SYMPATHY JONES at the New York Musical Theatre Festival (starring Kate Shindle) Photo by Michael Portantiere
This is the story of a young woman who dreams of being a star...a star spy, that is. Sympathy Jones is a spunky receptionist at a New York City intelligence agency who studies Indonesian martial arts in her spare time and is constantly angling for a promotion, to the amusement of the manly spies who inhabit her 1960s world. When a top-secret file is accidentally left on her desk she seizes the opportunity to embark on an adventure of her own, and in the process discovers that daring to save the world against impossible odds is not nearly as glamorous as she thought it would be. Even the best spies need some help from their friends along the way.
SYMPATHY JONES pays homage to classic spy shows and films like "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "The Avengers," "Get Smart," and the 007 legacy, but with a girl-power twist and lots of heart. The spy genre lends itself to realization in musical form, and the jazzy score features Shirley Bassey-type numbers, bouncy 60s pop songs, and pulsing chase scenes, with a vaudeville-style duet and a powerhouse second act ballad thrown in for good measure. It’s all tied together cleverly with a kooky plot about a bomb that stops time and a divorcee megavillain hell-bent on revenge, with lovable and entertaining characters that audiences can really invest in and care about.
