Free Speech Zone tells the story of an absurd on-campus confrontation between Megan Wallace, a conservative college sophomore, and Deborah Sprecher, a liberal English teacher. The fallout from their actions reach the highest levels of the university administration and state government, ultimately subverting the freedom speech for everyone involved.
I’m really excited to share that I will be playing Schroeder in a very special, newly devised production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.
The production is based on a concept created by Nick Cearly and Lauren Molina – also known as The Skivvies: an indie-rock, alt-cabaret, burlesque duo based in NYC.
In this new take on the classic show, the Peanuts gang are their own band. Each of us take turns playing multiple instruments from piano, guitar, and drums to melodica, cello, banjo and even boomwhackers.
Sitting down to (finally!) read Stephen Sondheim’s two volume lyrical retrospective “Finishing the Hat” and “Look! I Made a Hat”, I have been warmed by the nostalgia I feel remembering the many times I obsessed over these lyrics and these shows. Sondheim was, for me, the immaculate master. My other childhood inspiration, William Finn, was messy, emotional, illogical — all too human. Sondheim was precise, exacting, and inevitable. (Put together I used to tell people that Finn informed my heart and Sondheim my brain).
My newest musical, Passing Through, with a book by Eric Ulloa and based on the memoir “Walking to Listen” by Andrew Forsthoefel will be presented at Goodspeed’s 13th Annual Festival of New Musicals in January.
We’re super excited to hear the piece aloud with a cast of actors and have it play in front of audiences. It’s a big opportunity, and we couldn’t be happier.
Under the leadership of Executive Director, Michael Gennaro, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the preservation, development and advancement of musical theatre and is the first theatre in the nation to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement). Passing Through was developed over the course of two years at Goodspeed’s Johnny Mercer Writers Colony, and the Rhinebeck Writer’s Retreat.
Tickets are available here and are very cheap if you’re interested in coming up for the weekend or even the day. Our presentation is on Sunday January 14th at 1pm.
Click below to listen to “Cut You Out” – a song from the show.
Every now and then I get the opportunity to play piano for the Wicked auditions in Los Angeles. I haven’t done it too often, but it struck me this week as I played 16 bars for nearly 200 singers, that the last time I did was a year ago.
A year ago. Election week 2016.
I remember it vividly. I played two days that week. Monday and Wednesday.
When I left on Monday, the mood was exuberant. “See you after we elect our first female president!” I probably said leaving the room, skipping. Everything was possible. I skipped everywhere back in those days.
Sure Hillary wasn’t always a Popular candidate. People feared and mistrusted her simply because of who she was. Some even called her a witch. But though she was guarded, wonkish, and at times inaccessible, one thing she definitely was not is green. She had a lifetime of experience. When it came to running the country, I knew Hillary would be a Wizard and I was so excited to vote for her.
Earlier this month, Indiana University presented four workshop performances of Joe Schmoe Saves the World. The piece was provocative, empowering, and very well-received by a diverse audience of different ages and backgrounds.
Anonymity is a powerful strength. You often see it used to terrible effect by trolls on social media and comment boards. But it can be used for good by famous writers who take on a pseudonym in order to write outside their “accepted” genre. It’s also the reason that masks are so intriguing. We don’t know who it is behind the facade.
Another way this can be used, but often isn’t, is in casting. Producers, directors, and writers are often celebrity-obsessed. Celebrity being in many ways the antithesis of anonymity. Celebrities, of course, allows any project to more easily attract funding. But it can sometimes get in the way of allowing the audience to really see and believe the character.
There’s a certain pessimism that allows you to be blasé about not receiving the grants/awards you apply for as a writer. It’s the pessimism that says, “Chances are I won’t win this, but I’ll try anyway.” Then when you aren’t selected you can say to yourself, “See, I thought so.” Or if you are, you can be pleasantly and genuinely surprised/honored.
I wrote my musical Joe Schmoe Saves the World in reaction to not winning the Richard Rodgers award one year, dissatisfied with the artists who had. I thought of the Stravinsky quote: “The one true comment on a piece of music is another piece of music.” Resentment/bitterness/sour grapes can be transformed into something truly worthwhile.
Often I find I can learn a lot from people who receive grants/awards for which I also applied. It introduces me to a new type of work or a new way of thinking. It gives me inspiration to see other peers finally receive due attention. It forces me to pay attention to what people are responding to and strive for greatness in my own work.
There are people in your phone and they have something they’d like to sing to you.
That’s right – all those emojis you use to embellish or simplify your texts are people, too, and now there’s a brand new musical in the works about them. Yes, even the pile of poo.
Thankfully, their songs have music and lyrics by Keith Harrison and a book by Keith and Laura Harrison. (Yes, they’re married. And yes they’re adorable.)
A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting an event called Musi-CAL. Presented by the Festival of New American Musicals, Musi-CAL is a bimonthly concert series featuring material from new and in-progress musicals written by Southern Californian composers, lyricists, and bookwriters.
The final presentation was Keith and Laura’s show, Emojiland. I can’t even describe the energy that filled the room with each song they presented. Everyone in attendance was blown away by the quality and production-value of their work. It was simply stellar.
