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Overview

September 24 - 25

Musicals

The Ark

Director
Guy Stroman

Cast
John Carter, Catherine Gale, Kia Glover, Anne Kanengeiser, Ingrid Ladendorf, Doug Ladendorf, John Tinney and Ron Trenouth

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

A rock-ish, folk-ish, lovingly faithful musical retelling, The Ark is a tale of one man’s vision, his family’s struggle for faith, and the singular voyage they all share (with, of course, a few animals). Son Ham rails against Father Noah plan to set sail with the animals of the world — and to complicate matters, Ham has brought a new wife along for the ride, much to his family’s surprise. And then the rain begins.

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Convenience

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

Convenience is a nearly through-sung musical, part comedy, part drama. During an awkward, funny, angry, and ground-breaking visit home, a single mother and her Generation-X son learn from their past selves and their future partners how to walk through a doorway without slamming it shut forever. Both mother and son have a secret: shes re-marrying; he has a boyfriend. From the second Vince walks through the door, the sparks fly. Liz, Vinces mother, only sees her rebellious son, while Vince only sees the mother who froze twenty years ago when their family divorced. When the past starts demanding to be heard (literally) both mother and son realize that things must change if they want to move forward. Show Music magazine says, “Coffin has a sense of humor,” “[His score] contains varied rhythms with lyrics [that] don’t betray his characters.” Talkin’ Broadway’s online review says, “The score is quick, complex, and extremely catchy. Coffin’s book effectively mixes humor and tension,

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Cupid And Psyche

Director
Will Pomerantz

Cast
Belle Calaway, Kate Gilligan and Karl du Hoffman

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

A vibrant, vivacious retelling of the myth of forbidden lovers. The book sparkles with sly wit, the songs are by turns laugh-out-loud funny and achingly romantic, and the classical tale shines anew, making for a luminous, deeply-felt show in the magical vein of The Fantasticks and Pippin.

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Far From The Madding Crowd

Director
Karen Azenberg

Music Director
Brad Vieth

Cast
Jodi Capeless, Culver Casson, Robert Driemeyer, Paul Gallagher, Jesse Johnson, Ann Lauderbach, Raymond McLeod, Kristy Merola, Kelli Rabke, Greg Stone, Connie Tucker, Jen Waldman, Tim Warman, Rod Weber and Marcus Woolen

Synopsis

The poetic and emotional tale of romance and beauty. Set in the countryside of Victorian England, the courageous and passionate Bathesheba Everdene fights to hold on to her estate and to those she loves.

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Glimmerglass

Director
Nick Corley

Music Director
Darren Cohen

Cast
Catherine Gale, James Judy, David M. Lutken, Kerry O'Malley, Jennifer Piech, Thom Sesma, Brian Sutherland, William Whitehead and Paul Woodson

Synopsis

Join Natty Bumpo, the quintessential American hero, and Chingachgook, his Indian companion, as they return to the scene of their early triumphs. Glimmerlgass spins a colorful tale of high adventure and romance against the backdrop of the War of Independence.

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Hot And Sweet

Music Director
Paul Bogaev and Bob Gustafson

Cast
Kerry Butler, Robert Chabala, Catherine Cox, John Driver, Liz Larsen and KT Sullivan

Synopsis

Set in 1945 Chicago, an all-girls band storms the music scene with their fresh sound and hot swing style. Hot and Sweet captures the dynamic personal and professional lives of a group of female musicians while blending rich jazz sounds with close harmonies, stand alone ballads, pop standards and swing.

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Joe!

Synopsis

Joe! is a musical about a guy who gets trapped in a musical. To Joe, a stuffy dramatic actor, breaking into song seems scary. One morning, he wakes to find his alarm clock singing, his parents soft-shoeing through breakfast, and his life erupting into song and dance. Truly, Joe! is not a musical–it turns into one.

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Liberty Smith


Roger Bart

Director
Sarah Gurfield

Music Director
Michael Lavine

Cast
John Ayers, Gavin Creel, Susan Egan, Allen Fitzpatrick, Jeff Gardner, Jodie Langel, Ken Prymus, Anthony Rapp, Robin Skye, Mary Stout and Clarke Thorell

Synopsis

Meet Liberty, the amazing American frontiersman with the uncanny ability to be present at the greatest historical moments, including the Boston Tea Party, the discovery of electricity, and the midnight ride of Paul Revere. This fast-paced ride through early American life is a history lesson like no other!

More about Liberty Smith

Lizzie Borden

Director
Bill Castellino

Cast
Michael Babin, Joan Barber, Madeline Blue, Danica Connors, Brenda Cummings, Kevin Delaquilla, Alison Fraser, Eleanor Glockner, Rex Hays, Karen Murphy, Roland Rusinek and Denise Summerford

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

The events and trial of Lizzie Borden, accused of killing her father and stepmother with an axe. “…Ambitious…an unnerving, provocative tale..the musical has distinct possibilities for a future life. Richly layered choral passages by townsfolk, merchants and the gossipy tea-party matrons relate the accumulating facts… ‘Fly Away’, which describes Lizzie’s yearnings, and ‘The House On The Hill’, about the promise of future comfort and security, are quite lovely. (Alison) Fraser portrays the alleged murderess with coiled intensity.” –Variety SHOW WEBSITE: http://members.aol.com/bearluvva/index.html

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Mandela

More about Mandela

Writers & Artists

Adam Abraham

Lyrics, Liberty Smith

Jonathan Bolt

Book, Glimmerglass

Barbara Campbell

Book & Lyrics, Far From The Madding Crowd

Gregg Coffin

Book & Lyrics & Music, Convenience

Douglas Jonathan Cohen

Music, Glimmerglass

Douglas J. Cohen (composer/lyricist) is the recipient of two Richard Rodgers Awards (No Way to Treat a Lady, The Gig), a Jonathan Larson Grant (Barnstormer), a Drama Desk nomination (Children’s Letters to God), a Drama League nomination (Don’t Stay Safe with collaborator Cheryl L. Davis), and the Fred Ebb Award. Off-Broadway productions as include Manhattan Theatre Club, The York Theatre Company, The Cell Theatre, and reginonal productions at Williamstown, Signature Theater, Barrington Stage, and Goodspeed. The Gig, Glimmerglass, and Barnstormer were presented in NAMT’s Festival of New Musicals. A Studio Album of The Big Time (Concord Records, co-written with librettist Douglas Carter Beane) stars Santino Fontana, Debbie Gravitte, Will Swenson, Jackie Hoffman and other members from the sold-out, January 2020 McCarter Theatre concert. Doug’s first non-fiction book, How to Survive a Killer Musical, was published by Applause Books, September 1st. He is a member of ASCAP and The Dramatists Guild.

Eric Cohen

Book, Liberty Smith

Eric R Cohen is a graduate of New York’s School of Visual Arts. His screenplay, Liberty Smith written with Marc Madnick, has been optioned for every medium but has found its biggest success on the stage as a theatrical musical. It was selected for The National Alliance of Musical Theatre Festival (2000), The New York Musical Theatre Festival (2005) and received its world premiere production in 2011 at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. It was nominated for six Helen Hayes Awards and went on to become one of the most successful musicals ever produced at this historic landmark. In addition to Fortunate Sons his current writing projects include two screenplays, Video Nation, a comedic look at the early years of home video and Dear Prudence, about the estranged relationship between a rock star and his daughter, both for Plausible Films.

Ted Drachman

Lyrics, Glimmerglass

Steven Michael Fisher

Book & Lyrics & Music, Mandela

Steve Fisher’s first full-time career was in conducting. During the pandemic he retired, and went from writing very part time to writing full time. His musicals, which have been performed in New York and in cities around the world, include Isabelle and The Pretty-Ugly Spell (which received a rave in the New York Times), Mandela (Richard Rodgers Award finalist), Mother B, In The Theatre, The Little Dancer (featured on Good Morning America), Elysian Fields, and Ubuntu! His play The Last Boy was the first show in New York after the pandemic and enjoyed a sold out run and rave reviews. It won 4 Broadway World Awards for best play, production, direction and actor. Steve’s screenplays include 28, Also Michelangelo, The Johnnys, Sindi, and 80 and OUT. His TV pilots include Golems, Innocenzo, and Dreamland. He is an alumni of both the BMI and ASCAP Workshops. His mentor is Stephen Schwartz.

Sean Hartley

Book & Lyrics, Cupid And Psyche

Sean Hartley’s works include Cupid And Psyche, written with composer Jihwan Kim, for which he received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Lyrics; Little Women (with songs by Kim Oler and Alison Hubbard), which has had several regional productions; Love and Real Estate (three one acts written with composer Sam Davis) ; and Snow, for which he wrote book, music and lyrics and which won the ASCAP Harold Arlen Award for Best New Musical. His works for television include songs for the Disney Channel’s The Book of Pooh and Bear In the Big Blue House. His works for children include Number The Stars, Sunshine and Holy Moses! (book by Bob Kolsby.) He is the director of Theater@Kaufman, the musical theater division of the Kaufman Music Center in New York City, where he curates, produces and hosts the concert series Broadway Close Up and Broadway Playhouse.

Kevin Kelly

Book & Lyrics, The Ark

Jihwan Kim

Music, Cupid And Psyche

Jihwan Kim is an NYC based composer. With lyricist Adam Gwon, he has written music for THE SECRET SILK, to be premiered on Princess Cruises in 2018. With lyricist/bookwriter Sean Hartley, he wrote CUPID and PSYCHE which was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Lyrics, and was produced Off Broadway at the John Houseman Theatre. With lyricist/bookwriter Eddie Sugarman, he wrote THE NUTCRACKER SINGS and CINDERELLA AFTER THE BALL, which premiered at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. He was the orchestrator of THE MOON AND THE SON, which won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Other works: One World Symphony, Ureuk Symphony Orchestra, LES DEUX TIMIDES film score live-to-picture at the Tribeca Film Festival. Education: B.A. at Harvard University, M.A. in Film Scoring at NYU, and a J.D. at Rutgers Law School.

Dan Lipton

Book & Lyrics & Music, Joe!

Dan Lipton and David Rossmer are longtime collaborators who have created several original musicals, jointly writing all music, book and lyrics. Their musical comedy The Blonde Streak was commissioned by Broadway Across America and developed at the Orchard Project. Their form-bending musical satire JOE! (NAMT Festival 2000) was seen at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab and Chicago’s Equity Library Theatre.  JOE! is currently in development as a 3-D movie musical.  Rossmer & Lipton are currently working for Araca Group on adapting a bestselling memoir, with playwright Jessica Provenz.  Their sketch comedy musical Rated PĶ for Parenthood, written with Sandy Rustin, premiered at SOPAC in NJ and is optioned for production off-Broadway.  Other projects include:  a Depression-era book musical with television writer Janis Hirsch, a futuristic concept musical with Kirsten Guenther, and a biographical show about B-movie king Roger Corman with Wayne Rawley.  Lipton & Rossmer have written special material for singers including Kelli O’Hara (ÄúAlwaysÄù album, Lincoln Center, Town Hall) and Sutton Foster (Joe’s Pub).  And the duo co-created, with Steve Rosen and Sarah Saltzberg, the comedy improv variety show Don’t Quit Your Night Job, which began at Joe’s Pub and ran off-Broadway.

Marc Madnick

Book, Liberty Smith

In 1991, Madnick co-conceived the idea for Final Draft software, which quickly became an essential tool for the entertainment industry. Today, Final Draft is the most widely used writing software in film, television, and theater, and touts worldwide initiatives for education and outreach to aspiring writers as well as scholarships and grant monies. In 2011, Madnick’s musical LIBERTY SMITH made its worldwide premiere at the historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. In 2013, Madnick proudly received the prestigious Primetime Emmy Engineering Award for Contributions to the Television Development Process. Madnick has followed his lifelong passions of writing, collaborating, producing, and launching new, original works and is now focused on his live entertainment business, where he has cultivated a slate of new work that includes Fortunate Sons and the world premiere of a TRADING PLACES musical that premiered at the Alliance Theatre in 2022.

Christopher McGovern

Book & Lyrics & Music, Lizzie Borden

Michael H McLean

Book & Lyrics & Music, The Ark

MICHAEL MCLEAN is a songwriter, composer, author, performer, playwright, film producer and director.

As a SONGWRITER Michael has written music and lyrics for more than 30 albums and has sold over two million copies since his first release in 1983

As an AUTHOR he’s written six books, each with accompanying CDs. Distant Serenade, Hold On, The Light Will Come , From God’s Arms To My Arms To Yours¨¨, Mission To Be Happy , The Forgotten Carols and Fairy Tale Christmas

As a PERFORMER Michael has starred in a theatrical version of The Forgotten Carols to sold-out audiences on his yearly holiday tour. (over 800,000 tkts sold)

As a FILMMAKER Michael was the original story writer, producer and director of the film ÄúNora’s Christmas GiftÄù starring Academy Award winner Celeste Holm . Producer and original story co-writer of the holiday television classic ÄúMr. Krueger’s ChristmasÄù starring film legend James Stewart.

NAMT Alumni Writer (The Ark)

Amy Powers

Lyrics, Lizzie Borden

David Rossmer

Book & Lyrics & Music, Joe!

Dan Lipton and David Rossmer are longtime collaborators who have created several original musicals, jointly writing all music, book and lyrics. Their musical comedy The Blonde Streak was commissioned by Broadway Across America and developed at the Orchard Project. Their form-bending musical satire JOE! (NAMT Festival 2000) was seen at the Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab and Chicago’s Equity Library Theatre.  JOE! is currently in development as a 3-D movie musical.  Rossmer & Lipton are currently working for Araca Group on adapting a bestselling memoir, with playwright Jessica Provenz.  Their sketch comedy musical Rated PĶ for Parenthood, written with Sandy Rustin, premiered at SOPAC in NJ and is optioned for production off-Broadway.  Other projects include:  a Depression-era book musical with television writer Janis Hirsch, a futuristic concept musical with Kirsten Guenther, and a biographical show about B-movie king Roger Corman with Wayne Rawley.  Lipton & Rossmer have written special material for singers including Kelli O’Hara (ÄúAlwaysÄù album, Lincoln Center, Town Hall) and Sutton Foster (Joe’s Pub).  And the duo co-created, with Steve Rosen and Sarah Saltzberg, the comedy improv variety show Don’t Quit Your Night Job, which began at Joe’s Pub and ran off-Broadway.

Gary Schocker

Music, Far From The Madding Crowd

Barbara Schottenfeld

Book & Lyrics & Music, Hot And Sweet

Michael Weiner

Music, Liberty Smith

Michael Weiner & Alan Zachary wrote songs for Broadway’s First Date, which ran at the Longacre Theatre after a sold-out run at Seattle’s 5th Avenue/ACT Theatres. The show can now be seen in productions across the U.S. and around the world. Recently, Zachary and Weiner penned songs for the acclaimed musical episode of Once Upon a Time on ABC. The team wrote the score for a musical adaptation of the film Secondhand Lions (book by Rupert Holmes) which premiered at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Upcoming musical projects include: 17 Again directed by Adam Shankman and 13 Going on 30 directed by Andy Fickman. For Universal Studios, the duo wrote songs with J.K. Rowling for Celestina Warbeck & the Banshees playing at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Currently, Zachary and Weiner are developing a TV series with Universal Television starring Kristin Chenoweth and have created shows for ABC, FOX, Disney Channel, Disney Animation and Disney Parks around the globe. Zachary and Weiner are recipients of the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award. www.zacharyandweiner.com

This page was last updated on 08/18/2017. Some musical and writer information may be more recent.