“Musical Makers . . . where imagination meets the page and stage”
FULL-LENGTH MUSICALS
ONE ACTS/SHORTS
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES• CHRISTMAS SHOWS
• MUSICAL REVUES/CABARETS
• OPERETTA
• JAZZ SCORES
• POP/ROCK SCORES
• COMEDY/FANTASY/LIGHT-HEARTED ROMANCE
• DRAMA/SUSPENSE/ADVENTURE
• GAY THEMES
• EMPHASIS ON WOMEN
• MULTI-CULTURAL/ETHNIC
• HISTORICALLY-BASED
• BIBLICAL/FAITH-BASED
• EDGY/FRINGE-TYPE
• OTHER CATEGORIES/GENRES
• SUITABLE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PERFORM
• SUITABLE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PERFORM
• SUITABLE FOR TOURING
F U L L - L E N G T H M U S I C A L S
• 90° North • Music by Daniel Sticco, book and lyrics by Doug Frew and Patti McKenny
An Eskimo boy faces strange transformations when Polar explorer Robert Peary brings him and his family to New York to display in a museum. His life becomes a fight against corruption and the damage done to his own culture. Winner of the 1997 ASCAP Bernice Cohen Award for Outstanding New Musical, nominated for the Sammy Cahn Lyricist Award and the “Broadway Bound” album. Selected in 2000 for the inaugural year of “In the Works,” an ASCAP/Disney new musicals development program at the Kennedy Center with artistic director Stephen Schwartz.
• Accidentally On Purpose • by Parousia Productions
This is a musical with audience participation. It is a story about a nutty professor (Professor Accidentally) who is giving lectures to university students. The audience is the classroom/lecture hall. As part of the curriculum he shows videos (simulated) of the counseling session he has with one of his patients (Ms. Purpose). (cont...)
• AREA 51: the musical • music/lyrics by Noel Katz, Book by Tom Carrozza
Area 51 is a constantly hilarious show about the secret government laboratory underneath the Nevada desert where stuff that falls from outer space is taken for examination. This includes aliens in glass tanks who like nothing better than to sing background doo-wop vocals. Also under the ground is an evil insurgent organization that performs a floor show (it’s not far from Las Vegas) and steals scientists from Area 51 by shooting in a ray of negativity. To combat this, the scientists, technicians, test pilots and people in black are forced to perform morale-building musical comedy song-and-dance numbers.• Belles of the Mill • music/lyrics by Jill Marshall-Work, Book by Rachel Rubin Ladutke
Based on the 1912 strike that became known as the "Bread & Roses Strike," Belles of the Mill carries the audience from the gloom of the textile mills to the floor of the United States Congress; from the strikers defending themselves in the streets to a courageous young Irish girl defending herself from her lecherous boss; from the pulpits of the churches and labor leaders to the world of a Jewish midwife who finds herself caught up in the struggle of the women who are her patients. Following the journey of two very different women who struggle to find their place in the world, this is a work that transcends its historical roots and speaks to the heart of the audience.• The Bloody Deed is Done: MacBeth, the Rock Opera • book/music/lyrics by Dan Schaff
A show of personal loss. Chicago premiere slated for 2003.• Bombed a Lot, The Music of Peter Buoy Writer • Book and Lyrics By Bill Fagan, Music By Jeff Scott
BOMBED A LOT! The Music Of Peter Buoy Wryder is a lively, high-spirited tribute to the legendary (and completely fictitious) composer’s often-memorable music. Drawing from his compositions, reviews and personal journal entries, the six cast members celebrate his good intentions and bad luck. Peter Buoy Wryder was born in London on Groundhog Day, 1932. The son of Constance and Sir Buoy Couldy Wryder, he composed more than a dozen musicals and uncountable commercial jingles for products such as “Zit-Zapper” and “My Controllable Zombie.” His musicals range from the political Dormatorium (“Make beds, not war!”), to the politically correct “Are Not Behaving Inappropriately,” and include the thirteen minute operetta P.M.S. Pinafore (“A Period Piece”). His work spanned fifty years and every style of music known to man.
• Cafe Society • Book by Nathan Ross Freeman and James Vincent Fusco, Music and Lyrics by James Vincent Fusco
A jazz musical about the great Greenwich Village club of the 30s and 40s. Cast size: 4. “A total groove! Deftly recreates the era!” —NOW Magazine• The Captain’s Boy • Book & Lyrics by Clint Jefferies, Music by Christopher Jackson
Musical fantasy. Switching jarringly between a campy, gay, pirate musical, and a 1940s film noire, exploring the wild swings between hope and despair of a young man faced with his own mortality. “If there had been a recruiting desk in the lobby, it’s a good bet that all of the overflow audience would have signed up...” Stewart Benedict, Michael’s Thing; “Wings Theatre has an amazing lineup and this production was no exception.” Mandate.
• The Christmas Bride • music and lyrics by Noel Katz, book by Margit Ahlin
The Christmas Bride is a romance in the Rodgers and Hammerstein tradition based on an obscure Dickens story, The Battle of Life, set in the rural Cotswolds as well as in big bad London. The cast requires six men and five women with specific doubling (without doubling there’d be two more men and two more women but the doubling’s part of the fun). It’s a melodramatic odyssey of a young girl who is torn between her devotion to her family and the quite different romantic interests of three men.• The Company of Women • book, music and lyrics by Noel Katz
The Company of Women is a very funny look at six female friends helping each other through a host of contemporary problems. While they all go to the same gym and the same bar, they differ in age, ethnicity, sexuality and work experience. Each of the roles is meaty, the kind that actresses covet. There are also two small parts for men, a reversal of the usual proportions.• Co-operation • music by Varick Bacon • lyrics by Jill Marshall-Work, book by Mark Bellusci
Contemporary full-length musical comedy romance in which a group of delightfully eccentric residents and Board members of a New York City co-op operate like a dysfunctional family. The show features a flambuoyant interior decorator, a beautiful but uptight corporate exec, a retired Army reserve colonel/businessman, a civil servant/resident curmudgeon, a wanna-be actor/handyman and a starry-eyed co-op applicant and her less-than-starry-eyed husband. But appearance can be deceiving….• Cowboys • by Clint Jefferies & Paul L. Johnson
The sweetest soundin’, purtiest posse of harmonizin’ hombres what ever bucked ’n’ branded ’n’ roped ’n’ rode em hard ’round the range!• A Cricket on the Hearth • David Hudson & Tim Baldwin
Musical Adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Third Christmas Novel. Great Christmas alternative to Christmas Carol.• Discovering Magenta • Book & Lyrics by James Corey Kaufman, Music by Michael Bitterman
Discovering Magenta is a psychological musical for the new millenium. Henry, a mental health worker, is stuck in a rut of pining for his ex-girlfriend and spending too much time with his bumbling roommate Eliot. He meets new friends, Cole and Rose, who challenge his ideas of what's normal and what's expected. When he meets a new patient, Katrina, he struggles between wanting to help her deal with her tragic past and wanting to succumb to his own desires for her. As Katrina’s past threatens to destroy her present, Henry must set his own emotional issues aside to help Katrina. In doing so, he has to find the specks of goodness hidden in life — he has to discover magenta.• Esther • by J. David Crosby
A Jewish girl is made queen of Persia and must rescue her nation from destruction.• Fangs: The Vampire Musical • Book & Lyrics by Clint Jefferies, Music by Michael Calderwood
In WWW occupied France, the varied occupants of a small hotel discover a vampire in their midst.• Going to Pot: The Reefer Madness Musical • Jeffrey Kauffman (Music); Russ Cowan (Book/Lyrics)
Based on the infamous film “Reefer Madness”; score adheres to time/place with a distinctly 30s feel. Composer Kauffman is recipient of several national grants, including NEA, Lila Wallace/Reader's Digest and Pew Charitable Trusts and also won Jazziz Magazine’s international Voices of the New Jazz Culture Award. Purchase CD from Footlight Records.• Hearts • Book, Music and Lyrics by James Vincent Fusco
A sophisticated, romantic musical comedy set in Washington about a young woman caught between her love for her fiancee and her love for her childhood sweetheart. Cast size: 12+, multicultural. “Masterful!” —Opera America• I Can Fly My Kite to the Moon • Book, Music and Lyrics by Mel Atkey
Freddie Baylis is a boy with a genius IQ but who is mercilessly bullied. He escapes into a fantasy world of starships. His father, his teachers and his psychiatrist all conspire to “cure” him, but his older sister Tessa holds the key to his redemtion.• In a Land Far Away • Book & Lyrics by Clint Jefferies, Music by Christopher Jackson
Musical fantasy twining several myths from The Ilyad to Camelot, questions the purpose of life in a world devoid of Gods and heroes. Finalist: Stanley Drama Award, “The lyrics contain rhymes that would please Mr. Sondheim (there can be no higher praise)” Quentin Crisp, NY Native;“"A genuinely interesting and thoughtfully entertaining piece...” Next.• Jane Eyre: The Musical • Book and Lyrics by Rebecca Thompson and Kari Skousen, Music by Bill Kilpatrick
In mid-19th century England, an orphaned girl struggles through mistreatment & separation to discover herself when she falls in love with the master of the house where she is governess. A secret in the attic threatens to destroy all. Purchase CD from Footlight Records. (search for Jane Eyre California/Quarternote.)• The King And Me • Book, Music and Lyrics by Marie Cain
An outsider experiences the hoopla of Weep Week, the annual event commemorating Elvis’ death. Synthesis of revue and book musical. 1998 LA Drama Critics Award Best Book, Music & Lyrics, Garland/Backstage West Award Best Prod.; 1999 GLAAD Media Awards Best LA Prod., Oscar Wilde Award, NY Outer Circle and NY Drama League nominations.• The Last Session • Jim Brochu (book), Steve Schalchlin (Music & Lyrics), Marie Cain, John Bettis (Lyrics)
A songwriter with AIDS records a biographical album as a suicide note. Much funnier than it sounds.
• Naked Boys Singing • Various writers, including Marie Cain
A funny and enlightening look at various situations and attitudes involving nudity. 1998 LA Weekly Award Best Musical.• On the Brink • music and lyrics by Noel Katz, sketches by Adam Belanoff, Stephen Gee and Michael Panes
On the Brink is a musical comedy revue with songs and sketches concerning the aspirations and foibles of young New Yorkers. This was the only financially successful new American musical of the 1985–86 season in New York.• Pulley of the Yard (or Murder at the Savoy) • book, music and lyrics by Noel Katz
Pulley of the Yard, or, Murder at the Savoy (its British title) requires a chorus of at least eight in addition to its three leading men and three leading women. This piece provides a perfect introduction to Gilbert and Sullivan, for it is written entirely in their style and is set backstage at an operetta company. As such, sets and costumes are rather minimal. It was the overwhelming five-star smash hit of the 50th annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1996 and was performed the following year in Newcastle, England.
• ReConfirmed Alone • by Tyler Crosser
Three young adults from three entirely different walks of life find the only solice and community is within each other. Eagerly searching for production and funding to launch this musical...• Robot Trouble • Book by David Agans • Music by Winfield Clark • Lyrics by David Agans & Winfield Clark
Original Story by David Agans
A new musical comedy about the future. Amid jewel smuggling, sabotage, seduction and blackmail, a high-minded robot takes Galactic matters into his own hands. When his plans go awry he discovers and learns to accept his own flaws.• RoxannÕs Kiss • book/music/lyrics by Dan Schaff
Slated for production by Indiana Opera North• Such a Pretty Face • Words & Music: Janet Gari, Book by Jeffrey Geddes
Overweight, talented young woman learns to overcome eating disorder by learning from others who have faced obstacles successfully. obstacles by others who have successfully faced theirs. Rave review by Max Preeo in “Show Music” magazine.• The Strange Case of the Lascivious Transformation of Mr. X • Book & Lyrics by Clint Jefferies, Music by Christopher Jackson
Musical farce. A turn of the century Beantown brothel is terrorized by a lascivious bi-sexual monster. “A laugh-riot” Stewart Benedict, Michael's Thing; “It’s a breath of fresh air, just fun!” The Villager.
• The Three Musketeers • Book & Lyrics by Clint Jefferies, Music by Paul L. Johnson
A lush, faithful, extravagant musical adaptation of the famous Dumas novel. “A doozy of a musical!” Ricky Spears, InTheater Magazine; “The Three Musketeers will be right down your alley...,” Stewart Benedict, Michael’s Thing.• Too Old for the Chorus • by Marie Cain, Shelly Markham, Mark Winkler
An entertaining and touching look at aging in a youth-obsessed culture; musical revue; 1999 2 Ovation nominations (Best Musical, Best Original Writing), 1999 LA Weekly Awards nomination Best Musical.• A Week in the Life • book, lyrics and music by Eric Endres • MP3 files
. A new musical comedy about a group of lowly Customer Service reps in the midst of a large, sales-based company. This show will be produced at the Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo, NY. May and June of 2003.
O N E - A C T M U S I C A L S / S H O R T S
• It's a Nice Place to Live, but I Wouldn't Want to Visit • Words & Music by Janet Gari; blackouts by D.F. Sweedler
Hour long revue about tourists’ experiences in New York City. Played to packed houses at “Don’t Tell Mama’ cabaret.• The Waltz • by Darin Goulet
"The Waltz" is a one-act musical based on stories and poems by Dorothy Parker. It was produced in September 1998 at the ComedySportz Theater in Minneapolis, MN, and an earlier version entitled "Not Much Fun" was produced at Harvard University in May 1997. The story follows the meeting and romance of a young man and woman in the 1920s. The music blends traditional musical theater forms with contemporary and jazz harmonies. The lyrics to the songs are all adapted from the poems of Dorothy Parker, and the material has been produced and recorded with the permission of the NAACP, which owns the rights to her work.• Yes, No, Maybe, Ommm • Ken Pedersen
Ten-minute Musical. Five musical theatre players search for nirvana. Great opener for fund-raisers and benefits.
M U S I C A L S F O R Y O U N G A U D I E N C E S
• The Cretaceous Cabaret • by Dennis Livingston
How dinosaurs living at the end of the Cretaceous Era 65 million years ago discovered they were becoming extinct - and what they thought about their fate. A “science musical” with sophisticated music, wry lyrics, fast-paced dialogue, strong appeal to adults as well as children.
• Freddy the Flat-Faced School Bul • Book & Lyrics by Jill Marshall-Work, Music by Howard Pfeifer
Freddy the Flat-Faced School Bus has a hard time gaining acceptance by the other “standard” school busses, but then a city-wide crisis helps the buses realize that every bus counts when they need to pull together. Upbeat one-act on themes of tolerance and acceptance of those who are “different.”• The Magic of Christmas • by Jacqueline McMahon
The story takes place at a community centre/shelter in a poor neighborhood. Several local kids participate in the programs there and they are preparing a Christmas pageant. What they don't know is that the centre is in severe financial crisis and may be closing. Only the littlest child believes in the magical angel who manipulates the happy ending.• Not a Lion! • music and lyrics by Noel Katz, book by Lee Rooklin and Jodi Walder-Biesanz .
Not a Lion is an original musical for children about a land where a witch has frozen time because she doesn't want to turn 30. An ordinary housecat becomes an unlikely hero, along with his three young owners. Originally presented for a long run in Los Angeles with a cast of thirteen under the title, Popsicle Palace, the show was later adapted for performance by children at the Queens Theatre-in-the-Park and has since been done in Detroit and Greenwich Village.• Once Upon a Time • by Jacqueline McMahon
Once upon a time A story of two present day girls who are being punished in their room for being lazy and ungrateful to their parents for everything they have. The girls find themselves in a strange land full of doors which they must go through to try to find their way back home and they meet several characters along the way who help them learn their much needed lesson in appreciation before they get home.
• The Pirate Captains (or Pirate Kate and Captain Jan) • book, music and lyrics by Noel Katz
The Pirate Captains was commissioned by a troupe looking to bring opera to school children, age ten and up. It's a consistently silly piece loosely based on the true history of eighteenth century pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Although intended for a cast of one soprano and one mezzo-soprano, the commissioning company asked for a version in which a man (baritone) replaces the mezzo, so there's a choice of two versions.• Pots and Pan • David Hudson & Mary Anne Stickler
American Sequel to Peter Pan, Takes place in “Neverland,” an abandoned amusement park outside of Pittsburgh. Due to International Copyright Issues, Not available outside USA.• The Princess and the Ogre • by Jacqueline McMahon
This fairy tale takes place in a Kingdom filled with music and dancing but the King of the land must banish music from the kingdom or fulfill a spell cast by a witch which promises the King's daughter to marry an Ogre. This play has a real message in believing in yourself and not letting others keep you from being who you are.• Will & Meriweather’s Excellent Adventue (The Lewis & Clark Expedition) • music/lyrics by Jill Marshall-Work, Book by Jack Dyvile
A Vaudevillian take on the historic journey. Fast-paced musical presents history and historical trivia in a fun way. (FAMILY AUDIENCES)
CHRISTMAS SHOWS
• The Christmas Bride
• A Cricket on the Hearth
• The Magic of ChristmasMUSICAL REVUES/CABARETS
• It’s a Nice Place to Live, but I Wouldn’t Want to Visit
• The King And Me
• On the Brink
• Too Old for the Chorus
OPERETTA
• Pulley of the Yard (or Murder at the Savoy)
• The Pirate Captains (or Pirate Kate and Captain Jan)
• The Bloody Deed Is Done, MacBeth, the Rock Opera
• Roxann’s Kiss (pop opera)JAZZ SCORES
• Cafe Society
• Going to Pot: The Reefer Madness Musical
• The WaltzPOP/ROCK SCORES
• The Bloody Deed Is Done, MacBeth, the Rock Opera
• Roxann’s Kiss (pop opera)
COMEDY/FANTASY/LIGHT-HEARTED ROMANCE
• Accidentally On Purpose
• Area 51: the Musical
• Bombed a Lot
• The Captain’s Boy
• The Christmas Bride
• The Company of Women
• Co-operation
• Hearts
• The King And Me
• Pulley of the Yard (or Murder at the Savoy)
• A Week in the Life
• Will & Meriweathers Excellent Adventure (The Lewis & Clark Expedition)DRAMA/SUSPENSE/ADVENTURE
• 90° North
• Belles of the Mill
• Discovering Magenta
• Jane Eyre: The Musical
• The Three MusketeersGAY THEMES
• The Captain’s BoyEMPHASIS ON WOMEN
• Belles of the Mill
• The Company of Women
• The Pirate Captains (or Pirate Kate and Captain Jan)MULTI-CULTURAL/ETHNIC
• 90° North (Eskimo)
• Belles of the Mill (immigrant)HISTORICALLY-BASED
• 90° North (explorer brings Eskimo family to be museum display)
• Belles of the Mill (1912 labor strike turned violent)
• The Pirate Captains (real-life pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read)
• Will & Meriweathers Excellent Adventure (The Lewis & Clark Adventure)BIBLICAL/FAITH-BASED
• EstherSUITABLE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PERFORM
• Not a LionSUITABLE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS TO PERFORM
• Not a LionSUITABLE FOR TOURING
• The Pirate Captains (or Pirate Kate and Captain Jan)