Reading & Development Workshop for THE STARR-GENNETT STORY, A New Musical Play

A collaborative effort among IndyFringe, The District Theatre, Indiana Historical Society, Main Street Artists, Timeless Music Project and Indiana Entertainment Foundation, THE STARR-GENNETT STORY is in development to become a live-action stage play with music telling the story of the early years of the Starr Piano Company and Gennett Records. The play is being conceived and written by Indiana author Dr. Julie Lyn Barber and will incorporate information and inspiration from archives and anecdotes collected by members of the Starr-Gennett Foundation, Indiana Historical Society and Indiana Entertainment Foundation.

The play itself would use humor and history to tell the story of the founding and influence of the Starr Piano Company and Gennett Records on both the history and culture of Indiana as well as America in the early 20th Century. It will feature a cast of 5 actor/singers and 3 musicians. The author has a long and successful track record of writing and producing historical plays and musicals with humorous points of view, including biographies of Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, the Gershwin Brothers and more, as well as the stories of the Indiana Squirrel Stampede and Brown County’s famous Liar’s Bench.