COHOES, N.Y. – Clifton Park’s own Maria Isabella Andreoli returns to her theater roots this week with the world-premiere of “The Waiting,” an original folk musical she co-wrote with longtime collaborator EmmaLee Kidwell. The production launches Playhouse Stage Company’s new-works initiative, Playhouse Premieres, and runs June 12-15 at historic Cohoes Music Hall.
From Youth Performer to Premiere Playwright
Andreoli first stepped on Playhouse Stage in 2011 during an all-youth run of Annie. Fourteen years later, she is back, not as a performer, but as composer-lyricist for a full production developed entirely in the Capital Region.
“Working on my home turf with this cast has been one of the top five experiences of my life,” Andreoli said during a rehearsal break. “Seeing the show on its feet is a gift.”
Andreoli and Kidwell began writing The Waiting six years ago while studying musical theater writing at Pace University. What started as a classroom assignment became a six-year collaboration that has already seen concert readings, a SheNYC Festival slot, and a 29-hour workshop. Only four of the show’s 24 songs remain from that first draft.
About the Show
The Waiting follows Chlo, a mother who enters a mystical realm called the InBetween after her daughter, Willow, vanishes from Earth. In this purgatory-like world, lost souls confront grief and search for healing, a theme the writers deepened during the pandemic.
Kidwell says the story asks how art helps communities process collective loss: “We explore how theater lets us hold feelings that are too big on our own.”
Playhouse Premieres: New Stories, Local Voices
Playhouse Stage Artistic Director Owen Smith created Playhouse Premieres to champion fresh works, particularly those with Capital Region ties. Writers selected for the program receive royalties and a fully staged run—costs often shouldered by emerging artists.
“The industry can’t thrive on revivals alone,” Smith noted. “We want to nurture new storytellers.”
If You Go
| What: The Waiting by EmmaLee Kidwell & Maria Isabella Andreoli | Run Time: 90 min, no intermission |
| Where: Cohoes Music Hall, 59 Remsen St., Cohoes | Tickets: $20–$40 |
| When: Thu 6/12 8:30 p.m.; Fri 6/13 7:30 p.m.; Sat 6/14 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.; Sun 6/15 2 p.m. | Info: 518-434-0776 · playhousestage.org |
For Clifton Park residents eager to support home-grown talent and fresh storytelling, The Waiting offers a chance to see a local artist’s journey come full circle, this time from the writer’s desk to the spotlight.
