New Work in Progress: IRVING BERLIN'S HOLIDAY INN

This month, we check in with Donna Lynn Hilton, Line Producer at Goodspeed Musicals, as they start rehearsals for the world premiere of Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, based on the classic movie! Happy holidays! Check into the tuneful world-premiere musical about a Connecticut farmhouse transformed into a jubilant nightspot—but only on holidays. From Valentine's Day to the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving to Christmas, expect a cornucopia of hit songs by Irving Berlin in a dance-dizzy romance based on the classic film that first starred Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. Raise a glass of cheer to "Happy Holiday," "Easter Parade," "Be Careful, It's My Heart" and more of the world's greatest show tunes. Who had the initial idea to turn Holiday Inn into a stage show and what was that impulse?  Universal Stage Productions launched the initial process of turning the beloved film “Holiday Inn” into the stage musical Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn.  Universal has a thriving development arm led by Chris Herzberger.  Chris came out of the regional theatre in Chicago and values our place in the development of new work.  Under Chris's leadership, Universal is working with partners across the country on developing their catalogue and Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn will be one of the first to make it to full production. What is Goodspeed's relationship with Universal pictures through this process?   Universal and Chris Herzberger have been truly wonderful partners and colleagues throughout this process. Universal brought writers Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge on board to begin developing the adaptation of “Holiday Inn” in 2012.  Goodspeed has developed several projects with Gordon as either bookwriter or director (or both!) and he suggested to Chris that Goodspeed was a natural fit as the first home of Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn.  From our very first conversation at the NAMT conference in the fall of 2012, it was clear that Chris and I shared a love of this film and a vision for bringing it to life on the stage. Universal led the charge in the early stages of development working closely with the Irving Berlin Music Company, but Goodspeed's early commitment to producing the show on the Opera House stage in the fall of 2014 was a critical piece of the plan from Universal's perspective. Once the major players committed to the project, work moved very quickly. Chris and I have worked for about a year with Gordon and Chad to bring the script to the point where we are excited to begin rehearsal this week—in fact, I am writing this in the afterglow of the read-through on our first day of rehearsal.  Goodspeed suggested Sam Davis as vocal and dance arranger for the project and that has proven to be a brilliant choice—if we say so ourselves!  And we worked together with Universal to identify the remainder of the creative team.  Honestly, Goodspeed and Universal have been on the same page about this project at every turn.  Why does Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn fit well with Goodspeed and the Opera House audience?

New Work in Progress: PLAY IT BY HEART

An interview with Kevin Moore, Producing Artistic Director of The Human Race Theatre Company, about their upcoming production of Play It By Heart with a book by Brian Yorkey (Making Tracks, NAMT Fest '01), music by David Spangler and Jerry Taylor, and lyrics by Spangler, Taylor and R.T. Robinson.



As a teenager, she became the breakout star of the Jasper Family Singers. Now, Jeannine Jasper is the “Queen of County Music,” but she has hopes of getting off the road and having a life. After a concert, a long lost love appears and they discover the spark is still there. But their “history” could be her undoing. Her record label has been purchased by a Dubai businessman who has his own plans for her career, and her rebel, younger sister is always in the news for all the wrong reasons. Family secrets are revealed to the sweet sounds of old and new country in this quintessential story of a family.
 
Play It By Heart was originally produced out at The Village Theatre. How did it find its way to Dayton, Ohio?
It actually came to us from one of the writers, David Spangler. After their production at the Village Theatre in 2005, the writers all went off to work on other projects. Brian Yorkey had this little show brewing called Next to Normal. In 2006, we workshopped the musical Nefertiti by David Spangler and Rick Gore. We stayed great friends and in 2009 he told me about Play It By Heart, and that the writers all wanted to get back to it. I read it, listened and was hooked. I offered them a residency – brought them in and gave them a space to live, work and gave them actors to play with. That was Fall, 2009. In the summer of 2010, we did a full workshop. Our audience loved it. Over and over I heard, “I’m usually not a country music fan, but I really liked this music and this show.” 
 
You presented a reading of the show last year in your Festival and clearly must have gone over very well. What work have the writers put in on the show since then?
Based upon our workshop experience that incorporated new material and plot ideas, the writers and I identified certain story lines that needed to be clarified, songs that needed to be replaced, and development of some of the new ideas that didn't have enough time to fully ferment during our workshop. Brian, David and Jerry have been working on both the book and the score and are working to deliver our starting materials. We have engaged a music director/arranger who will refresh the old score and make it more “actor friendly,” as well as prepare the new material and orchestrations.
  
Why is the show a good fit for your season and your audience? 

New Work in Progress: CHASING THE SONG

An interview with Dana Harrel, Associate Producer, and Grabriel Greene, Director of New Play Development, at La Jolla Playhouse, about their upcoming production of Chasing a Song, by Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, directed by Chris Ashley.  

Elegant Edie's team of ambitious hitmakers are upended by the arrival of the newest aspiring songwriter — Edie's daughter Ginny. As Ginny strives to earn her place in the male-dominated world of the early 1960s music scene, American rock and roll finds itself under siege from the incoming British invasion.

Chasing The Song is a reunion of the Memphis team (director, writers, producers) and La Jolla Playhouse. Why was La Jolla Playhouse excited to work onChasing the Song?  

Chasing the Song continues Memphis’s exploration into the history of American rock and roll, and the way that it shaped – and was shaped by – social movements. Memphis tracked how music was a bridge during the turbulent racial conflicts of the 1950's and 60's. Chasing the Song carries the story forward, and focuses on a completely different part of our social history: the attempts of women to break into and succeed in male-dominated fields.

 

La Jolla Playhouse has been working on the show for a while now. What has changed, shifted and grown with the show over the last year? 

We started working on Chasing the Song as part of our DNA New Play Series in 2013. The work we were able to do during that workshop process was invaluable in discovering that the central arc of the musical was a mother-daughter story. This happened right as we were about to give our first concert reading. It was a wonderful and nerve-wracking moment. A lot of the work over the last year was making this piece as much about strengthening the relationships between characters as it is about the music industry in the 1960's.

 

Why do you think Chasing the Song will sing to your audience and be a good fit for this season?

New Work in Progress: JUDGE JACKIE JUSTICE

NAMT member theatre Pittsburgh CLO recently opened the world premiere of Judge Jackie Justice, a new musical by Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond (both, NAMT Fest '11-Dani Girl). The show runs through April 27 at their cabaret space. We took a moment to chat with Pittsburgh CLO's Executive Producer Van Kaplan, who also directed the show and came up with its concept, about bringing some Justice to Pittsburgh.

You've been summoned for a brand new musical comedy: it's CourtTV meets Springer! The musical courtroom of Judge Jackie Justice is now in session at the CLO Cabaret. Behold "real" cases involving zombies, spaceships, furries and more! TV's hottest Judge relishes in ruling on the personal affairs of people just like you, but what happens when the tables are turned? You won't "object" to this brand new musical comedy! 

Judge Jackie Justice (JJJ) is a commission from Pittsburgh CLO. What was the motivation behind commissioning a show for your cabaret space? 
Creating new works is part of the mission of the CLO and we are always looking for fresh material, especially for the Cabaret. Finding new and exciting small-scale musicals for our year-round programming has been a challenge for us.

You had the original idea for JJJ. What was the inspiration for a musical about TV court shows?
After I saw Jerry Springer the Opera (which I thought was a hoot) in London I thought of creating a show along the same vein but also with some audience participation. The super-sized personalities and live and reactive audiences of Court TV shows seemed like good material to mine for musical comedy. 

Why did you go with the team of Kooman and Dimond to create the show and what has that process been like? 
I saw a reading of Dani Girl at the NAMT Festival and then had an opportunity to listen to Howard Barnes and was sold. They are imaginative writers and because I wanted humor that skewed a little younger for my show, they seemed right for the job. The process of creating the show was like others I have been a part of, highs and lows, agreements and disagreements, and striving to reach the best place possible. A commissioned work poses unique challenges because it is an inherently collaborative writing process. Because Judge Jackie was my idea, I knew what I wanted and was specific with the writers.

Why do think it is important for your theatre to create new musicals for your audience?

New Work in Progress: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE at University of Miami

An interview with The University of Miami's Henry Fonte about their upcoming developmental production (see listing on right) of Slaughterhouse-Five, with music by Jed Feuer and book and lyrics by Adele Ahroneim, based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel.


How did Slaughterhouse-Five find its way to the University of Miami?  
Larry Wilker, the former producer at the Arsht Center here in Miami, an old friend, handed it to me and said, “I like this show and I like the people who wrote it. I can’t produce it. Take a look.” I almost fell over when I saw the title. One of my favorite books! But how the hell do you turn it into a musical? And then I read it and listened; and, by George! Jed and Adele really did it! And they kept the essence of the ordinal Vonnegut! I was floored.

Why is this show a great fit for your students and audience?  
Since the show is all about being “unstuck in time,” some characters appear at different stages in their life, and since the play is so presentational and so Brechtian in a way, the ages of the actors are irrelevant. This allows us to use a young cast beautifully, without anyone having to play old. And since we are doing this in our Studio Theatre, the audience is young and hip and expects to see new and even avant-garde work. So it is a perfect fit for us all the way around.

How does the process of this show fit in to the University's mission for training young artists? 

New Work in Progress: THE UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SAMANTHA BROWN

An interview with Ann-Carol Pence, Associate Producer of Aurora Theatre, about their upcoming production of The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, by Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk.  

Sam is a girl who has what every teenager wants: brains, a boyfriend, functional parents and an acceptance letter to the college of her choice. Yet, she sits in her car with her bags packed and can’t turn the key in the ignition. At a crossroads, Samantha must come to terms with her parents’ expectations, her first love and a lost friendship before she can start the car, drive away and find freedom!

How did Sam Brown find her way to Aurora?

Anthony [Rodriguez] and I are avid new musical followers; moreover, I am personally excited by composers, so I have followed Brian Lowdermilk pretty closely. He is just a powerhouse songwriter. Some of his songs are the type of great new material that singers are singing for cabarets so I already knew tunes like “Run Away with Me.” When I heard “Freedom,” I can remember weeping in my office. It was unbridled joy of two girls in a car singing at the top of their lungs. How I remember when I was that girl!

We immediately contacted them and then came a long two-year journey of agents and producers that I will not bore you with. Suffice it to say, the way you get to do new musicals is that you must be very persistent and confident beyond belief that you can make a difference. 

What drew you to the show?
It is a story of possibility. I love shows that look at the world from a young person's view and shine a light on what could be. Kait & Brian are on that same precipice. They have the opportunity to be the next great musical writing team of this generation. Anthony & I want to bank on those composers that have limitless possibility!

Has anything changed on the show since it was produced at Goodspeed Musicals two summers ago?

NEW WORK IN PROGRESS: Snapshots

An interview with Goodspeed Musicals' Bob Alwine about their current production of Snapshots, a new musical that uses the songs of Stephen Schwartz to tell a new story.

Sue and Dan, after 20 years of marriage, have drifted apart. They discover a box of photographs in their attic which leads them to relive the memories captured in the snapshots. The couple discovers the humorous twists of how love united them and why life has pushed them apart. All couples will see themselves in Snapshots.

How did Snapshots find its way to Goodspeed?
I saw a production of Snapshots at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto in 2008. I knew that the writing team was looking to develop the work further, so I suggested a production with Goodspeed Musicals. I remained in touch with the team for the last five years which lead us to the current production in our Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT.

The show has already had a couple of productions. How can Goodspeed help further the show's development at this stage?
The journey began in 1991 when the book writers approached Stephen Schwartz to see if he was interested in a revue of his work. Over the years there have been several breaks in the writing process. During these breaks the writers grew as artists, as did their respective life experiences. This journey helped to inform the characters while expanding the body of available songs. The various productions have had different creative teams, so these productions became very useful in showing the writing team what did and didn't work. This collective information will be applied to the production at Goodspeed.

How much do you anticipate changing while at Goodspeed given that you never officially open the shows at the Terris?
Like all shows at the Norma Terris, the team will continue to work during the run. Since the show has been through several previous incarnations, more emphasis will be placed on refining the work under the leadership of a creative team new to the show. Stephen Schwartz and book writer David Stern will be available to us during the process as we explore the storytelling aspects of the show.

What drew you to this show?
The show has a unique format. At its core the show features the catalogue of celebrated songwriter Stephen Schwartz. However, the structure of the show, unlike a revue, has a complete emotional arc for the main characters. To make the storytelling work, Stephen Schwartz made revisions to some lyrics in order for the repurposed songs to make sense. His active participation in the process, including writing one new song for the show, has created a work that is neither a revue nor a book musical, but instead a musical scrapbook.

What do you think will surprise people the most about the show when they come catch it in Connecticut?
Audience members who know the Stephen Schwartz songbook will be surprised at how the songs from Wicked, Pippin and Godspell have been repurposed and combined with songs from Rags, Children of Eden, The Magic Show, Enchanted, etc. to tell an emotional journey of the central couple, Sue and Dan. Audiences who are not familar with his body of work will be introduced to the full breadth of this celebrated songwriter.

For more information on Snapshots, please visit www.goodspeed.org.

NEW WORK IN PROGRESS: The Black Suits

An interview with Center Theatre Group's (CTG) Associate Artistic Director, Kelley Kirkpatrick, about their upcoming production of The Black Suits by Fest Alumnus Joe Iconis (Bloodsong of Love, '12) and Robert Maddock.

Every rock and roll fantasy begins in a garage. Scattered among the drums and guitars are the hopes, dreams, angst and rebellion of a new generation screaming to be heard. Joe Iconis takes us behind the music as four teenage Long Island misfits band together to escape Garden City, to conquer the world, to be “cool and whatever.” Now if the Black Suits can only win the St. Anne’s Battle of the Bands, their friendship just might survive the perilous transition to adulthood. The Black Suits celebrates the wannabe rock star in all of us: with a score that sends us out of the theatre singing and longing to be eighteen again.

How did The Black Suits find its way to CTG?  
I first became aware of TBS after seeing Bloodsong of Love at the NAMT Festival in 2011. I spoke with Joe and his agent, Scott Chaloff, briefly after the NAMT presentation, as I wanted to let them know how much I enjoyed it. Scott followed up (like a good agent always does) with me the following week and we had a long conversation about Joe and where he was in his composing and writing career. While ultimately I didn’t feel that Bloodsong of Love was quite the right fit for CTG at the time, I thought Joe was a tremendously gifted composer. Scott sent me The Black Suits to read along with a few of the songs from the show.
After reading and listening to it, I thought The Black Suits showed a lot of promise, but CTG wasn’t in a position to produce a new musical in the upcoming season, so I had to pass (for now). I asked Scott if he could arrange a meeting with Joe and me in order for us to get to know each other a bit more; sort of like an artistic first date between composer and not-for-profit institution. Joe and I had a terrific meeting discussing his past and future projects as well as ideas he had for future shows. I felt that Joe would be an exciting artist to share with CTG’s audiences in Los Angeles and we agreed to stay in touch and look for the right opportunity to work together in the future.
Fast forward to the fall of 2012 and Scott Chaloff called and asked if I would look at a new draft of The Black Suits as they had just completed a developmental production at Barrington Stage Co. I read it right away and was very excited by the work that had been accomplished since the last draft. I immediately passed it on to Michael Ritchie and asked him to read it and consider it for the 2013/14 season at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

How does the show fit into CTG's overall new works programming? 
At any given time, CTG has 5-7 plays and 2-3 musicals in various stages of development. Whether they be commissioned, submitted or discovered, CTG has the great luxury of working with a very wide vocabulary of new works due to our three unique theaters. CTG can go from a new musical by Kander & Ebb (Curtains) at the Ahmanson, to Michael John LaChiusa & Ellen Fitzhugh at The Taper (Los Otros) and finally to Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) at the Kirk Douglas.
We decided to present The Black Suits at the Kirk Douglas as that serves as our primary home for early and mid-career artists that we want our audiences to develop a long and lasting relationship with.

CTG has been very active on working on the show including readings and a workshop.  How does CTG make a plan on how to specifically develop each show and why was this course chosen for this show? 
Once Michael gave the thumbs up to start moving forward with the show, I met with Joe and John [Simpkins, director] to discuss next steps. At CTG, we tend to let the artists chart their own course while we remain at the ready to support, advise and keep them from running into the rocks when needed. I asked Joe and John one question: "What do you need?" It is my favorite question to ask any artist. We ended up doing a two-week workshop focusing on the book while starting to explore the choreography (with the incredible Jennifer Werner). Prior to this, they had never had the opportunity to spend a prolonged period of time just working on the script with actors. Before the workshop began, we had several note sessions and generated a list of the areas of the script we wanted to focus on during the workshop process.
In the end, the workshop taught us a lot about the show, but we agreed that there was still more work to do. We didn't have the script we wanted to start rehearsals with. So, we gathered again for a lengthy note session and decided to do a one-day “work session” with actors. We spent the morning of the work session putting in new pages, reordering songs and trying out new ideas that came out of the prior two-week workshop. That afternoon we read the script for the creative and production team as well as CTG’s commercial producing partner. A week after the one-day work session, the team gathered for one final note session prior to going into rehearsals. We now felt that we could begin rehearsals with a script that allowed Joe and John to focus on getting the show up in front of audiences and less on “fixing” the script. Of course, there will still be things to address in rehearsals, but the heavy lifting was finished.

What are your hopes for the show while it is at CTG? 
I simply want to give our audiences the best show possible. I can’t wait for them to “meet” the incomparable Joe Iconis and the insanely talented team behind The Black Suits.

Why is this show a good match for your LA area audiences? 
This show is right up our audience’s alley at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. They are always up for a new voice and new experience. They love to be challenged and entertained and be the first to see and hear the next generation of theater artists.

Why should people hop over to CTG to catch The Black Suits this fall?
Because for any NAMT member who comes I will personally buy a drink at the bar and regale them with stories of new musical development!

For more information on The Black Suits, please visit www.centertheatregroup.org.

New Works in Progress: SMALL TOWN STORY

An interview with Joe Barros, Artistic Director of New York Theatre Barn in New York, NY about NYTB's work with Sammy Buck and Brandon James Gwinn's Small Town Story (formerly Speargrove Presents), a 2011-2012 Writers Residency Grant recipient.

At the urging of his father Larry, adorkable Scott Ames auditions for the Speargrove High School musical to get closer to drama club queen bee Caroline. But when Larry discovers the show is Rent he pulls Scott out. With the arrival of New York transplant Alex, her outspoken mom Lois and rising community fear about the show, the stage is set for a controversy unlike any small town has ever seen. As the escalation drives wedges between parents and children, Speargrove, Texas will discover that the show can't open until their minds do. Inspired by actual events, Small Town Story explores the indelible power of theatre and the inherent dangers of silence.
Small Town Story has a unique genesis. How did NYTB originally go about commissioning this show?
In January 2010, New York Theatre Barn assembled 17 writers, led by sole book writer Sammy Buck, to conceive a new musical. Real-life events in Rowlett, Texas pertaining to a controversial production of Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Rent provided an irresistible springboard for the writing as NYTB set out to create a show by a community of writers about community. NYTB's involvement with Small Town Story actually led to a change in the artistic and institutional mission of the company. We became so attracted to telling untold stories about real people, and often based on real events, that we made it our primary focus.

Why did you narrow the team down to just two writers?
After launching NYTB in 2007, we were given the unique opportunity by Daryl Roth Theatricals to produce a monthly show in their D-Lounge, and our core developmental platform for emerging writers and new work was born. Through this monthly program (now in its 6th year), I was immediately exposed to over 50 writers in the first three years alone. With such incredible creative resources at our fingertips, I knew we had to devise a piece together. While Small Town Story (then Speargrove Presents) started out as a piece written by committee, I ultimately made the decision to choose Sammy Buck and Brandon James Gwinn as its sole writers in order to give the piece clarity and authenticity, primarily in the score.

After working on the piece for about a year, the team went from 17 to 2 to improve the show's cohesion. Buck and young composer Gwinn were serendipitously paired on a song to

New Work in Progress: BETTY BLUE EYES

An article from Wayne Bryan, Producing Artistic Director, of Music Theatre of Wichita as they prepare to produce the American premiere of Betty Blue Eyes.

Betty Blue Eyes is a highly original and very funny new musical which opened on the West End in 2011, and is making its American debut this summer at Music Theatre of Wichita, July 24-28. 

Set in 1947 England, when Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming royal wedding is to be the cause for nationwide celebratory banquets, a meat-deprived village wages internal subterfuge to abscond with a prize pig named Betty.

With a clever libretto by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Betty Blue Eyes is based on the Maggie Smith and Michael Palin film, A Private Function, screenplay by Alan Bennett. The tuneful new score is by NAMT Festival alumni George Stiles (Honk! and The Three Musketeers, both Fest '99) and Anthony Drewe (Honk!, Fest ‘99), whose other works include Just So and the new material in the stage version of Mary Poppins.

After the 1999 Festival presentation of Honk!, several NAMT theatres expressed an interest in producing it, including Music Theatre of Wichita.  Our transatlantic communications with authors George and Anthony quickly blossomed into an international friendship. This was solidified when MTWichita, with the writers' blessings, produced and distributed the American Cast Album of Honk! in 2001.

George and Anthony, along with licensing house Music Theatre International, subsequently credited the well-received album as one of the show's best marketing tools. Hundreds of Honk! productions followed the Festival presentation and the release of the

New Work in Progress- FAR FROM HEAVEN at Playwrights Horizons

An interview with Kent Nicholson, Director of Musical Theatre and Literary Associate at Playwrights Horizons, about their upcoming production of Far From Heaven, with a book by Richard Greenberg, Music by Scott Frankel and Lyrics by Fest alumnus Michael Korie (Blanco- '89). The show is a recipient of one of NAMT's National Fund for New Musicals Production Grants.

Cathy Whitaker seems to be the picture-perfect wife and mother in 1957 suburban Connecticut. But roiling beneath the surface, secret longings and forbidden desires cause her world to unravel, with incendiary consequences. With a lush score that is both jazz-inflected and hauntingly lyrical, Far From Heaven is a powerful story of romance, betrayal and intolerance, as a woman grapples with her identity in a society on the verge of upheaval.
Image: Kelli O'Hara in Far From Heaven at Williamstown Theatre Festival



Far From Heaven is a Playwrights Horizons' commission. What came first: the project or the writers?
The writers came first. It was their idea. Scott Frankel and Michael Korie had talked with Richard Greenberg about working on something together during the run of Grey Gardens on Broadway. In their subsequent discussions, Far From Heaven came up as a project they all admired that they thought could have a new life as a musical. They came to us with the idea and we thought it was a good one.

Why choose to musicalize Far From Heaven and why were Scott, Michael and Richard the right team for the job?
The film is an exploration of the nostalgia we have for "simpler" times. Those times have a dark side, a side that forces people to live in denial of their own prejudices and desires. The film places its main characters on the edge of the '50s bleeding into the social consciousness of the '60s. Shot in a melodramatic style, as an homage to Douglas Sirk, it contains all the elements of a great musical: inner emotional lives, strong plotting, a simple character arc. The lushness of the film's visuals have translated into a lushness in Scott Frankel's score. In transforming the story from one medium to another, we feel that we have the ability to continue to explore the themes, that the film begins to explore and dig a little deeper into the characters' emotional lives.

This is your theatre's second time at bat with Korie and Frankel. What draws Playwrights Horizons to their work and why are they a good match with your audience and mission?
Our focus at Playwrights is always on the writers, and our mission includes composers and lyricists as writers. We focus on writer driven work, which tends to mean that the projects we produce are the ideas and province of the writers' obsessions with the world. Scott and Michael have brought us many of their projects. Obviously, some of any producing decision is an aesthetic one, meaning we simply like their work. But beyond that we find that artist-driven work tends to move the form forward and explore the boundaries of what the form can be. Grey Gardens created a narrative out of documentary source material, and Far From Heaven is almost operatic in its approach to the material. They're still musicals, but they play with the form in artistically challenging ways.

The show was recently at Williamstown Theatre Festival before coming to Playwrights Horizons. How has the show changed and grown over this process?
The piece went through some significant tweaking during the reading and production process. While the plot is generally a given and hasn't changed much, how many scenes we keep from the movie, how we elide them together and where we choose to place our focus has shifted a lot, as has the amount of underscoring and music. Some characters have been made significantly smaller than they are in the film. And we learned a great deal from the Williamstown audiences. The opportunity to see the piece in a fully realized production prior to coming into NY, while we still have a chance to make significant changes, not just in the text, but also design and approach, is invaluable.

What will change as the show heads to the Playwrights Horizons stage?
You'll have to come and see!

Why should people come see Far From Heaven on West 42nd Street?
Our space is unique in that is equipped pretty well for musicals and yet it is small and intimate. This is a grand show in many ways and the opportunity to see something of this size in a house as intimate as ours is rare. It'll be a special experience.

For more info about Far From Heaven, please visit www.playwrightshorizons.org. 

New Work In Progress: TRAILS at The Village Theatre

An interview with Steve Tomkins, Artistic Director of The Village Theatre in Issaquah, WA, about their upcoming production of Trails by Kristy Hall, Jordan Mann and Jeff Thomson.

After twelve years of silence, two childhood friends, Seth and Mike, find themselves face to face.  Unexpectedly, Mike reminds Seth of an old promise to hike the Appalachian Trail together from beginning to end.  Desperate to escape his stifling hometown and the recent death of his mother, Seth agrees to fulfill that promise.  As the challenges of the trail become increasingly difficult, long-kept secrets begin to surface, and their friendship is put to the ultimate test.

How long has the Village been producing new musicals and what is the goal of the Village Originals program? 
Village Theatre has been committed to the development of new musicals since its inception in 1979, and has produced and developed over 90 new musicals. Many of these have gone on to stages around the world, including the Tony Award-winning Next To Normal and Million Dollar Quartet.
 How did Trails find its way out west to Issaquah?
Authors Christy Hall, Jordan Mann and Jeff Thomson were friends with an actor who had been in several shows on the Village Theatre stage.  He recommended Trails to our Village Originals program.  Upon receiving the script, both Robb Hunt and I were enchanted by this innovative new musical, and we started Trails in our new works program, culminating in the 2011 reading at our Festival of New Musicals.

Why was Trails the right show to take from the reading at your Festival last year to your main stage this year?
Our audience's response to Trails was immediate and overwhelming.  We both felt that significant progress has been made in the development of the script to give it the production values needed for our Mainstage.  This resulted in two more readings and endless discussions readying the script for our 2013 production.

Why is Trails a great show for your theatre and your audience?  
Although Trails is set in the Appalachian Mountains on the East Coast, this remarkable new musical still captures the vitality and energy of the Pacific Northwest.  Because of the unparalleled beauty of the Puget Sound, it is home to many hikers, trailblazers and adventurers. During the last few years, walking the Pacific Crest Trail (the West Coast version of the Appalachian Trail) has become a rite of passage for many young people. Trails encompasses the spirit and essence of our community.

Why should people fill up their hiking backpack and head west to Washington to see Trails this spring? 
They have the opportunity to experience the first major production of an outstanding new musical, written by three talented new writers.  Christy Hall, Jordan Mann and Jeff Thomson are at the beginning of what I feel will be a remarkable career.

For more info about Trails, please visit www.villagetheatre.org.

New Work In Progress: GIRLS VS BOYS

An interview with Henry Fonte, Chair of the University of Miami's Department of Theatre Arts, about their upcoming production of Girls vs Boys, written by Nathan Allen, Chris Mathews, Jake Minton & Kevin O'Donnell, this November 1-11.

Girls vs Boys explores the complicated lives of modern high schoolers as they manage their way through the funny, violent and emotionally turbulent period of adolescence. The story focuses on Casey, a young man who distances himself from not only his fellow classmates but also his sister, Sam, a freshman at his high school. Casey and Sam share a dark past that pulls them together while still keeping them at arm's length.

How did you find the show?
This season we decided to look for a new contemporary musical that could be developed by the University and The Adrienne Arsht Center. We were on our way to producing something else when the negotiations collapsed. Scott Shiller, our co-producer at The Arsht, who already had a very strong relationship with The House Theatre of Chicago, had seen the original workshop of Girls vs Boys by our good friends at Northwestern University’s American Musical Theatre Project, and suggested we pursue it. Girls vs Boys made sense on many creative levels and also has the potential to attract young, diverse, multi-cultural ticket buyers.

What drew you to the show and how does it fit with the goals of your program?
Girls vs Boys focuses an unblinking eye on the pent up rage, sexuality, fear and humor that all young people experience. Its themes are universal and, still today, swept under the carpet as we adults try to fight these feelings through medicating kids into NOT feeling, or at least not displaying or “acting out” on those feelings. The most obvious fit is the fact that the cast is exclusively young. There are no adult characters. It also fits with our mission, which in part is to develop new, edgy and exciting work for the American Theatre. This creative collaboration with one of the premier performing arts centers in the southern United States, which also happens to be in our own backyard, offers students a paid, real-world working experience on a world-class stage and ensures that they will have a competitive edge upon graduation.

How will the show be developed while at U of Miami?
We will first do a two-week workshop with the full cast, our creative team and the writing team from The House Theatre. This workshop will concern itself with the story, and how the story is presently served by the book, songs and the current structure. Nothing will be off the table. After that, we will begin a four-week rehearsal towards the production. The show will be co-produced by us and The Arsht, where it will play, in its beautiful, state-of-the-art Carnival Studio Theater.
In addition to featuring students-as-professionals on stage, the production also provides students majoring in technical theatre and design to work side-by-side with the Arsht Center’s production team–helping to create professional sets, costumes and lighting design; assisting stage managers and other key production positions.

What is the thing you are most excited to see when the show gets in front of an audience?
Like all great art, Girls vs Boys has the potential to be highly polarizing. The subscription audiences at both The Arsht and UM’s Ring Theatre, plus our students and the single ticket buyers will form a wildly diverse audience demographic. We look forward to seeing how different age groups react and empathize with the action unfolding before them. While we hope to please as many of these constituencies as possible, we also hope the show will retain some of its raw energy, force and the dangerous electric current that runs through the material. Also, the rock score is pretty exciting.

Why should your fellow members swing by Miami to catch the show?
If we do our job, Girls vs Boys will become, or be on its way to becoming, a very hot and exciting new property. We can’t have too many of those. It's new theatre. It's our job as theatre artists to support and encourage these new voices in as many stages of development as possible. And it’s Miami in November...What’s not to like?

For more information about Girls vs Boys, please click here.

New Works In Progress: LOVE STORY

An interview with director Annabel Bolton about Walnut Street Theatre's upcoming production of Love Story, written by Erich Segal with book and lyrics by Stephen Clark, and music and additional lyrics by Howard Goodall, this September 4-October 21.


Inspired by Erich Segal's best-selling iconic novel, and one of the most romantic films of all time, this life-affirming musical will have you remembering the first time you fell in love. There was music in the air—and a feeling so powerful that no one and nothing could take it away. That music is in the air again with Love Story, the Musical. When Oliver Barrett IV wanders into a library in search of a book, he discovers Jenny Cavilleri. They came from different worlds. He was a Harvard man, she was Radcliffe. He was rich, she was poor. But they fell in love. This is their story. A celebration of love and life, Love Story, the Musical will win your heart... and it may just break it.


How does Love Story differ from the movie and the novel? 
Other than the most obvious difference that it is a musical, the Erich Segal story itself is intact and holds all the memorable moments from the book and the movie. Enthusiastic fans may notice some differences that help the movement of the story in this staged version (for instance, the compression of two scenes into one to help the narrative flow). This very emotional story lends itself so well to being a musical and particularly with Howard Goodall's delicate and evocative score. 


How has the show evolved from Chichester to the West End to the U.S. premiere?
The essence of the original Chichester production remains. The writer Stephen Clark and composer Howard Goodall, along with the original creative team honed and refined their work for the move to London by cutting and adding both musically and literarily. The Chichester stage was an apron stage and a very intimate audience/performer experience, so the production also faced the very practical challenge of moving to a proscenium theatre. The loss of intimacy was a concern, but it didn't lose any emotional impact in the move—if anything it enhanced it.


What are you and the writing team hoping to work on while preparing for this production?

New Works in Progress: THE TROUBLE WITH DOUG at TheatreWorks

An interview with TheatreWorks’ Director of New Works, Meredith McDonough, about their upcoming developmental production of 2010 NAMT Festival show The Trouble with Doug, by Will Aronson and Daniel Maté, as part of the New Works Festival this August.

The Trouble with Doug is a contemporary comedic reimagining of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Thrust together awkwardly under the same roof, Doug, his family and his fiancée all struggle to understand and respond to Doug's transformation into a giant talking slug.


What drew TheatreWorks to The Trouble with Doug? 
When we saw the presentation in the NAMT Festival two years ago, our whole artistic team was crying with laughter.  I couldn't wait to read the full script and was so pleased to see how moving the second act is.  It's that balance of humor and heart that I am always looking for in new work.


Why are you presenting the show as a developmental production vs. a reading?We had offered them a slot in last summer's New Works Festival, but they had such an exciting opportunity to work on the piece in the United Kingdom with [NAMT member] Royal & Derngate.  When I read the new draft following that reading, I could clearly see that the writers were ready to see the piece on its feet and not behind music stands again!


What is the team hoping to work on during the process?

New Works In Progress: HERO

An interview with Terry James, Executive Producer of The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, IL, about their upcoming world premiere of Hero by Aaron Thielen (’10–The Bowery Boys) and Michael Mahler (’09–How Can You Run With a Shell On Your Back?), playing June 20-August 19. For more information, visit www.marriotttheatre.com.


Hero is a quirky and poignant new musical that explores those extraordinary moments in ordinary life. It’s the story of Hero Batowski, a 28-year-old struggling comic book artist, living anything but a superhero life. After a life-changing event his senior year in high school, Hero still finds himself living at home with his dad, Al, who runs the family comic book shop in Milwaukee. Things start to change for him when he bumps into an old girlfriend, and with the encouragement of his dad and his best friend and cousin, Kirk, Hero finally has a chance to realize his own dream. Hero features a contemporary pop/rock score that is fresh and exciting.


Why is Hero a good fit for your season? 
For more than thirty years our subscribers have enthusiastically embraced new works. Hero provided an opportunity to give them something unique. From a business point of view it makes sense—a small cast size and a 5-member pop-rock band is certainly appealing! When long-time Marriott director David H. Bell agreed to come on board, I knew we had a formidable and exciting team in place. Hero has also given us a chance to explore the new world of online marketing by collaborating with website and comic book designer and illustrator Charles Riffenburg of Grab Bag Media. For the comic book aficionado that wants more, Charles and Aaron have created a really exciting website, www.heromusical.com, which accompanies the show. It offers audiences an in-depth look into the creation of the show and the world through Hero's eye, following the entire creative process of bringing this new work to the stage, complete with audio, videos and a blog.


What was the genesis of Hero? 

New Works in Progress: ASCAP

An interview with Michael A. Kerker, Director of Musical Theatre at ASCAP, about their Musical Theatre Workshop, which recently included the musicals Costs of Living by Timothy Huang, Dora: Fragment of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria by Larry Bortnik, Hardcore West Virginia by Mike Pettry & Claire Karpen and Single Girls Guide by NAMT Fest alumni Tommy Newman & Gordon Greenberg.

The ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop is a development program for new musicals. The workshop is led by its artistic director, Stephen Schwartz (NAMT Fest '96–Children of Eden) and is coordinated by Kerker. Their goal is to nurture new composers and lyricists and to help them shape and focus their projects in the early stages of development. The annual workshop is held in New York, usually in the early spring, and the Los Angeles workshop (presented in partnership with DreamWorks Animation) is held in February.

How do you select the musicals to be presented in the workshops?
Writers are asked to submit 4 songs from their musical, a copy of the lyrics with plot placement information and a brief synopsis of the libretto. We receive approximately 125 submissions for each workshop. I listen to all submissions and usually send a dozen or so of the more promising ones to Stephen Schwartz. He then listens to these finalists and ultimately we select 4 projects for presentation in the workshop.

New Work in Progress: FEBRUARY HOUSE

An interview with Maria Goyanes, Associate Producer at The Public Theater, about February House by Gabriel Kahane and Seth Bockley as they prepare to bring the show to New York this May. The show was the recipient of one of our National Fund forNew Musicals Project Development Grants.

About February House: Carson McCullers. Benjamin Britten. W.H. Auden. Gypsy Rose Lee. Visionary and flamboyant editor George Davis transforms a dilapidated Brooklyn boardinghouse into a bohemian commune for these leading lights of 1940s New York. The residents of 7 Middagh Street create a tumultuous and remarkable makeshift family searching for love, inspiration and refuge from the looming war in Europe. Inspired by true events, this powerful and funny newmusical marks the first commission of The Public's Musical Theater Initiative.

Why did The Public Theater decide to commission Gabe and Seth to write February House?
Oskar Eustis, the Artistic Director of The Public Theater, has known Gabe since his college years at Brown University. They had stayed in touch while Gabe made his way through the music world circuit, putting out a pop album, composing classical pieces and occasionally music directing for the theater. Ted Sperling, when starting The Public's Music Theater Initiative, asked Gabe if he was ready to try his hand at writing a musical. He became The Public's Music Theater Fellow and then pitched the idea of February House, from Sherrill Tippin's book of the same name. When it came to finding a bookwriter, Gabe turned to his old college friend Seth Bockley, who had been making a name for himself as an emerging playwright and director in Chicago.

The Public Theater has been working on the show for a few years in many different readings. How has the show changed since the first reading in 2009?
The show has changed so much—and all for the better! Gabe and Seth always knew that they were making a different kind of musical, a chamber piece of sorts, with 9 leads and no chorus. So much of the development of this piece has been about honing in on the three principals—George Davis, W.H. Auden and Carson McCullers—and their needs for this house, hopes for their art, and the looming war in Europe. Because there is no single protagonist, the piece has been a delicate balance of these three storylines intersecting, influencing and playing off of each other.

This summer the writers had a chance to have a workshop at New York Stage and Film, in collaboration with The Public and supported by our National Fund for New Musicals. How was this process vital to prepare for the productions?
As the piece is set in an old Victorian home in Brooklyn, NY, the house is definitely a main character in the piece. How it comes together, how the characters inhabit the space together —these are key discoveries to be made for the show to be successful. New York Stage and Film was the first time we had the show up on its feet, and we could start to problem solve those ideas. It was invaluable.

The show opened last month at Long Wharf Theatre, in a co-production with The Public, before it heads to NYC in May. What is the importance of this co-production to the show's development trajectory and why was Long Wharf chosen as your partner?
Gordon Edelstein [Long Wharf's Artistic Director] is a great friend and colleague of Oskar Eustis. We shared the piece with him and he has provided incredible dramaturgical support and nurturing for Gabe and Seth. New York is a scary place for a first-time musical—musicals are such complex pieces to get right (and this one more so than others). It felt important to try to elongate the rehearsal process for it with a first stab at a production out-of-town, to learn from the audience and the experience, and then bring it to NYC.

Why should we all head to The Public Theater this May to catch February House?
Gabe is one of the most exciting young composers of the decade. His music is beautiful and haunting and true—this is your chance to see the first musical from an artist who is sure to have an impact on the American theatre for a long time to come.

For more information about February House, please visit www.publictheater.org.