional: Goodspeed Musicals DEVOTION (Wanda Lee), Hartford Stage A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Cobweb), Cabrillo Stage THE ADDAMS FAMILY (Wednesday) Workshops: SUNDAY BRUNCH (Willow Anne a.k.a. Cult Girl), THE WOLVES (#8), FIVE: THE MUSICAL PARODY (Marla Maples), WHITE ROSE: THE MUSICAL (Sophie Scholl), WELCOME TO THE BIG DIPPER (Rebecca), FACE TO FACE (Alice), additional with TNNY, TRW, BMI, NETC. IG: @gabrielle_filloux, www.gabriellefilloux.com, very concerned about climate change.

  • Erik Poger Abrahamsen

    THOMAS CARRIER

    Erik is a New York City artist. Credits include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed the Rock Experience, Ride the Cyclone (Alliance Theatre), Titanic, Macbeth, Grease, Miss Saigon (Serenbe Playhouse), Henry V (Atlanta Shakespeare Theatre), Alls Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra (Virginia Shakespeare Festival) All my love to Morganne and Phoebe.

  • Jordan Dell Harris

    RICHARD CARRIER

    Jordan  is an actor, singer, designer, and visual artist based in New York City. Originally from Georgia, he spent nearly nine years working in Chicago’s vibrant theater scene, performing with companies including About Face Theatre, Goodman Theatre, and The Second City. He collaborated with The Story Theatre as both performer and Scenic Designer. His acting work spans both plays and musicals, with notable performances in The Boys in the Band, Falsettos, BAT BOY: The Musical, and Evil Dead: The Musical. During his Chicago years, his work was recognized with three Joseph Jefferson Award nominations and one win. www.JordanDellHarris.com

  • Zuhdi Boueri

    Benjamin Abbott

    Zuhdi is a New York City based artist and educator. As an actor, he has recently appeared on CBS’s FBI and in the upcoming Netflix romantic comedy Office Romance starring Jennifer Lopez. He is the Artistic Associate at the Off-Broadway company Primary Stages and teaches acting at NYU/Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. A first-generation Arab American from Dallas, Texas, he holds an MFA from Penn State.

  • Jacob Louchheim

    Allen Toothaker

    Jacob just disembarked the orca playing Richard Dreyfus in The Shark is Broken this summer at NSMT and Martha’s Vineyard PAC, for the Jaws 50th anniversary, with Broadway director Guy Masterson. He recently performed at 54 below as Joseph Frankel in, Picasso in Paris. His Off-Broadway credits include David: A New Musical (AMT Theater), The Beautiful Lady directed by Anne Bogart (La MaMa), Pup! A Chew Story! (New World Stages, NAMT). Other theater credits include Ragtime (Serenbe Playhouse, Suzi Bass Award nomination), Crazy Meshuga H.E. (Theater for the New City), Ragtime directed by Luis Salgado (Axelrod PAC, Broadway World NJ nomination), Unforgettable (The Library of Congress),  Sleepy Hollow (Old Sturbridge Village). A proud alumnus of SUNY Purchase and the SITI Company Conservatory, Jacob lives in NYC with his unimaginably supportive wife, Maggie, their adorable new daughter and their forever puppy, Griffin. www.jacoblouchheim.com Instagram: @jacerjake

  • Jenna Fawcett

    MARY TOOTHAKER

    Jenna  is thrilled to be helping bring To Cry Witch to the stage! Favorite credits include Nellie Forbush in South Pacific (The Dunes Art Foundation), New Faces Sing Broadway 1964 (Porchlight), Midsummer’s Night (Greenbrier Valley Theatre) and June Carter Cash in Ring of Fire (Merrimack Rep/Drury Lane/Williams Street Rep). She is humbled by the outpouring of love and support from family and friends, especially her husband, Derek! IG: @jennafawcettsings

  • Jeremy Varner

    MAGISTRATE

    Jeremy is a passionate theater artist and visual storyteller. He spent the first ten years of his career as a performer working in Atlanta and NYC. Now, he spends most of his time running a production company he started here in NYC. It is always a joy to put his acting shoes back on and he’s thrilled to join the To Cry Witch crew to help bring this beautiful piece to life. 

  • Mimi Brill

    STAGE DIRECTIONS

    Mimi is a New York City–based actor and playwright. Her Off-Broadway theater credits include Radiant Vermin at ATA and 300 el x 50 el x 30 el at BAM’s Harvey Theater. On screen, she starred in the award-winning short film Darkness Upon My Fancy and appeared in the feature film Heartland alongside Beth Grant. As a playwright, she won the Strawberry One-Act Festival and was an Artist-in-Residence at IRT Theater. She previously portrayed Mary in early readings of TCW and is grateful to return for this industry reading in a role that, mercifully, does not require her to sing. Mimibrill.com @the_mimi_brill

Musicians

Guitar

Sophia DeLeo

Cajon

Nitsan Shai

Bass

Emma Nicoletti

Accordion

Jessica De Maria

Creative

  • Jessica De Maria

    BOOK WRITER

    Jessica is a NYC based performer and writer. Jessica's first co-written musical, The Last Time We Were Here, appeared at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2015 and received a workshop production at Synchronicity Theatre in 2016. Her original arrangements of American Folk Music have appeared in productions of The Sleepy Hollow Experience all over the country and she was featured on the Spotify Original Podcast "You Heard Me Write" during its inaugural season. Jessica has also co-written three musicals with Chase Peacock, including The Pretty Pants Bandit which had its world premiere in Atlanta in 2022. Her music has appeared in the holiday feature "Christmas with Jerks" and the short films "The Name"and "Order for Ben.” Jessica currently has several new projects in development including the screenplay This Lollipop is Poison and composing the score for an upcoming documentary on urban wildlife in NYC. 

  • Sophia DeLeo

    COMPOSER & LYRICIST

    Sophia is a New York City based folk singer and songwriter. She has written, co-produced and released several solo records, including her 2023 concept EP Drama Queen which was heralded for its “captivating storytelling and emotional candidness” by UK based music blog Right Chord Music. She has toured her original music all over the country, most notably playing Meadowlark Music Festival alongside headliner Fruit Bats, and performing as a semi-finalist in Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Songwriting Competition in Texas. Sophia is an alumni of the Johnny Mercer Songwriter Project and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from The Hartt School. When she’s not performing or writing music, she works as a preschool teacher.

  • Sara Norton

    CREATOR

    Sara is a New York-based writer, and producer, and a proud descendant of Martha Carrier. Performing credits include the world premiere of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence (Hartford Stage, McCarter Theater Center) and Passing Through (Goodspeed’s Festival of New Musicals). Both of these experiences were integral to fostering her love of creating new works. Apart from performing, Sara produced and directed the reading of Heidi: The Musical based on the book by Johanna Spyri at The University of Hartford and worked as a production intern at The Goodspeed Opera House. She is a proud alumnus of The Hartt School of Music, where she holds a BFA in Musical Theater and is currently employed at Grey House PR. 

  • “I would rather die than confess a falsehood so filthy.”

    —Martha Carrier