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BETHESDA, MD (January 20, 2021) Imagination Stage™ is remounting Psalmayene 24 and Nick “the 1da” Hernandez’s hit, P.Nokio: a Hip-Hop Musical. When the show, which was commissioned by Imagination Stage, premiered in 2012, the Washington Post called it “inspired and quirky…Psalmayene 24 has a flair for folding fairy-tale wonder into an infectious hip-hop vibe.” The production is directed and choreographed by Tony Thomas.
P.Nokio runs February 26 – March 27, 2022, with general public performances Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 and 4:00. The play, to be staged in the Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre, is best for ages 5-11. Tickets are $28 (group rates available) and may be purchased online at imaginationstage.org or by phone at 301.280.1660. Press is invited to attend beginning February 26 at 4:00. To reserve tickets or arrange for interviews, contact Laurie Levy-Page.
P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical re-imagines Carlo Collodi’s 1883 classic Pinocchio story, setting it in Hip-Hopia, an enchanted land where people speak in rhyme, break-dance instead of walk, and listen to birds sing and chirp with the precision and rhythm of turntables and beat machines. Says Imagination Stage Producing Artistic Director Janet Stanford, “Psalm’s vision of a boy trying to become ‘real’ centers on the father-son relationship. He paints P.Nokio not as a bad kid, but as a naïve and immature child prone as any young person to temptation and exploitation by others.”
Psalm created a modern-day protagonist, who, he says “will make frivolous choices, be challenged, and learn and develop his conscience. Finally, with truth told from the soul, with style and grace that’s fresh and bold, P.Nokio becomes G.Petto’s son, a real, brave, and loved boy.”
While the theme is serious, the show is fun from start to finish. Stanford promises that “with the irresistible beats by Nick “the 1da” Hernandez, clever rhymes, and audience participation, kids will be dancing in their seats and putting their hands in the air like they just don’ care!”
Psalm has become an in-demand multi-hyphenate in the DC theatre scene. In early February, he will perform his one-man piece Dear Mapel at Mosaic Theater. He is currently the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence at Mosaic and the Doris Duke Artist in Residence at Studio Theatre. He is the writer and lyricist of The Blackest Battle (Theater Alliance) and the writer, director, and lyricist of the film The Freewheelin’ Insurgents (Arena Stage). His directing credits include Flow by Will Power and Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu (Studio Theatre), Necessary Sacrifices: A Radio Play by Richard Hellesen (Ford’s Theatre), Native Son by Nambi E. Kelley (Mosaic Theater), and Word Becomes Flesh by Marc Bamuthi Joseph (winner of five Helen Hayes Awards, including Outstanding Direction of a Play) (Theater Alliance).
Along with P.Nokio, Psalm was commissioned by Imagination Stage to write Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth and Cinderella: The Remix. Together, they comprise his acclaimed Children’s Hip-Hop Trilogy, which have earned two development grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Walt Disney Corporation grant, and two Helen Hayes Award nominations for Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences.
The cast of P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical is Frank Britton, Danielle Gallo, Tre’Mon Mills, and Brandon Schaefer. The creative team includes Musical Director Nick Hernandez, Scenic Designer Shartoya JnBaptiste, Costume Designer Ashlynne Ludwig, Lighting Designer Max Doolittle, Sound Designer Justin Schmitz, and Projections Designer Jerran Kowalski.
Imagination Stage has been holding camps, classes, and performances safely and successfully indoors since summer 2021 and believes that COVID-19 safety is paramount. Among the measures in place to keep audience members healthy:
All actors and all staff who come into contact with patrons are fully vaccinated.
Imagination Stage requires proof of vaccination for everyone aged 5+ entering the theatre. (There is no negative test requirement for children under five.)
Everyone in our building age 2+ must wear a mask.
Our updated HVAC system maximizes fresh, filtered outside air.
Special performances:
Socially-distanced seating: February 26 at 1:30 and February 27 at 1:30
ASL-Interpreted performance: March 27 at 1:30
Sensory-Friendly performance: March 13 at 11:00
