New Work in Progress Articles

Home » New Work in Progress

Blog

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Americano!

December 4, 2019

Next, we spoke with Michael Barnard, Producing Artistic Director, and Vincent VanVleet, Managing Director, at NAMT member The Phoenix Theatre Company about their upcoming new musical Americano!, written by Barnard, Jonathan Rosenberg and Carrie Rodriguez. The musical is set to open at the end of January.
Americano! is based on the real life story of DREAMer Tony Valdovinos. His parents move the family from Mexico to the U.S. looking for a safer and more prosperous future when Tony is only two—but they never share their undocumented status with him. He is shocked to be turned down by the Marines as an illegal immigrant when he tries to enlist on his 18th birthday. Americano! traces Tony’s search for identity as he struggles to fit into a world where the only home he has ever known is suddenly ripped away.
What is The Phoenix Theatre Company’s history with new works, and how does this production of Americano! fit into your overall commitment to new works development?
The Phoenix Theatre Company has a long history of new work development, as well as a growing Festival of New American Theatre—recent world premieres include Lucky Star, Unbeatable, Dream a Little Dream, Love Makes the World Go ‘Round, When You Wish, Cookin’s a Drag and Sisters in Law. Five years ago, we made a serious commitment to increasing the tempo of new work development, and we are thrilled to say we have not only met, but exceeded expectations. Americano! was created entirely within our new work development program, and will have its world premiere on our Mainstage on January 31, 2020, as part of our 100th anniversary season. It is a human story about a DREAMer and his family—a young man devoted to this country and seeking his place in America. It comes at a very relevant time.

Tell us a little bit about the genesis of this project and what inspired The Phoenix Theatre Company to develop the project through to full production.
The spark for Americano! was struck during a chance conversation at a wedding almost five years ago. Jason Rose, owner of a prominent Scottsdale public relations, public affairs and events firm, approached us (Producing Artistic Director Michael Barnard and Managing Director Vincent VanVleet) with his vision for the project. Michael co-authored the book with Jonathan Rosenberg, whose most recent musical, 33 1/3 – House of Dreams, broke box office records at the San Diego Repertory Theatre earlier this year. Recommendations led to an amazing partnership with critically acclaimed, award-winning Austin singer/songwriter Carrie Rodriguez. Sergio Mendoza is our arranger, a native of the Arizona border town of Nogales and the founder of indie rock band Calexico and Orkesta Mendoza. The project is a collaboration with Jason Rose and Quixote Productions, and Broadway producer Ken Davenport has signed on as Executive Producer.
Americano! is a story for these times and all times, designed to challenge preconceived notions and remind us that America’s strength has always been that we are a nation of immigrants. It is a magical alchemy of robust storytelling and driving Latin score—a hot new production with broad public appeal, humanizing the people at the heart of this hot-button controversy.
What makes The Phoenix Theatre Company the perfect place to produce this show now?
At a time of great divide within our country, Americano! could not be more relevant or align more perfectly with our mission to inspire hope and understanding. We have high hopes for this production—we could see it going to other regional theatres, possibly as a tour, and ultimately launching as a commercial production in New York.
New works programs like ours are crucial to achieving gender parity in the American theatre canon—something we are working consciously to achieve. Americano! showcases the talent of an amazing female composer and lyricist—Carrie Rodriguez. It’s incredibly important for us to reflect the complexity of the human experience and the vitality of our collective community if we want American theatre to attract new audiences. Carrie melds fiery fiddle playing, electrifying vocals and a fresh interpretation of new and classic songs with an “Ameri-Chicana” attitude. Her sound is a Texas-bred twist on Mexican Ranchera songs, creating music for a culturally blended world. She has been profiled in many publications, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Times of London and The New Yorker.
Why should everyone book their flights to Arizona to catch this show?
The show is ripped right out of today’s headlines and Arizona sits at ground zero. This is a stellar cast and creative team, and we’ve birthed something truly new and remarkable that is a true expression of our shared experience. Get ready to be moved, because in the end we are all dreamers.

For more information about Americano!, and purchase tickets to the production, visit The Phoenix Theatre Company’s website.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: The Ballad of Klook and Vinette

May 1, 2019

Last month, we chatted with Dave Steakley, the producing artistic director at NAMT member ZACH Theatre. ZACH is about to open a production of 2017 Festival show The Ballad of Klook and Vinette, formerly known as Klook’s Last Stand, written by Ché Walker, Anoushka Lucas and Omar Leyfook. Dave told us a little about what to expect from the upcoming production, and why everyone should make their way to Texas and check it out.
Tender, funny and incredibly moving, this contemporary new love story will grab you from the inside out. Klook and Vinette are two lost souls trying to find themselves in one another. Against all odds and with the past at their heels, together they make a tentative stab at happiness. This is a seductive musical about inevitability and the thrill of falling in love.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Deathless

June 14, 2017

Goodspeed Musicals is in rehearsal for their upcoming world premiere of Deathless, written by Zack Zadek. We chatted with Donna Lynn Hilton, the Line Producer at Goodspeed, to learn more about the musical’s history, current production and hopes for the future.
The Serling family is taking its annual road trip to Niagara Falls, but this time they’re saying goodbye to Mom. Along the way, memories of past trips, old wounds and family secrets are navigated in a not-too-distant future where no one dies of disease. For daughter Hayley, the journey means facing the big questions of life and death.
How did Goodspeed’s relationship with Zack Zadek first begin, and what about Deathless inspired you to produce the show?
We first became of aware of Zack and his work in the fall of 2015 when Zack was nominated to participate in the 2016 Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed. The Mercer Colony, created at Goodspeed five years ago with support from the Johnny Mercer Foundation nurtures the work of writers, composers and lyricists of all backgrounds and in all stages of their careers, by providing a safe haven for creative work and collaboration. Zack applied and was quickly invited to attend the Colony in February of 2016 with his project Deathless. Each day during their colony residence, writers are given the opportunity to gather for a communal breakfast and again each evening, to share their work and to exchange thoughts and ideas. Otherwise, they are free to spend each day in the manner that best suits their individual projects and writing styles. Along the way, we strive to provide each project with individual support that best suits their needs. On the final day of his residency, Zack requested that several other writers join him in a very casual read through of his completed script of Deathless. At the last minute, I was invited to sit in on the reading. My presence that day wasn’t a given. The Colony is very much by, and for, the writers participating and if Zack didn’t want to expose his work, we wouldn’t ask him to. But in this case, Zack was comfortable and invited me to stop by. So on a snowy Saturday morning in February, I wrapped up and trundled into town…and I am very glad that I did so. The reading—while completely cold, with five other writers reading scene and Zack performing the songs—was transformative. I left that reading and called Michael Gennaro…”You gotta read this piece.” He did and had a similar reaction to my own…we were off.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Onegin

May 4, 2017

The Musical Stage Company, formerly known as Acting Up Stage Company, is preparing to open a production of the new Canadian musical Onegin, written by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille. We reached out to find out more about the production and The Musical Stage Company as a whole.
A thrilling, contemporary adaptation of Pushkin’s timeless poem and Tchaikovsky’s renowned opera, Onegin features a high-energy musical score to tell a sweeping tale of unrequited love, infatuation and intrigue. When the young and innocent Tatyana falls in love with the self-obsessed aristocrat Onegin, he firmly rejects her, arousing passionate love letters, noble duels and second chances.
What is The Musical Stage Company’s history with new works, and how does this new production of Onegin fit into your overall commitment to new works development?
On top of our regular season of programming which features contemporary musicals from around the world, we have commissioned nearly a dozen new Canadian musicals in the last five years, and produced six new Canadian musicals at home and abroad. Additionally, we have pioneered programs to support Canadian writers including training programs, commissioning programs and our new Crescendo Series which brings one writer into residence with our organization for three years alongside a commitment to produce one of their new musicals each year of their residency.
Giving Onegin its second production and bringing it to Toronto audiences for the first time helps advance our goal of sharing new Canadian works with local audiences. Our belief that we can subsequently champion Onegin across Canada and beyond through our production (we have already confirmed a tour to Canada’s National Arts Centre in Ottawa in September) reinforces our priority to shepherd new Canadian musicals around the world.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Millikin University's New Musical Workshop

February 1, 2017

This month we chatted with Lori Bales, an Associate Professor at Millikin University and the director of the school’s New Musical Workshop. Millikin is currently in rehearsal for their 10th Annual New Musical Workshop, featuring works by Sam Carner and Derek Gregor, as well as songs by Festival alumni Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond (Fest ’11, Dani Girl; Fest ’14, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes).
This year Millikin University is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of producing new works—can you tell us about the history of your program?
We’d like to send out a big thank you to Scott Guy, Elise Dewsberry, and John Sparks for their support in our start-up year. In 2007 we piloted our program in collaboration with New Musicals Inc. (formerly ANMT) followed by a collaboration with Theatre Building Chicago in 2008. My initial inspiration for this program was in a breakout group at the 2004 NAMT Conference, moderated by John Sparks. In 2009 we began working with solo writing teams Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond, and Jeff Thompson and Jordan Mann. We’ve had the privilege of collaborating with many other truly gifted writers: Adam Gwon and Sarah Hammond, Andrew Lippa, Marissa Michaelson, Amy Engelhardt and Marc Acito, Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham, and Millikin alums Derek Hassler and his partner Landon Braverman, and Joshua Streeter and his partner Ryan Laney. We are currently workshopping two shows with Sam Carner and Derek Gregor. In celebration of our ten-year anniversary, Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond will join us for a retrospective cabaret celebrating their canon of work. In addition to developmental workshops/residencies we also provide fully realized developmental productions on our mainstage season. To date we’ve produced Golden Gate by Kooman and Dimond and String by Gwon and Hammond.