Andrew Cuomo Musical Headed to Off-Broadway Theater

An off-Broadway musical about outgoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to make its debut for previews later this year in Manhattan, it has emerged.

The stage production, "A Turtle on a Fence Post," was written by political consultant Hank Morris, who was prosecuted by Cuomo in 2010 over a pension fraud pay-to-play scheme, Insider reported. While in prison, he began working on the script under the pseudonym "Prisoner #11RO731."

Speaking about his musical with Variety, Harris explained that it was "based on true events, but it’s a fictionalized version of my journey and what happened to me and how it changed me." He added that the "principal antagonist in the play is a bullying governor named Andrew Cuomo."

Morris served 13 days in Rikers and just over two years in a state correctional facility. He was granted parole in 2013. While initially writing "A Turtle on a Fence Post," he envisioned it to be a one-man play, but it has since grown to include several others. The story will follow the rise and fall of "one of New York’s most powerful men," Variety noted. It will be set in a comedy club and a correctional institution.

Although he wrote it several years ago, Morris said that the show will be especially relevant considering Cuomo's resignation amid a flood of scandals that includes nearly a dozen allegations of sexual harassment, at least one of which is being investigated as a criminal complaint.

"Political insiders knew the story, but the general public is going to be more open to hearing my story and hearing what he’s capable of," Morris said. And while the musical tackles a weighty subject, it is not just a revenge piece.

"The show has a universal message," he said. "To me the message is life’s pretty good no matter how many twists and turns you experience and you should make the best of it. You’re lucky to be here. The second message is that we all make our own prisons and we’re the only ones who can set ourselves free."

Cuomo, who has largely denied the charges leveled against him by a series of women, announced his resignation earlier this month at a press conference.

"New York tough means New York loving, and I love New York, and I love you. And everything I have ever done has been motivated by that love," he said at the time. "And I would never want to be unhelpful in any way. And I think that, given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing. And therefore that’s what I’ll do because I work for you."

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