Columbia College Chicago Alums’ New Sci-Fi Musical ‘Abduction’ Presented at New York Musical Festival July 19-21

Abduction, an original science-fiction musical comedy created by Columbia College Chicago alumni T.J. Pieffer ’18 and Brad Kemp ’12, is being presented in the 2019 New York Musical Festival July 19 through 21 at the prestigious Off-Broadway theatre Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd, in New York’s midtown Manhattan Theatre District. Performances are Friday, July 19, at 7:30 PM and Sunday, July 21, at noon and 3 PM. For ticket information, click here.

T.J. Pieffer

Pieffer, who wrote the show’s book and cowrote the lyrics, is a graduate of the Columbia College Chicago Cinema and Television Arts Department’s BA Program in Television with a Concentration in Writing and Producing and a Minor in Acting from the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department.

Brad Kemp
Brad Kemp

Kemp, the show’s composer, is a graduate of the Columbia College Chicago Music Department‘s Bachelor of Music Composition program and also took courses in the Theatre Department’s Musical Theatre program.

Set in the small town of Pluto, Indiana, Abduction concerns Pippa Peterson, a 12-year-old introverted inventor, who must save the day before her whole town is beamed into outer space. The show is described as “The Twilight Zone flipped on its head, with a cast of larger than life characters, snappy dialogue, and tunes that will get stuck in your head for light years to come!”

The New York Musical Festival nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theater.

Courtney Mack