Festival Show Update: THE TROUBLE WITH DOUG

An interview with the writers of The Trouble with Doug, Daniel Maté and Will Aronson, about the developments on their 2010 Festival show as it prepares for a production at NAMT member theatre Arts Garage down in Florida this spring.  

A contemporary re-imagining of Kafka’s "Metamorphosis," The Trouble With Doug is a hilarious and moving new musical about a healthy young man who transforms inexplicably into a giant talking slug. Thrust together awkwardly under the same roof, Doug, his family, and his fiancée all struggle to understand and respond to this strangest of crises. 

Last time we checked in with you, Doug was heading to Palo Alto, CA for TheatreWorks' festival.  How was that process for you and the show? 
We had a great time in Palo Alto. TheatreWorks provides a unique workshopping opportunity – a chance to perform the show in front of an audience, rewrite, re-tech, perform again, and then repeat that process three times. You can really take the show into the laboratory and experiment. (There’s really no better way to see what works and what doesn't than to watch the show in front of actual people a few times!)

What changes did you make to the show while in California? 
After watching the show, we felt that our titular character was under-developed — so we added several new musical moments for Doug throughout the first act to clarify his arc and round him out a bit more. We also tried out a number of new scenes for Doug’s family, and also ended up with a slightly gentler ending.
 
You are currently rewriting the show for a production down at Arts Garage in Florida.  What are your goals with this rewrite?   

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? 

Festival Show Update: MEET JOHN DOE

An update from Andrew Gerle and Eddie Sugarman about their 2005 NAMT Festival show Meet John Doe, based on the Capra film, about the getting the show licensed, recorded and ready to go out into the world.  

There are big new developments for Meet John Doe, and we're so excited to share them with all the NAMT members and our fellow writers. Since the Festival, we've seen several very different productions of the show, and now that it's been licensed by Rodgers & Hammerstein Theatricals, we can't wait to see what other theaters, large and small, do with it. We also just released the cast album on Broadway Records with Heidi Blickenstaff, Jim Moye and Robert Cuccioli (one of Talkin' Broadway's top 10 cast albums of 2013!), which was a huge thrill and an even huger surprise—more on that later.

We're so grateful to NAMT and all the organizations that have helped us along the way, and are very excited that the album will allow many more people to meet John Doe. NAMT was the beginning of a perfect development process for us. At a retreat at TheatreWorks, we were able to write several new songs, and then incorporate them at a workshop at Carousel Dinner Theater. A student production at the Hartt School of Music allowed us to see the show and fine-tune the book, and an extensive rehearsal process at Goodspeed Musicals gave us the opportunity to add another couple of songs and address big-picture issues like pacing and flow.

The process culminated with our world premiere in DC at the Ford's Theater. We swapped out another couple songs for that production, and were overwhelmed by how well the show played for large houses (9 Helen Hayes nominations and 2 wins!). What was maybe most exciting was how much it entertained and moved the Ford's many high school audiences, who had

Musical Gift Giving this Holiday Season

The holidays are here and 'tis the season of giving. After you are done giving to your favorite not-for-profits (like NAMT) this year, why not spread your love of musical theatre!

Over the last few years, many of our Festival shows have released albums. They are all great gifts and run the gamut from rock (Lizzie) to bluegrass (Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge), something for everyone!

Or maybe you want an album devoted to just one artist?  We have a few of those, too, from NAMT Festival alumni writers who have put out non-show albums of their work: 

 

All of these albums and more (including scripts, piano scores and mp3 downloads) can be bought at NAMT's Amazon store!  And when you shop on our store, NAMT receives a portion of the profits from Amazon, so it is like you are giving twice!

Click here to start shopping!

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: THE OTHER JOSH COHEN

An interview with Paper Mill Playhouse's Mark Hoebee about their upcoming production of The Other Josh Cohen by David Rossmer (NAMT Fest '10- notes to MariAnne, '00- Joe! The Musical) and Steve Rosen.

The Other Josh Cohen is more than an original new musical comedy. It's the true story of a good guy who is trying to break a streak of incredibly bad luck. He's single, broke, and just a few days before Valentine's Day his apartment is robbed of everything but one Neil Diamond CD. Six days later a mysterious letter arrives in his mailbox which changes his life forever. Will his Jewish guilt allow him to enjoy his good fortune? Will he ever be able to stop kicking himself if he doesn't? And will there ever be a time when nice guys finish first? Yep.

How did Josh Cohen find his way from his Off Broadway productions to Paper Mill?
I have known NY producer Kevin McCollum since we did summer stock together the year we both graduated college. Kevin and I have kept in touch over the years and have discussed several projects that he had which might be appropriate for Paper Mill including White Christmas which was wildly successful here last season. After Josh Cohen ran at SoHo Rep, Kevin spoke to me about the show and sent me the materials. I found the piece incredibly funny, charming, entertaining and was most impressed by the company of actor/musicians that bring the show to life - two of whom are the authors of the piece David Rossmer and Steve Rosen.

What drew you to the show and why is it a good fit for your audience?
I was most excited about this show playing at Paper Mill because it speaks to the new demographic of audience members here. Paper Mill's audience has been shifting and changing over the last six or so years. We now have a subscriber base of over 20,000 with an annual attendance of more than 200,000. The segment of audience with the largest growth has been patrons in the 35-50 age demographic. They are mostly urban transplants who have moved to the area to enjoy the benefits of living in the suburbs and to start families, but they retain their younger, hipper sensibilities. We have found that they are looking for contemporary, slightly edgier, more sophisticated musical options, and that is exactly what this show offers.

Paper Mill has a history of developing large new musicals like your recent hit, Honeymoon in Vegas, but this show is a smaller show in topic and size. Will the show get bigger for your stage or stay small and quirky?