One-Woman Dramedy
performed in:
New York City, San Fransisco
Los Angeles, Monterey,
Philadelphia and Boulder
Awareness Media presents
shattering the shame and stigma of addiction
National Tour to Impact the Accidental Overdose Epidemic
in America
With
Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse
& Judy Garland
Full Cast Version
Coming Soon
DEMO REELS
THE ACCIDENTAL CLUB - A New Musical Dramedy about Life, Fame, Addiction and Death as seen through the eyes of a washed up Rock Star who dies of an Accidental Overdose ...or does she?
2018 New York City Solo Workshop Performance at The Cell Theatre
Full Cast Workshop in New York City 2018 directed by Tony Award Winning Director/Producer Andy Sandberg.
SYNOPSIS
THE ACCIDENTAL CLUB // Written by Sherrie Scott
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Mira Dawson, a washed-up rock star, dies of an accidental overdose while celebrating the beginning of her revival tour. She suddenly finds herself hanging out at The Accidental Club, with Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse, winning Angel of The Month. When you win, you get the chance to come back to earth for one night only. She can spend it wherever and with whomever she likes, and decides on one last concert with her faithful fans. Billie warns her not to go, “Get ready for the pain girl.” Janis tells her, “Honey if it feels good, do it!” She believes this is all a crazy dream and that at any moment she’ll wake up. Throughout the concert, Mira and the other members reveal secrets and impart songs of love, fame, addiction and death. As the clock ticks toward midnight, discoveries are made, and Mira becomes increasingly anxious as she realizes she’s not waking up.... Will she? Will we?
The Accidental Club Song List - 10 Originals and 5 covers.
1. Wayfaring Stranger - Traditional
2. I Crossed the Line by Sherrie Scott
3. Ball and Chain by Big Mama Thorton
4. Crash and Burn by Sherrie Scott
5. Good Morning Heartache by Higginbotham, Drake & Fisher
6. Little Broken by Sherrie Scott
7. Strange Fruit by Abel Meeropol
8. Kosmic Blues by Janis Joplin, Gabriel Mekler
9. Girl In The Window by Sherrie Scott
10. Still on Fire by Sherrie Scott
11. I'm No Good by Amy Winehouse
12. Miss You by Sherrie Scott
13. Am I Strong Enough by Sherrie Scott
14. Just Begin by Sherrie Scott
15. Can I Stay by Sherrie Scott
REVIEWS
"...Sherrie Scott sends up Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse who reflect on their lives, their demons, and their careers to deliver an entertaining and thoughtful exploration of fame and addiction, life and death. Her imitations of these songstresses giving her advice are spot on, poignant, and funny, as are her vocal and physical inhabitations. Scott's own songs bind the music and story into a cohesive journey. Scott hooks us with the gripping tale of her journey to the "other side.” - Bob Bows - Theater Critic for the Denver Post and Variety
New York City Workshop Review, February 6, 2018
The Accidental Club has some rather impressive members: Janis Joplin,
Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Amy Winehouse and Prince. All were unique
singers, and all battled against addiction in one form or another.
And all lost the fight.
Sherrie Scott has pulled these artists together into a one-woman
musical-comedy-tragedy that addresses addiction without preaching.
It had its workshop performances at the Cell in Chelsea as January
become February.
She tells the stories of each artist – the joy, the pain and the desire to fill up
the emptiness with something they never could find. Today's headlines call
it an opiod epidemic, but that buries the individuals in statistics. This show
finds the person inside the addiction, which is often a symptom of social ills
far more troubling than the abuse of chemicals.
Still, the show is not a completely depressing affair, quite the opposite. Scott plays Mira Dawson, a singer working on a comeback, who may or may not begin the play by overdosing – perhaps it's just a dream, or perhaps she's really gone. That would make her the newest member of the Accidental Club.
She is welcomed by Joplin, advised by Holiday, comforted by Garland, Winehouse and Prince. Scott embodies each of these historic characters with a light hand. She offers us an impressionist painting of each rather than a high-resolution photograph. She speaks like Joplin and Winehouse. Her manner reminds one of Garland, Holliday and Prince. But these aren't impersonations because the focus remains on their addiction.
The Accidental Club avoids the pitfalls to which “socially relevant” theatre often succumbs. It doesn't seek to lay out an agenda, merely to engage the audience and invite the consideration of the issue. We are not asked to contemplate the role of big pharma in the spread of opiods or the success or failure of prohibition. Instead, we are invited into the lives (or afterlives) of the addicts, allowed to experience things from their perspective, and then permitted to do our own thinking. In short, this isn't propaganda.
This was as much a showcase of Scott's many talents as it was a test run of the production. Obviously, she can act well enough to carry a one-woman show of multiple parts. Having selected singers as her characters, that requires her to sing at least as well as she can act – and she does, making it look easy. Where she really impressed was with the 7 original songs written for the Accidental Club; her songwriting is soft and introspective where necessary, and she can rock when the play calls for it – and Joplin is one of the characters, so . . . .
In addition to Scott's performances, the show features a jazz quintet worth seeing on their own. Max Gordon is the music director as well as the pianist. He is joined by Mark Meyer on guitar, Tom Jorgensen on drums, Joseph Wallace on bass, and Michael Murphy on saxophone.
Given these were workshop performances, I expected a less-developed production with a few more rough patches that would need smoothing. Instead, I saw a production that is a little rehearsal away from being ready to unveil.
Scott, and her husband/executive producer Chip Frye plan to “produce an Off-Broadway run followed by a nationwide tour to impact the accidental overdose epidemic.” - Opinion and Analysis by Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor http://www.KensingtonReview.com
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Los Angels Reviews, March 31 - April 28, 2017
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"Sherrie Scott’s voice carries The Accidental Club. From the powerful opening notes to its conclusion, she sings standards and her own songs and convincingly channels three of the most iconic voices of recording history – Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin and Amy Winehouse." - John K. Adams, Tolucan Times - http://tolucantimes.info/theatre_review/rockin-the-afterlife-at-the-accidental-club/
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"I congratulate Ms Scott on an interesting and well thought out play as well as on her excellent skills as a vocalist. Not many would attempt Joplin, Holiday and Winehouse in a single evening. Bravo!" - by Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros - NoHoArtsDistrict - http://nohoartsdistrict.com/theatres/theatre-reviews/item/5050-the-accidental-club-the-whitefire-theatre
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"Scott does a wonderful job in invoking the spirits of three wonderful singers who left an enduring impression to the world with her voice and music. She did a beyond fantastic job in bringing these ladies together for a once in a lifetime opportunity. Scott pulled off an excellent feat. She rocked it!!!" - Mary E. Monitor - All About the Stage - http://www.allaboutthestage.com/?p=47
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Scott possesses formidable vocal chops plus a gift for mimicry as she fondly interprets songs made famous by the raspy Joplin (“Kozmic Blues,”) sultry Holiday (“Good Morning Heartache”) and gritty Winehouse (“I’m No Good”). She is also a commendable tunesmith, rendering her own works, such as the plaintive “Girl in the Window” and the reflective “Crash and Burn,” with assurance." - Martin Hernandez - Stage Raw - http://stageraw.com/2017/04/14/the-accidental-club/
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“ “The Accidental Club” Is A Fun, Witty, Musically Enhanced, One Woman Show - That’s Smart About Celebrity Afterlife!”
Geek Authority Review Written By Lorenzo Marchessi
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"Do yourself a favor…go see this show! The Accidental Club, written and performed by Scott, is a gem of perfection just waiting for you to hold it under the light and watch it sparkle! - Maggie Simms - Best in Show
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"Incredible show -- I highly recommend it! Loved the premise -- wonderful acting, gorgeous singing -- a top-notch act." - Tanja - Audience Member
SHERRIE SCOTT
// Writer, Composer and Performer
As an actress/playwright, Sherrie Scott's passion for developing new plays began as a member of the prestigious University of Iowa’s Playwrights Actors Ensemble and as a professional member of The Boston Theater Group. She has acted, written, collaborated and directed for numerous original productions including the hit musical Caught in the Act, the highly acclaimed Something’s Going On, Miscalculation of the Heart, and City Stage Ensemble’s The Executive’s Sorcerer and Bitten by a Snake. She is currently performing and workshopping her new, one-woman musical comedy-drama The Accidental Club.
As a filmmaker, Sherrie is co-owner of Awareness Media - Entertainment With Purpose. Their film The Price of Anything premiered on BBC World News with Sherrie in the lead role as well as composing and singing the title track, for United Nations World Humanitarian Day.
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As a professional singer/songwriter, along with composing for film and TV, Sherrie is also a recording artist with three albums, three EPs and two musical theatre soundtracks of original music to her credit. She continues to grace stages across the US and abroad.
AWARENESS MEDIA
Entertainment on Purpose
Awareness Media, LLC, owned and operated by Chip Frye and Sherrie Scott, produces humanitarian theatre, documentary, film, television, radio and new media with the United Nations, numerous governments and a myriad of NGOs and media companies around the globe. They each have over 30 years experience in the entertainment industry, in front of and behind the camera, as actors, writers, directors, producers and singer/songwriters. They formed Awareness Media in 2005 to focus their efforts on media projects that have a direct and sustainable impact on serious social and humanitarian issues.
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THE STORY BEHIND THE ACCIDENTAL CLUB
PLAYWRIGHTS NOTES - SHERRIE SCOTT //
Amy Winehouse died of an accidental overdose in 2011. I was shocked and saddened by the loss of this brilliant singer-songwriter. The opioid crisis had just begun and no one had the answers. I began thinking about my other favorite singers; Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday and Judy Garland who also died of accidental overdose. What was the common thread of these trail blazing women that spanned four generations? I started digging deep into their lives and imagined their afterlives. Would they have the answers to our troubled world? I wanted to shine a light on the traumas they endured, the loneliness and alienation that may have led to their addiction. I created the fictional character of Mira to join the club and find out. Not only did I find some of the answers, but I discovered a piece of myself in each of them. I think like all of us, the members of the Accidental Club were all searching for that feeling, that place of no self-doubt, no sorrow, no fear…the feeling of freedom. I’ve been there, so I know it exists, but sometimes it takes a while to find it, and sometimes we get lost on the way. Maybe that’s why we’re here…to help each other out before it’s too late.
Billie Holiday, "Baby, we’re not meant to do this thing alone…you spend too much time alone, you get lost."
Awareness Media
Entertainment on Purpose
Sherrie Scott and Chip Frye
SherrieTheSinger@aol.com CFrye12@gmail.com, 720.220.1040