Though she’s best known for her work in late night TV, Amber Ruffin has taken Broadway by storm over the last couple years, and is set to stage a long gestating musical of her own this summer.
The Late Night With Seth Meyers mainstay and former Amber Ruffin Show host most recently wrote the revised book for the revival of The Wiz, which opened last month on Broadway. She also co-wrote last year’s Broadway run of Some Like It Hot, earning a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical.
Now Ruffin is directing and writing a new musical that will be presented in upstate New York this summer. The show will be workshopped as part of New York Stage and Film’s summer season at Marist College, and is set to be presented on July 21st at the Nelly Goletti Theatre.
Entitled Bigfoot! The Musical, the show follows “a small town whose horrible mayor has them convinced their problems are all the fault of Bigfoot and not his inept leadership.” Ruffin wrote the lyrics, co-wrote the book, and will direct the project. The cast includes Broadway vet (and American Idol alum) Justin Guarini.
Ruffin is also staging the show at the Hollywood Fringe Festival next month. She first premiered a version of the project at Las Vegas’ Majestic Repertory Theatre back in 2018.
In addition to her stage work, Ruffin will host the 2024 Webby Awards in NYC on Monday, May 13.
