A bold, glittering musical inspired by one of the deadliest attacks on the LGBTQ+ community in history — The View Upstairs is a defiant celebration of queer joy, chosen family, and the fight to survive in the face of erasure.
MAY 29 - june 14, 2026
A look back at Iron Crow Theatre’s 2023 production of The Rocky Horror Show as featured on CBS News Baltimore.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILSON FREEMAN
The View Upstairs is a fiercely original, soul-stirring tribute to queer history, community, and resilience. With a lush, genre-blending score by Max Vernon, this boundary-pushing work transports audiences to 1973 New Orleans and into the Upstairs Lounge—a vibrant gay bar and haven for queer joy, chosen family, and radical self-expression.
Inspired by the true story of the deadliest attack on the LGBTQ+ community in U.S. history prior to the Pulse Nightclub tragedy, The View Upstairs reclaims a moment in our collective history many tried to erase. It invites us to gather in solidarity with those we lost, and challenges us to confront what allowed the world to look away.
The View Upstairs presented at the Baltimore Theatre Project as part of our Season of Survival asks what it means to heal, to protect one another, and to endure in the face of violence and erasure.
Don’t miss this haunting, defiant, and life-affirming musical that reminds us survival is not just resistance—it’s remembering, loving, and choosing each other again and again.
“There are bars where everybody knows your name, and bars where people invite you to a bathroom tryst. Such is the dive in Max Vernon’s…likable new musical, ”
— Elisabeth Vincentelli
“The real thrust, is how history—in particular, gay history—is passed from one generation to the next….combines club, funk, rock, spiritual and more to make the UpStairs lounge come alive.”
— Matthew Murray
“Vibrant! The View UpStairs is a moving homage to LGBT culture, past and present. The show swells with heart.”
— Isabella Biedenharn
CAST
Interested in joining the cast of Next To Normal? Check out our audition page here.
CREATIVE TEAM
BOOK, MUSIC & LYRICS BY
MAX VERNON
HE / HIM
DIRECTED BY
SEAN ELIAS*+
HE / HIM
Interested in joining the Creative Team of The View Up? Introduce yourself here.
+ denotes Iron Crow Theatre Resident Artist
* denotes Member, Actors’ Equity Association. The professional union for actors and stage managers in the United States.
FRANK ‘N’ FURTER
NICHOLAS MILES+
BRAD MAJORS
JACK TAYLOR+
JANET WEISS
KRISTEN STICKLEY+
ROCKY
DARSEN DURANT
RIFF-RAFF
LUCKY MARINO
MAGENTA
CERA BAKER
COLUMBIA, JANET WEISS U/S
KILEY ERNEST
EDDIE / DR. SCOTT / PHANTOM
BROOKE DONALD
NARRATOR
BEN FISLER
PHANTOM,
BRAD MAJORS & RIFF-RAFF U/S
ALEX HONG
PHANTOM
MICHAEL LEWIS
PHANTOM,
MAGENTA & COLUMBIA U/S
MADISON ROSSI
PHANTOM,
EDIE/DR. SCOTT & ROCKY U/S
GERADEN WARD
+ denotes Iron Crow Theatre Resident Artist
* denotes Member, Actors’ Equity Association. The professional union for actors and stage managers in the United States.
CREATIVE TEAM
BOOK, MUSIC, LYRICS
RICHARD O’BRIEN
HE / HIM
DIRECTOR
SEAN ELIAS*+
HE / HIM
STAGE MANAGER/ASST. DIRECTOR
ALLISON BRADBURY+
SHE / HER
MUSIC DIRECTOR / KEYS
MICHELLE HENNING
SHE / HER
CHOREOGRAPHER
ARTHUR CUADROS
HE / HIM
INTIMACY DIRECTOR
SHAWNA POTTER+
SHE / HER
ASST. STAGE MANAGER
LAUREN MARSH
SHE / HER
COSTUME DESIGN
STACEY STEPHENS
HE / HIM
SET DESIGN / TECHNICAL DIR.
BRUCE KAPPLIN+
HE / HIM
LIGHTING DESIGN
THOMAS P. GARDNER+
HE / HIM
SOUND DESIGN / A1
ZACH SEXTON+
HE / HIM
PROPS DESIGN
SOPH RISCIGNO
THEY / THEM
HAIR & MAKEUP SUPERVISOR
BRANDON ROSS
HE / HIM
GUITAR
JAMIE WILLIAMS
HE / HIM
BASS
JARED DAVIS
HE / HIM
DRUMS
BRETT SCHATZ
HE / HIM
MARKETING
MICKEY MOULDER+
SHE / HER
PRODUCTION ASST.
WYATT LYIONS
HE / HIM
DECK CREW
LUCY DUNN
THEY / THEM
INTERN
ROBBIE SHAPIRO
HE / THEY
+ denotes Iron Crow Theatre Resident Artist
* denotes Member, Actors’ Equity Association. The professional union for actors and stage managers in the United States.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY WILSON FREEMAN
Coming soon.
Warmly,
Natka Bianchini, Ph.D.
Director, Next to Normal
Managing Director, Iron Crow Theatre
“”
— NATKA BIANCHINI
Director,
Next to Normal
RUN TIME:
Approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes including one 15 intermission.
CONTENT:
This production includes themes of mental illness, grief, trauma, drug use, suicide, and loss, as well as explicit language and sexual content. The production design features loud sound effects, haze, props that create sounds similar to gunshots, and bright, strobing, and reflective lighting effects. Viewer discretion is advised.
M&T BANK EXCHANGE AT THE
FRANCE-MERRICK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
401 W FAYETTE ST.
BALTIMORE, MD 21201
