Festival Show Update: MY HEART IS THE DRUM

This month, we check in on 2013 Festival show My Heart is The Drum and its authors Stacey Luftig, Phillip Palmer and Jennie Redling on their recent reading at NAMT Member The Village Theatre in Issaquah, WA and their upcoming production at NAMT Member Kent State University.

My Heart Is the Drum is a big musical set in West Africa with a driving, African-influenced score. It is about Efua Kuti, a 16-year-old girl who aches to leave behind her stifling, poverty-struck village to become a teacher, and Edward Adu, a traditional farmhand who is in love with her. Inspired by the spirit of her grandmother, Efua runs away to the city of Accra to attend the university, but on arrival gets abducted into prostitution. Edward sets out to find her. Efua has always been able to draw on her cunning to solve her problems, but will she escape these most desperate circumstances? And if Edward finds her, will he still love her now that she has been “disgraced?” At its core, the musical is about finding the inner strength to achieve your goals and create social change.​

What was feedback like for your show after you presented in our Festival?
Mainly, people told us they wanted to know what will happen to Efua, our heroine, in Act II. We took that as a good sign.

You had the opportunity to bring the show to Goodspeed’s Johnny Mercer Writers Colony this winter.  What did you work on during that time in snowy Connecticut? 
First, we went through the script and pinpointed the scenes, lyrics and music that we had always labelled "good enough for now" and that we'd fix "later." Our time at Goodspeed was our "later."
We also focused on two pivotal moments for Efua, one in Act I, one in Act II. We all feel very passionately about her, and it took several passes—including one serious crash and burn—before we found the monologue in Act I, and the completely unexpected song in Act II, that we all felt to be "effortlessly" right.

This month at Village Theatre, you had your first ever reading of the full show.  What was it like to finally hear the whole show aloud in front of a public audience? 
Thrilling and gratifying.  After so many years since its start at the BMI workshop, we could see that we had a full, working show and one that moved people. The audience also responded strongly to the script's humor. For the songs, they not only clapped, but cheered for most of them and scene moments also drew applause.  

FESTIVAL SHOW UPDATE: Lizzie

An interview with the writers of Fest 2011 show Lizzie (formerly known as Lizzie Borden), Steven Cheslik-deMeyer (SCD), Alan Stevens Hewitt (ASH) and Tim Maner (TM) about the upcoming concert, three productions around the world and a studio cast album!

In 1892 on a sweltering August day in a small New England town, “somebody” brutally murdered a well-to-do elderly man and his second wife with an axe. Lizzie Borden, their youngest daughter, was the primary suspect, arrested and tried. Without any witnesses to the hideous crime, she was acquitted, and the murders remain unsolved to this day. Though Lizzie was ultimately declared innocent according to the law, her infamy lives on.

Lizzie has had quite a bit of development since it left the Festival.  Other than the new name, what has changed with the show since it was at the Festival?
ASH: If you think of the show as a gatefold vinyl double album (a la Tommy, or Jesus Christ Superstar), pretty much the entire Side 1 has been rewritten, with the addition of two solos for Lizzie and one for Alice to allow the audience to understand where they are starting from and to get onboard with them. Also, one of the central musical/lyrical themes (which is reprised, transformed, at the end) is now introduced in a completely different way from how it had been previously. Whereas it had been an internal dialogue for Alice, it is now a lullabye ("Maybe Someday") sung by Alice to Lizzie. It brings the harrowing "Side 1" to a gentle close.
SCD: We wanted to strengthen the introduction of Lizzie's friend Alice who becomes so pivotal in the story, so we wrote a solo for her early in the first act. We also rewrote Lizzie's song “Gotta Get Out Of Here” to be more explicit and hard-hitting. Those are the big changes, but we also made lots of little tweaks here and there. 

You had the opportunity to have the show developed at Baldwin Wallace University and at the Village Theatre.  What did you learn about the show as it changed theatres, actresses and regions? 
SCD: The BWU production was the first time the show was produced where we weren't closely involved. It was great to find out that we really can hand it to a group of talented folks and feel confident that our idea of what the show is remains intact. It helps that the BW students directed by Vicky Bussert are phenomenally talented! We made discoveries about the first act and the Alice character that led to the changes mentioned above. Village gave us the opportunity for a trial run of lots of new elements: Alice's new song and the new orchestrations, a more rock and roll-style set and lighting. The folks at Village gave us great support in the process.
TM: We've learned new things every time, from new design teams, from different levels of production, from the unique variations all of the amazing women who have taken on the roles have shown us. We've gotten to really look at the show from different perspectives that have strengthened it at every turn.

What has surprised you about people’s response to the show outside of New York City?
ASH: I don't know if there have really been any "surprises" for me about how Lizzie has been received. It certainly has been thrilling though, and immensely gratifying to experience it connecting so strongly with people.

The show played last month at TUTS in Houston, having a concert version in Philly this fall with 11th Hour Theatre Co. and then jumping over to Denmark for a production in the spring.  What is it like to have your show spreading around the country?
SCD: It's tremendous! This show has been cooking for a long, long time. It's always felt really special to us, like it had the potential to connect with a wide audience. Now that that is starting to happen, it's incredibly gratifying. As an artist that's what you always hope will happen.
ASH: Around the country AND THE WORLD!  (Cue demonic laughter....) Are you kidding? It's AMAZING. I'm particularly interested to see how this subject from classic American mythology goes down with folks who have a different cultural perspective.
TM: It’s kinda unreal, but amazing. All those years ago when Lizzie began it was really pure fantasy to think anything like this could happen, and now it’s happening. It’s a rare thing in life to actually have a fantasy come true, and I’m very thankful.

A studio cast album is being released this fall.  Tell us a bit about recording the album and working with that cast. 
SCD: The conceit of Lizzie has always been that it is a rock concept album come to life on the stage, despite the fact that until now the album only existed in our minds. Now it's real. It's great to have this thing that we can hand people and say, "This is the show. Everything you need to know about Lizzie is here on this record." And the guys who play on it and the women who sing it blow me away every time I listen.
ASH: Well, we were very fortunate that we were able to get all the planets to align. Much credit to our producer Brisa Trinchero for green-lighting it and actually making it happen and to Broadway Records for their commitment to the project. I don't even know where to start talking about the album cast... Carrie Manolakos, Storm Large, Carrie Cimma, Ryah Nixon. Incredible, one-of-a-kind talents, all.  Really, so privileged to have been able to work with them, and they each turned in phenomenal performances that reward repeated listens. I am very proud of what we accomplished. I can't wait for people to hear it. And hear these women.
TM: The women are just amazing. Incredible singers/performers, and great people to work with. Same for the band/musicians. It was an incredible team effort from artists, to producers, to graphic designer, to our amazing engineer and more.

What are your hopes for the Borden sisters in the next few years? 
TM: I hope the House Of Borden continues to expand to include more theaters, more audiences and more amazing artists through new productions, concerts and the release of the album.  I want to attend many more opening nights.
ASH: I would love as many people as possible to have the opportunity to connect with Lizzie. I love the idea that, with the record available online, a kid in Japan, or Alaska, or Brazil, or Iceland, or Lithuania, could potentially find his or her way into the piece.  And I would love to see people continue to come together in dark rooms all over the world and experience great artists bringing it to life right in front of their eyes and ears.
SCD: More productions! We're at the end of the option period with the producers we've been working with the last couple years, so we're giving a lot of thought to next steps. We would all love a big New York production, since New York is home, but that's the tough nut to crack. Everything is kind of in flux right now. Stay tuned!

For more information on Lizzie, please visit www.lizziethemusical.com

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: 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.

Festival Show Update: LIZZIE BORDEN

An interview with Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner and Alan Stevens Hewitt about what is new with their 2010 Festival Show, Lizzie (other than its title!).

What was the audience's response to Lizzie after the Festival?
Audience responses have been incredibly gratifying.  At the Festival, the tremendous show of support from the NAMT community was overwhelming—there were so many great moments. One of our favorites: an older man came up to Alan saying "You know what you've done here, don't you? This is Tommy meets Sweeney Todd!" Well, besides the fact that we love both of those and it's very flattering to be compared to them, we've always seen Lizzie as somehow situated exactly between those two worlds, so for this guy to get that was a great sign for us that we'd succeeded.


What has changed in the show since the Festival?
We've made a handful of tweaks and a couple of bigger changes. There are 2 whole new songs. One is a solo for Lizzie, "This Is Not Love," near the beginning of the show that we hope gives the audience a clearer idea of where she's starting from emotionally, psychologically. We also replaced the ending with a less ambiguous statement of Lizzie's apotheosis into legend, "Into Your Wildest Dreams." And we have officially dropped "Borden" from the title—the show is now called simply Lizzie.  


You recently had a change of commercial producers.  How did that come about and what was the decision process like for you to decide to change things up?

Seattle Views

I've taken two trips to Seattle in the past year – one last June and one just last week – to prep for the upcoming Spring Conference. It's a beautiful city, and I'm a fan of taking pictures, so to whet your appetite for your trip to Dramatic Marketing next month, here are some photos of what you'll have to look forward to.

View from the W Seattle hotel, site of the Spring Conference:

Those of us in the office who have been to Blue C Sushi are so obsessed with it we've gotten everyone else obsessed with it too. Small plates of freshly made sushi (and other Japanese goodies) whiz by you on a conveyor belt. You take what you want, and when you're ready for the check the waiter counts your color-coded plates. This is a few blocks from the hotel and The 5th Avenue Theatre.

A lovely spot for a conference coffee break or side meeting:

...and a lovely place to retire to at the end of a long day discussing marketing:

Very modern new light rail and bus station a block away from the hotel. Just $2.75 to get from the airport!

View from The Village Theatre's First Stage building:

Sunset from The 5th Avenue Theatre: 

Monorail! Left over from the World's Fair, this will take you from downtown (a couple of blocks from the hotel) to the Space Needle.

Views from the Space Needle:

Pike Place Market, a short walk from the hotel:

Sunset view from in front of Village Theatre's mainstage last June:

Any Twin Peaks fans out there? Snoqualmie Falls, site of the Great Northern Lodge on the show, is a short drive from Village. (These were taken on a trip a few years ago.)

In the green room of The 5th Avenue Theatre: 

"Musical theater and those who create it are critical to the enrichment of our soul. Your work is about entertainment and enlightenment of the human spirit. We take this wondrous journey with you. Through our laughter and tears are all who we were, who we are and who we could become. Bravo to you who light our way!" -Kenny & Marleen Alhadeff

These are just a few of the sights Seattle has to offer. I hope you'll join us and explore them all for yourself! Conference registration for NAMT members is open until March 8. Details at namt.org/conference.

The Spring Conference...already!

The Fall Conference is barely over, and I'm already at work on the Spring Conference! I actually have been since June, when I traveled to two cities selected by the members as possible locations (on both trips I did double duty, attending a conference in one and visiting members in another). A lot goes into finding the right location for the conferences, both in New York and elsewhere. Hotels are great because they're all-in-one: Attendees can stay there, and facilities, catering and audio-visual services are all packaged together. Many factors are considered, taking into account the diversity of our membership. It's important to find a place where everyone will be comfortable and well taken care of, and is also affordable to all of the members. We also strive to keep NAMT's own costs down, so that we can pass those savings on to you in the lowest possible registration fees. And with all the time we spend in the conference room, it can't just be any old space. You'd be surprised how few hotels have event spaces with windows! It's important for me to make these trips to see the venues in person, try the food, and spend the night in the hotel when possible (it's worth noting that this doesn't cost NAMT anything, since the hotels are after our business and treat me pretty well!)

For the city, we survey the members periodically to see where you're interested in going. It's better for me if we have a member in town. Some host at their venues, but even if not, having local knowledge is extremely helpful.

The 2012 Spring Conference will be held on March 22-24 in Seattle, WA. We have an amazing rate at the beautiful W Hotel, which I think you'll all like very much, and we'll also spend time at the 5th Avenue Theatre and Village Theatre. Save the date and watch for details in the coming weeks!

FROM THE ROAD: Pacific Northwest Tour- Part 2: Seattle/Issaquah

Portland was just a warm-up for the next few days in Seattle and Issaquah for the Village Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals. But before Issaquah, there was an exciting pit stop to spend a night in the W hotel in Seattle,our home for the Spring 2012 Conference. Adam has chosen very well and the hotel was amazing. I can’t wait for the conference (and that hotel!). Look at the photo of the lobby to the right...beautiful and comfortable!

This was my 2^nd time at the Village Festival, the first being for the 2009 New Works Summit, and they never disappoint. Under the leadership of Steve Tomkins and Robb Hunt, the Village is one of the leaders in new musical development. This year, their Festival felt very “NAMT” all around. They presented staged readings of:

The Giver and Lizzie Borden from our 2010 Festival, Hello! My Baby by two Festival Alumnae (Georgia Stitt and Cheri Steinkellner), Sundays at Tiffany’s with book and lyrics by Festival Alumna Susan DiLallo, and Trails. They also presented a breathtakingly beautiful production ofCloaked by Danny Larsen and Michelle Elliott, who also wrote The Yellow Wood from our 2008 Festival. The whole Festival was fantastic and it was amazing to see so many of our alumni all in one beautiful place! Also at the Festival were Greg Schaffert from 321 Theatrical Management, Laura Little from Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre, and David Ira Goldstein from Arizona Theatre Company, who did a great job directing The Giver.

It was a perfect NAMT trip filled with new musicals and our amazing alumni and members. This is why we should all travel around to see each other’s work…you expand your horizons, get to see a different part of the country, and be inspired!