NEW BOOK “WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE BRIGHT AGAIN” AVAILABLE TODAY
Press Contact:
Michael Jorgensen
michael@jorgensenpr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
THEATER COMMUNITY WRITES BOOK TOGETHER,
AMIDST THEIR INDUSTRY'S 17 MONTH SHUTDOWN
“WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE BRIGHT AGAIN”
THE NEW BOOK
SPOTLIGHTING THE THEATER SHUTDOWN
IS AVAILABLE TODAY
CREATED BY ANDREW NORLEN
FEATURING PORTRAITS BY
ACCLAIMED BROADWAY PHOTOGRAPHER
MATTHEW MURPHY
PORTION OF PROCEEDS BENEFITING THE ACTORS FUND
BOOK COVER AVAILABLE HERE
BOOK TRAILER AVAILABLE HERE
AUTHOR HEADSHOTS AVAILABLE HERE
PUBLISHED BY APPLAUSE THEATRE & CINEMA BOOKS
TONIGHT’S LAUNCH PARTY TO BE LIVE-STREAMED
VIA BROADWAY ON DEMAND
New York, NY (November 1, 2021) – When The Lights Are Bright Again, the new book created by Andrew Norlen spotlighting the 2020-2021 theater shutdown, is available today in hardcover and digital formats wherever books are sold. Published by Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, When The Lights Are Bright Again features letters of loss, hope, and resilience from the theater community, paired with stunning portraiture from acclaimed Broadway photographer Matthew Murphy.
When The Lights Are Bright Again will celebrate with a book launch party tonight, Monday, November 1, 2021, which will be exclusively live-streamed beginning at 7:30pm on Broadway On Demand, the industry-leading theater streaming platform, and will feature performances feature performances from Eden Espinosa, James Harkness, Shereen Pimentel, Robert Hartwell, Eleri Ward, MiMi Scardulla, Nattalyee Randall, Courtney Daniels, Davon Williams, Heather Parcells, and many more. The event is free to view at: https://livestream.broadwayondemand.com/lights/
A portion of the proceeds from each book going to The Actors Fund, the national human services organization for everyone in performing arts and entertainment.
Broadway notables such as Jerry Mitchell, Keala Settle, Ali Stroker, Sergio Trujillo, Eden Espinosa, Rob McClure, Robyn Hurder, Clint Ramos, Arian Moayed, Amber Iman, Andrew Barth Feldman, and more express their personal insights from the past year, alongside the desires and wishes of theater enthusiasts and other arts workers across the world, from Manila to Miami, Puerto Rico to Portland. When The Lights Are Bright Again is dedicated in loving memory to Nick Cordero.
The book cover image is available here, a book trailer is available here, and author headshots are available here.
For more information, please visit www.WhenTheLightsAreBrightAgain.com
BOOK DESCRIPTION
It began as an artist’s desperate desire to express himself inside a worldwide pandemic, but in one year’s time it has grown into a theater industry and country-wide outlet for healing, grief, justice, and hope in the theater community.
The Covid-19 pandemic revealed what a world without live performance looks and feels like. This book captures a small fraction of the powerful and transcendent internal heartbeat that never went away within the theater community. When The Lights Are Bright Again immortalizes the stories, struggles, and successes of an industry that was the first to be shut down and one of the last to return.
Andrew Norlen weaves more than 200 letters from Broadway theater veterans, devout theatergoers, teenage dreamers aching for their day in the spotlight, long-time ushers, designers, creatives, and countless other arts workers with a brand-new, breathtaking photo series by Broadway photographer Matthew Murphy.
Not only has the creation of this book allowed the theater community to grieve and express themselves in a new way, but for every copy purchased, a portion of the profits will directly benefit The Actors Fund. This book will continue to help support arts workers to thrive and maintain financial stability for decades to come with every copy sold.
When The Lights Are Bright Again is a love letter to the arts community and every theatergoer, but, above all else, it is a meditation on the human experience. There is something for every broken, tired, angry, and lost soul inside this book: hope.
There is light in all of us—there always has been!
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ANDREW NORLEN (Creator), originally from Troutdale, Oregon, is a New York City-based artist. With a BFA from The Boston Conservatory of Music, Norlen was most recently in the closing tour company of Broadway's Kinky Boots. His podcast, Everyday Heroes, is a space where he elevates female identifying voices. Norlen is the creator of When the Lights Are Bright Again and writer of Defining Brave, his memoir. Follow his journey @Anorlen and AndrewNorlen.com.
MATTHEW MURPHY (Photographer) is a New York City-based photographer specializing in theater, dance, and portrait photography. His work is featured in the books Hamilton: The Revolution, Come From Away: Welcome to the Rock, Dear Evan Hansen: Through the Window, and Jagged Little Pill: You Live, You Learn. He travels worldwide photographing productions and lives in New York with his husband and their two dogs.
ABOUT APPLAUSE THEATRE & CINEMA BOOKS
Now in its fourth decade, Applause Theatre & Cinema Books is America's foremost publisher of theatre, cinema, and TV books. Our books range from biographies of film and theatre luminaries to playscripts, librettos, monologue books, and explorations of film, TV, and theatre history. Applause is an imprint of Globe Pequot.
ABOUT BROADWAY ON DEMAND
Broadway On Demand is the industry-leading streaming platform housing performance & theatre education programming, and the preferred choice of top Broadway artists, producers, educators, and professionals. Broadway on Demand has streamed over 2,500 events and live productions—from Broadway shows to concert series, performance venues to individual artists, and original content—in 114 countries to 300,000+ subscribers and was honored with an Emmy award® nomination in 2021. Thanks to a unique licensing interface, Showshare, approved middle school, high school, college, community, and professional theatre productions utilize the platform to stream to their audiences. Broadway on Demand is available on the web, mobile, Apple and Android app store, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV. For access to the complete and ever-expanding Broadway on Demand library, subscribe at BroadwayOnDemand.com.
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