New kid, Kylie Carson is “different” – which can make middle school a very scary and unfriendly place. So she cooks up a sweet solution: form a cupcake club that’s open to anyone seeking friendship and a place to belong. But the popular clique turns bitter with jealousy and vows to destroy the club’s efforts. Kylie is now faced with a tough choice: stoop to the mean girls’ level or take the higher road. The delicious pop-infused score by Rick Hip-Flores brings the bestselling children’s book by Sheryl and Carrie Berk to life, and drives home a message of empathy, love, and the power of young people to change the world. This production will support NoBully.org.
Running time: Approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

What’s not to love with a musical about cupcakes? Tempering the sourness of mean girl cliques with the sweetness of its titular baking, Peace, Love and Cupcakes: The Musical of the New York Musical Festival brings a unique twist to the classic story of a girl coming into herself despite the school bullies standing in her way. Kylie (Carrie Berk) is, in a word, different. She stands out from her peers, but not in a good way. Faced with snickers and mean-spirited comments in every class and corner of the hall, she has no friends, and no place in school to call her own. Things only get worse when Meredith (Alexa Reeves), the most popular girl in school and leader of the BLAH girls clique, makes it her mission to take Kylie down. The aptly-titled song “Kylie Carson Doesn’t Belong Here” makes it clear exactly how alone Kylie is at her school. Kylie can’t see a way out of her loneliness, but her quirky art teacher Juliette (Calli McRae) inspires her to start a club to make a group of friends. With Juliette as faculty advisor, Kylie starts a cupcake club. Alongside the girls who join, Kylie makes increasingly ambitious recipes. The club makes its school premiere at the yearly eco-fair, an …Read more