15th Annual Festival of New Musicals

In 1960, Tom Jones and composer Harvey Schmidt wrote THE FANTASTICKS, which ran for forty-two years Off-Broadway (and is now approaching its tenth year in revival) followed by the musicals 110 IN THE SHADE, I DO! I DO! , CELEBRATION, COLETTE COLLAGE and others. After the retirement of Mr. Schmidt in 2004, Mr. Jones has been working with composer Joseph Thalken on a musical version of HAROLD & MAUDE, which is expecting a London opening next year, and with composer Jacques Offenbach (abetted by Nancy Ford) on a musical version of the Anatol plays of Schnitzler called THE GAME OF LOVE. Working on LA TEMPESTA with the talented young composer Andrew Gerle represents the realization of a life long dream.

Julia Jordan musical books include Sarah Plain and Tall (NAMT Festival 2003)and The Mice, both written with Larry O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin. Upcoming musicals: Storyville and Murder Ballad.  . Plays include Smoking Lesson, Tatjana in Color, St. Scarlet, Boy, Dark Yellow, and Jones.  Currently in development, the film Tell Me Something I Don’t Know with Glen Luchford slated to direct. Kleban Award, Francesca Primus Prize, Lucille Lortel Playwriting Fellowship, Manhattan Theater Club Fellowship, Jonathan Larson Award, Heideman Award and LeComte Nouy Award. She is one of the founders of The Lilly Awards and sits on the Council of the Dramatists Guild.

Playwright-composer-lyricist Matthew Sheridan’s work has been presented by National Alliance for Musical Theatre, Cardiff Musical Theatre Festival (UK), American Globe Theatre with Turnip Theatre Company, The Human Race Theatre Company, the Dramatists Guild, Opera on the Go, Around the Block with the New York Public Library, Camino Real Playhouse, and Theatre Resources Unlimited. AUDITION is published by Playscripts in GREAT SHORT COMEDIES.

Cheri and Bill Steinkellner have earned Four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, the Writers Guild, People’s Choice, Parents’ Choice, World Animation Award and the British BAFTA for writing and producing television’s Cheers and Disney’s Teacher’s Pet. Tony-nominated for Sister Act the Musical (with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater), the Steinkellners wrote librettos for Princesses (with David Zippel and Matthew Wilder), Mosaic (with Georgia Stitt). Additional TV: The Jeffersons, Who’s the Boss? Family Ties, The Facts of Life, Bob (Newhart), and Hope and Gloria. Additional stage includes the award-winning comedy Our Place and InstaPlay, L.A.s original and longest-running all-improvised musical. Bill teaches writing at USC, improvisation at UCSB and Santa Barbara City College, and is the best-selling author of Postcards from the Moon. They live in beautiful Montecito, CA, where they raised their three favorite writers/artists/children: Kit, Teddy, and Emma

Cheri and Bill Steinkellner have earned Four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, the Writers Guild, People’s Choice, Parents’ Choice, World Animation Award and the British BAFTA for writing and producing television’s Cheers and Disney’s Teacher’s Pet. Tony-nominated for Sister Act the Musical (with Alan Menken and Glenn Slater), the Steinkellners wrote librettos for Princesses (with David Zippel and Matthew Wilder), Mosaic (with Georgia Stitt). Cheri is an Ovation nominee and Indy award winner, writing book and lyrics for Hello! My Baby (with Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Eubie Blake, and many more). Additional TV: The Jeffersons, Who’s the Boss? Family Ties, The Facts of Life, Bob (Newhart), and Hope and Gloria. Additional stage includes the award-winning comedy Our Place and InstaPlay, L.A.s original and longest-running all-improvised musical. Cheri teaches writing at Stanford University and UCSB, studies Engaged Humanities at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and directs international award winning youth-theater.

Joseph Thalken is the composer of the musicals Harold & Maude, Was, Fall of 94, Borrowed Dust, and Inventions for Piano, and has written several dance scores, including Chasing Home and Life Interrupted, and has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Somerled Charitable Foundation and the Shen Family Foundation. He has served as music director and/or arranger for luminaries of Broadway and classical music, including Julie Andrews, Patti LuPone, Liza Minnelli, Rebecca Luker, Marin Mazzie, Sierra Boggess, Bernadette Peters, Sally Wilfert, Renée Fleming, Kristin Chenoweth, Polly Bergen, Faith Prince, Elizabeth Futral, Catherine Malfitano, Denyce Graves, Joshua Bell, Michael Crawford, Julian Ovenden, Howard McGillin, Hugh Panaro, Jason Danieley, Nathan Gunn, Rodney Gilfry and Brian Stokes Mitchell, among others. He has taught music theater composition at Yale University and is a long-time resident of New York City.

Matthew Wilder
Three time Grammy Nominee
Oscar and Golden Globe Nominated Writer and Producer

Launching his recording career as a songwriter and a performer, Matthew Wilder scored a worldwide hit with his single, “Break My Stride” from the Private I/Epic album ÄúI Don’t Speak The LanguageÄù. Wilder has become a top record producer, producing, among many others, No Doubt’s hit album, ÄúTragic KingdomÄù. ÄúTragic KingdomÄù has sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and earned Wilder a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album.
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As the composer, producer, singer and instrumentalist for Disney’s 36th animated feature “Mulan”, Matthew Wilder won the Annie Award for Best Music in an Animated Feature and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Song and Best Score. Wilder also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Score in a Comedy or Musical and another Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
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