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Rescue Rue has a sequel:
Runaway Rue!
Find your happily furever after!
What are critics saying about Rescue Rue?
"If you are looking to introduce your preschooler to musical theater, one surefire option is Rescue Rue... while Rescue Rue is geared for the little ones, it will also appeal to any grownup who has ever been adopted by a pound pup, as Ms. Weingarten so lovingly was.
"The cast is terrific, the direction seamless, the music inviting, the story will have you breaking out a box of Kleenex (This is a two hankie show) and you will laugh and become engaged in this doggie world, even if you are a cat person like me. I also have to give kudos to the puppet design by Andy Hayward (love those doggies); Costume Design by Bree Perry and most importantly the choreography by Rhonda Miller which was spot on and inventive."
"Rescue Rue” is a charming new musical with enduring themes of universal love and the importance of a supportive home and family... An outstanding cast of singers and "Avenue Q" puppeteers command the stage as they tell Rue’s important story. Under Stacey Weingarten’s generous and gifted direction and accompanied by the “Rescue Rue” Band, the strong ensemble cast fills the stage with hope, joy, and pure enjoyment.
However, “Rescue Rue” is more than a puppet show for children (although it is that par excellence!). Like other children’s stories that hold a deeper meaning for adults (think “Winnie-the-Pooh” or “The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland”), “Rescue Rue” is an engaging and marvelous trope for the new beginnings awaiting all those seeking unconditional and non-judgmental love, all those existing on the fringe of society awaiting a place “around the table.” "
A show that could have been twee and cutesy winds up being warm and sweet, even moving... Rescue Rue treats its audience with respect, offering the linear narrative and character consistencies that Freckleface sorely lacked. The resolution for Rescue Rue is so darned cute, not to mention dramatically apt, that by the end I was sniffling happily along with the rest of the audience. There's just the right touch of agitprop here in showcasing the plight of rescue dogs. Well, message received: when I get a new dog this fall, I'm defintely planning on going the rescue route.
... a ceaselessly winning and unerringly convincing entry in this year's New York Musical Theatre Festival...The book is a crisp delight, hilarious and moving by turns, and the score glides without apparent effort through the ups and downs of the dogs lives and their dreams of eternal love with a "furever friend... Weingarten's staging is brisk and inventive, as is Rhonda Miller's showy, paw-heavy choreography... [the musical] does what it needs to in a tuneful and entertaining way, and knows just how and when to strike your heart and funny bone. Yes, you (and, advance warning, probably your kids) will come out of the theater wanting to adopt a dog. More important, however, you'll come out reminded that love at first sight, however hokey and improbable it may be, actually can happen.
Rescue Rue Reviews & News!
REVIEW: Rescue Rue is Top Dog
Suzanna Bowling, Times Square Chronicles Online July 12th 2014
The first show I saw at The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) was by accident and in accidents good things happen. Rescue Rue, is the delightfully new musical fairytale with puppets, concept, book, direction and additional lyrics by Stacey Weingarten with music and lyrics by Kate Steinberg & Joshua Zecher-Ross.
The cast of seven includes Lisa Helmi Johanson (Off Bway: Avenue Q) who embodies Rue to the point were we fall in love with her and her dog counterpart. We totally believe her plight as she looks for a family to love her and her “Happily Furever After!” Rue on her first birthday lives with an abusive Southern trailer trash family and doesn’t understand why nothing she does can make them love her....
REVIEW: Rescue Rue at the NYMF
Howard Miller, Talkin' Broadway July 12th 2014
If you are looking to introduce your preschooler to musical theater, one surefire option is Rescue Rue, a sweet little show about a pup’s journey from abandonment to finding her “furever home” in the city known as “the Big Chew Toy.”
An entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Rescue Rue, with bouncy music and lyrics by Joshua Zecher-Ross and Kate Steinberg and book and additional lyrics by Stacey Weingarten, is based on Ms. Weingarten’s speculation about the history of her own rescue dog. What makes Rescue Rue rise above the (ahem) “pack” is the fact that its creator (who is also the show’s director) is the puppet wrangler with the Off Broadway production of Avenue Q. Two of the cast members (Lisa Helmi Johanson and Jason Jacoby) are also currently appearing in Avenue Q, and a third, Jennifer Barnhart was in the original cast of that show for its entire Broadway run. So these folks do know their way around puppets.
REVIEW: Rescue Rue
David Roberts, Theatre Reviews Limited July 12th 2014
Based on the true story of Rue, the Chiweenie who was rescued from a high-kill animal shelter in the South and found her way to the more humane Badness Brooklyn Animal Shelter, “Rescue Rue” is a charming new musical with enduring themes of universal love and the importance of a supportive home and family.
The story itself is narrated by Sarah Haines and is the relatively straightforward tale of the rescue of Rue from her abusive family to a loving home in Brooklyn, New York. That journey puts her in harm’s way as she attempts to survive on the street and in the high-kill shelter where she and her comrades await daily being sold off to dog fight organizers. Rue (Lisa Helmi Johansen) is accompanied most often by her streetwise and heart-hardened buddy Squish (Jennifer Barnhart) who wants to re-open her heart to love.
NEWS: NJ Writers join the NY Musical Theatre Fest
Ronnie Reich July 7th 2014
The play “Rescue Rue” is ruff-ruff-ruff around the edges … literally.
Written by Princeton’s Stacey Weingarten, the play will debut 8 p.m. Tue., July 8 at the Ford Foundation Studio Theatre in Manhattan. Based on a true adoption story, the musical fairytale with puppets, chronicles a dog’s journey to find her “furever” home in New York City. Rue’s journey begins when her Fairy Dogmother grants her wish for a “Happily Ever After,” resulting in new friendships (and some enemies) made on the streets and at the pound before finding a loving home.
NEWS: Rescue Rue, a dog of a play, hits Manhattan's Ford Foundation Studio Theatre Tue., July 8
Ray Edel June 23rd 2014
The play “Rescue Rue” is ruff-ruff-ruff around the edges … literally.
Written by Princeton’s Stacey Weingarten, the play will debut 8 p.m. Tue., July 8 at the Ford Foundation Studio Theatre in Manhattan. Based on a true adoption story, the musical fairytale with puppets, chronicles a dog’s journey to find her “furever” home in New York City. Rue’s journey begins when her Fairy Dogmother grants her wish for a “Happily Ever After,” resulting in new friendships (and some enemies) made on the streets and at the pound before finding a loving home.
NEWS: FIVE SHOWS THAT STAND OUT AT THE NYMF
Ken Davenport June 26th 2014
Summer lovin’, had me a . . . festival! The New York Musical Theatre Festival, the first of the summer show fests, starts in just 11 days! Got your tickets yet? If you haven’t scheduled which shows you’re going to see, let me give you some suggests . . . Every year, I take a look at the NYMF catalog and I pick the five shows that “stand out” to my Producer eye. You see, festivals are like outlet malls for Producers . . . we go shopping for shows, just like you’d go shopping for a pair of capris or those funky-webbed-toe-shoe things that I’m not cool enough to pull off. But competition for a Producer’s eye is fierce at these show shopping malls. Which is why if you’re producing a show, you’ve got to know how to get your show to jump off the catalog page (or the website in this case) and slap a Producer silly until they book tickets.
So which ones spanked me this year?
..............
5. Rescue Rue
Rescue Rue is about dogs. You know who likes dogs? Everyone. Rescue is billing itself as a family-friendly musical told by a “colorful cast of puppets and people.” So why did this catch the eye of the guy that produced the one-man Macbeth last year? Disney introduced the family musical to Broadway two decades ago. But not every family can see a Disney show. But they still want to see a show. That’s why the city has blown up with shows like Freckleface Strawberry, The Berenstain Bears, and many more. There’s a market in the small family musical – especially one featuring dogs.
NEWS: Rescue Rue, a dog of a play, hits Manhattan's Ford Foundation Studio Theatre Tue., July 8
Ray Edel June 23rd 2014
The play “Rescue Rue” is ruff-ruff-ruff around the edges … literally.
Written by Princeton’s Stacey Weingarten, the play will debut 8 p.m. Tue., July 8 at the Ford Foundation Studio Theatre in Manhattan. Based on a true adoption story, the musical fairytale with puppets, chronicles a dog’s journey to find her “furever” home in New York City. Rue’s journey begins when her Fairy Dogmother grants her wish for a “Happily Ever After,” resulting in new friendships (and some enemies) made on the streets and at the pound before finding a loving home.
NEWS: Avenue Q Cast Members in Rescue Rue, A New Musical With Puppets at Signature Center 7/8-20
BWW News Desk June 2014
The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) in association with Chinese Mother Jewish Daughter, LLC present Rescue Rue, a new musical fairytale with puppets; Concept, Book and Additional Lyrics by Stacey Weingarten, and Music and Lyrics by Kate Steinberg & Joshua Zecher-Ross. Stacey Weingartendirects a cast of seven including Jennifer Barnhart* (Bway: Avenue Q), Nate Begle(Off Bway: John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean), Sarah Liz Haines* (Off Bway: Freckle Face Strawberry), Jason Jacoby* (Off Bway: Avenue Q), Lisa Helmi Johanson* (Off Bway: Avenue Q), Brendan Malafronte (Nat. Tour: John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean), and Gretchen Wylder* (Off Bway: 'Til Divorce Do Us Part). Rescue Rue will be staged at the Ford Foundation Studio Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street (bet. 9th and 10th Avenues) in NYC for five performances from July 8-20, 2014. A special TDF Autism-Friendly performance will be held at July 20th at 11am. The Pershing Square Signature Center is the official hub of The New York Musical Theatre Festival. *Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.
NEWS: Avenue Q Veteran Jennifer Barnhart Will Lead Puppy Musical Rescue Rue
Editorial Staff June 2014
Rescue Rue, a musical about puppies and dreaming, will star Avenue Q veteran Jennifer Barnhart when it plays the New York Musical Theatre Festival this summer.
Written by Stacey Weingarten, Kate Steinberg, and Joshua Zecher-Ross, Rescue Rue tells the story of a little dog named Rue, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after wishing for a "Happily Ever After" from her Fairy Dogmother. The full company includes Nate Begle, Sarah Liz Haines, Jason Jacoby, Lisa Helmi Johanson, Brendan Malafronte, and Gretchen Wylder.
NEWS: Pet Me I'm Yours Interview
Viola Le Compte May 2014
New York based writer, producer and puppet artist Stacey Weingarten found her little rescue dog Rue on Petfinder. Because nothing was known about Rue’s background, Stacey wondered what had happened to her to end up at the pound. This wondering ended up in the writing of a short story, which quickly escalated into a musical: “Rescue Rue”!
With this musical, that tells the story of little Rue, Stacey wants to teach kids and families about dog adoption.
Read more about this inspiring duo below (and if you’re from NY, maybe catch one of their shows this summer, at the New York Musical Theatre Festival!)
NEWS: Lenox Local Composes New Musical, Rescue Rue
Jeffry Borak, April 2014
Music is 28-year-old Lenox Memorial High School graduate Joshua Zecher-Ross' life -- and career. The New York resident is a music director, vocal coach, conductor and an accompanist. And while he has done some arranging -- chiefly liturgical music for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire, where his mother Deborah Zecher is rabbi (his father, Dennis Ross, also is an ordained rabbi) -- composing has not been part of Zecher-Ross' resume.
Until now.
NEWS: Composing Rescue For Children
Wendy Kreitzman April 2014
Great Neck native Kate Steinberg, a Great Neck South High School graduate of the Class of 2005, is co-composer of this year’s Third Annual New York Children’s Theater Festival presentation Rescue Rue. Rescue Rue is making its world premiere at the festival on April 25.
Rescue Rue is a musical fairytale with puppets, telling the story of one dog’s journey from shelter to adoption, and then finding a “fur-ever” home in New York City.
Speaking bout the show, Steinberg told the Great Neck Record: “Children will love Rescue Rue because there are puppets, fun catchy music and lovable characters. There is also a story that a lot of children can relate to which is finding where you belong and being loved and understood.”