Sunrize is a female character that was created by and is performed by the Iron Crow's very own Associate Director Joseph Ritsch. Sunrize Highway is a loving satire of the great divas of contemporary musical theater. Sunrize has been wowing audiences across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

New York Newsday says, "You'll laugh so hard tears will roll down your face." "Amazing…Hilarious," was stated by Time Out New York. "I hurt the next day from laughing so hard," said Carrie Hill who caught the show about two years ago.

I had the exciting opportunity to work my way into Joseph Ritsch's busy performance schedule to chat with him about the upcoming show in Baltimore.

GL: So, tell me about your character, Sunrize. What inspired the creation and how would you describe her?

Joseph Ritsch: I've been doing Sunrize for about 12 years now. I was hired to do my own show at Lucky Cheng's in New York City. I had been doing some drag with a dance company, but I didn't have a specific character. As a theater artist I've always been interested in Liza and Shirley MacLaine. I wanted to make it somewhat autobiographical. I grew up on Long Island. I wanted to do this genre of entertaining leading lady. As I worked at Lucky Cheng's I worked on this character and, about a year into it, I wrote a full-length piece and have done touring versions for about ten years now. I have written original monologues about Sunrize about her life to string together the Broadway songs. She thinks she's much more talented than she is.

What can people expect from Sunrize: The Musical?

I consider her a female character that I play. I think that's important because the word drag has so many stereotypes about it. It's got a lot of great music in it. It's a really fun night out.

How did you get into theater?

I started pretty early. I started in high school and just finished my MFA at Towson. I have a BA in theater. I did some dancing in undergrad.

Tell me a little more about the Iron Crow Theatre Company.

It started with Steven Satta, our artistic director. He teaches acting at Towson. We had done a project with University of Baltimore for gay pride called "Gay Expectations" about two summers ago. He really wanted to work with a group of artists. We've had our first full season, currently in the middle of our second season, and we're planning the third. The company is committed to LGBTQ artists. We're a queer theater company. We focus on original work from queer artists.

Sunrize: The Musical
Saturday, February 4 • 8pm • $25
Theatre Project • 45 West Preston St. • 410.752.8558
TheatreProject.org or IronCrowTheatre.com
Wine reception with hors d'oeuvres and dancing to follow