121 Project
New Musical Development Program
Bandit Queen
Book & Lyrics by Sami Horneff
Book & Music by Amanda D’Archangelis
It’s 1902, and a troupe of traveling actors presents “The Arizona Female Bandit,” a play centering on Pearl Hart, the Wild West’s most notorious woman outlaw…and the older sister of playwright and star Katy Davy. But tonight, the real Pearl, freshly released from prison, bursts in on the performance, insisting the show’s ‘facts’ are fiction. The sisters step into their own roles, reliving their past shaped by abuse, crime, and addiction – and forcing them to finally mend old scars live, in real time. BANDIT QUEEN features nine versatile performers and an Americana-inspired score that blends the rich storytelling of the Old West with a contemporary pop theatre sound.
Amanda D’Archangelis and Sami Horneff met in the world-renowned BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Recent work includes: THE RADIUM GIRLS, co-written with Lisa Mongillo and directed by Tony-Winner Marissa Jaret Winokur, which is eyeing a world premiere production in 2027 (also a 2022 NAMT Finalist, a 2019 Eugene O’Neill NMTC Semi-Finalist, and five-time winner at The 2021 National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival); SINGLE RIDER (Off-Broadway 2018); COMING ATTRACTION (Wilbury Theatre Group 2019); and THE BREAK (Omaha Creative Institute 2018). They are currently writing BANDIT QUEEN, a new pop-Americana musical about Pearl Hart, the Wild West’s most notorious female bandit, which has been developed through residencies at The Legacy Theatre in Branford, CT and Drama Club Camp in Mount Vernon, ME; PANDORA IN BLUE JEANS with book by Adam Morrison, which explores the life of controversial “Peyton Place” author Grace Metalious; and PSYCH, a 90’s spin on the myth of Cupid & Psyche commissioned by Wichita State University. Amanda and Sami’s songs have also been performed at theaters, concert venues, and educational institutions across the country. They are proud to be 2019 York Theatre Company New/Emerging/Outstanding Writers, 2024 Playbill Songwriter Series Featured Artists, 2025 Write Out Loud Contest grand prize winners, and 2026 Lucille Lortel 121 Project recipients! For more, visit: @darchangelisandhorneff on instagram | www.amandadarchangelis.com and www.samihorneff.com