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William and The Tradesmen
written & performed by Eli James
directed by Stephanie Yankwitt

Fridays & Sundays @ 8:30pm

$15

William and the Tradesmen” is a one-man acoustic guitar rock musical about an Anglophile with a problem. Will Bray is a down-and-out New York singer-songwriter saddled with a glut of romantic problems, a thousand and one insecurities, and a backing band that keeps standing him up for gigs. To get him out of his rut, he summons British rock legends Morrissey, Joe Strummer and Paul Weller into his bedroom to beg their advice on love and music.  Conceived, written, and performed by Eli James with original music throughout, “William and the Tradesmen” is part concert, part play, and a parade of transatlantic voices - a darkly comic rock and roll journey into the mind of a post-punk obsessive.
about the creator

ELI JAMES
Will & The Tradesmen

www.eli-james.com
www.myspace.com

ELI JAMES is an actor, playwright, essayist and musician. He was born in Philadelphia and studied Theater at Temple University. His essay “Finding the Beat” was published in the Random House anthology Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers, which made the Boston Globe Bestellers List. His one-act plays Plastic and White Heartbeat (in which he also starred) were produced in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and his play Nine Times Blues was mounted by his own 9x Productions. Other productions of his work include Carniweephall at InterAct Theater Company, Philadelphia, and Buffalo at InterAct Theater Company and the Orlando Shakespeare Festival. Recent acting credits include Jason Grote’s Maria/Stuart at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, DC (world premiere), The Four of Us by Itamar Moses (New York premiere) with Manhattan Theatre Club, and Iphigenia at Aulis with Highwire Theatre. He co-founded, wrote and performed with the comedy group Quiet Library at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and The P.I.T. Further regional acting credits include The East Coast premiere of Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love at The Wilma Theater, Gross Indecency with the Philadelphia Theater Company, Howie the Rookie with Brat Productions, and The Cripple of Inishmaan at The Wilma. He was the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the band Eli and the Indoor Boys, for which he wrote about a thousand songs, give or take, and went through about a thousand drummers. He resides in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, with no pets.