YEAST NATION The Triumph of Life FINDS SALT OF LIFE AT THE RAY OF LIGHTS WEST COAST PREMIER. 

THE ROAR OF THE YEAST

The Victoria theatre hosts earth's first life forms much like the characters in Urinetown, these single-celled, singing yeasts in Ray of Lights production of Yeast Nation  deal with a drought of salt that keep them alive. Its a night of amazing vocals that seem to be at 100% the whole 2.5 hours we get to live with these new life forms.

Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis created “Urinetown” probably the biggest success of the indi fringe festival grown musical genre.  The team returns with their second new work “Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life).”

As the Yeast rises in this simple story of survival and rebirth includes some great songs including --- “let us rise” and “life goes on”  with strong greek type chorus and many songs in the Urinetown MO - they are funny to serious that take us on a semi social romp that could be Euripides influenced.

Heather Orth as Jan-the-Unamed is one of the power house leads, blind on stage she leads her cast of Yeast through an amazing tour of so many past musicals -- boy yeast meets girl yeast, they lose each other and evolve into a multiple celled organism. The set design by Angrette McCloskey is looming and 3,000,458,000 BC primordial. It fills up the Victoria's stage with images deep under the sea of pre historic earth.

Director Jason Hoover does a great job filling the Victoria stage with a talented cast, taking on this new musical, after he asked the creators if he could add this production to his 2014 season. Hoover claimed his current season a year of new shows that SF has never seen.  Yeast Nation has yet to have its red carpet NY opening other than the Fringe fest fan fare. This West Coast Premier of the musical  could well lead the Hollmann and Kotis back to NY.

“Can it really be true, mistress, that there were no stories before this one?” asks a chorus member of the Elders blind oracle. “None worth musicalizing,” she responds.

I recommend this new musical - its in the right city for these single cells to grow and take this show on to other venues and cities - Its sure to return to Broadway very soon and its a pleasure to see it begin its journey back home - The Ray of Light is on course this season sharing these new works wth SF Bay area audiences.

Yeast Nation Cast

Teresa Attridge (Jan-the-Sly)

Joshua Beld (Chorus 1)

Melinda Campero (Ensemble)

Jesse Cortez (Chorus 6)

Danny Cozart (Jan-the-Elder)

Roy Eikleberry (Jan-the-Wretched/Ensemble)

David Glazer (Jan-the-Youngest)

Celia Jones (Chorus 4)

Mary Kalita (The New One/Ensemble)

Juliana Lustenader (Jan-the-Famished)

Courtney Merrell (Jan-the-Sweet)

Lizzie Moss (Chorus 5)

Heather Orth (Jan-the-Unnamed)

Kevin Singer (Jan-the-Second-Oldest)

Lindsay Stark (Ensemble)

Mischa Stephens (Jan-the-Wise)

Aaron Vanderbeek (Ensemble)

Vanessa Vazquez (Chorus 2)

Ted Zoldan (Chorus 3)

West Coast Premiere

tickets http://rayoflighttheatre.com/
5 Week Limited Engagement

WHEN: October 3 – November 1, 2014

WHERE: 2961 16th St. (at Mission), San Francisco, CA, 94103