The NAMT staff had heard of the legendary Broadway baby Twan Baker, of course, but until last week’s in-depth New York Times profile of him, we didn’t realize he had such deep NAMT roots! From the Times:
A guest post from Julia Meinwald, composer of this year’s show The Loneliest Girl in the World, written with Gordon Leary. Leary and Meinwald have previously been a part of the NAMT Festival in 2011 with their show Pregnancy Pact.
Like in any good sequel, Gordon and my return to NAMT promises the return of some starring players (welcome back awesome music director Rich Silverstein and sage consultant Steve Stettler!), some new blood to freshen up the franchise (welcome awesome director Michael Berresse!) and a tagline that we really like but in the end doesn’t quite represent the material (“Life’s a bitch and then you’re pied.”) And now you can experience the whole thing in crystal clear 3D at New World Stages!
One of my favorite parts of my job is getting the chance to visit our members around the country. There is no better way to take the pulse of the industry and help discover new ways for us to serve our members than to meet them on their home turf, see their shows and meet their staffs. Summer is the busiest travel time for the NAMT staff because it is when the number of shows skyrocket in our member theatres. My summer was filled with 10 productions (7 of them premieres), 2 workshops and 6 readings from New York to California, from Vermont to Tennessee. We a few Festival shows and National Fund for New Musicals (NFNM) grant recipients along the way.
Here is the quick rundown (NAMT member theatres and Festival shows are bolded blue):
MAY
Los Angeles, CA- World premiere of Los Otros at Center Theatre Group
San Diego, CA- World premiere of Nobody Loves You (NAMT Fest ’12, past NFNM Project Development Grant) and Scottsboro Boys at The Old Globe, world premiere of Hands on a Hardbody at La Jolla Playhouse, and the chance to sit in on a rehearsal for Harmony, Kansas (NFNM Production Grant, past Writers Residency Grant) at Diversionary Theatre.
New York, NY- World premiere of February House (past NFNM Project Development Grant) at The Public Theater, reading of Suprema (NFNM Writers Residency Grant) at Ars Nova and Speargrove Presents (NFNM Writers Residency Grant) at New York Theatre Barn
JUNE
Connecticut- Readings of When We Met and String at The O’Neill Theatre Center, production of Mame at Goodspeed Musicals
JULY
New York, NY- Production of Triassic Parq (by Festival alumnus Marshall Pailet) produced by Amas Musical Theatre and New Musical Development Foundation at SoHo Rep
East Haddam, CT- Final dress of Carousel at Goodspeed Musicals
Poughkeepsie, NY- Workshop of Murder Ballad (by Fest alumna Julia Jordan) at Vassar Powerhouse
AUGUST
Rhinebeck, NY- Reception for Beatsville (NAMT Fest ’08) at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat
Palo Alto, CA- TheatreWorks Festival of New Works with readings of Being Earnest and Triangle (NAMT Fest ’12) and a developmental production of The Trouble With Doug (NAMT Fest ’10)
SEPTEMBER
New York, NY- Reading of notes to MariAnne (NAMT Fest ’11) at New York Theatre Workshop
Weston, VT- World premiere of Pregnancy Pact (NAMT Fest ’11) at Weston Playhouse Theatre Co.
Crossville, TN- Regional premiere of Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge (NAMT Fest ’11) at Cumberland County Playhouse
New York, NY- Broadway Bound concert at Merkin Hall featuring songs from Watt?!? and The Dogs of Pripyat, both from the 2011 Festival
And I am pretty sure I am missing a few.
I got a lot more out of these trips than a wallet full of receipts and slight confusion as to my time zone. I was fortified in my belief that our members and alumni are creating, producing and exploring the best musical theatre in the country. They are continually engaging, challenging and building audiences through their great work. They are not resting on their laurels but pushing forward.
It is very hard to find a show today that does not have the NAMT stamp somewhere on it…and that makes me very proud to be just a small part of any show that adds to the crazy tapestry of musicals across the country. The great work continues all over the country, and I’m the lucky one who gets to take in at least a fraction of it.
Branden Huldeen
New Works Director
An interview with Gordon Leary and Julia Meinwald, the writers of Festival 2011 show Pregnancy Pact, as they prepare for the show’s world premiere this August at the Weston Playhouse Theatre Co. in Weston, VT.
Pregnancy Pact is a pop-rock musical about a group of teens who make a pact to become single mothers together. 15-year-old Maddie is devoted to her three best friends and they are to her. So when Brynn gets pregnant, the friends all plan to have children, raising them together in a dream of a perfect life. Their pact grows as other girls find out and want in. The bubble finally bursts when their secret is revealed, leaving each of the girls to face the hard realities of love, responsibility and growing up
The show was fairly young when it came to the Festival. What was it like to put it up in front of the membership and industry at such an early stage?
Having only had one staged reading of the show before the Festival, it was thrilling to be able to share our work with such a large and enthusiastic audience. Beyond the thrill, the process of preparing for the Festival was immensely helpful. Since we chose to present an abridged version of the full piece, we were tasked with condensing the show down to its most important elements. It gave us a very clear idea of what story we are telling, which has helped us greatly as we continue to refine and reshape the piece.
What was the response to the show like after the Festival?
We got a full spectrum of responses. Even though some NAMT members doubted that their audience would want to see a show with language like ours dealing with issues of teenage sexuality and pregnancy, everyone we talked to was excited by the show’s energy.
What has it been like leaving the Festival knowing that in less than a year you would have a world premiere?
We feel very lucky to get to continue working with Weston Playhouse [after previously winning the Weston’s New Musical Theatre Award]. Their phenomenally supportive community has embraced the Playhouse’s interest in new work, giving us the opportunity to jump right in to seeing the show come to life fully. Given the challenging subject matter of Pregnancy Pact, we are happy to have a production in place to show the rest of the NAMT membership that it can be done!
What has changed to the show since the Festival?
We were lucky enough to participate in CAP21’s Writers Co-Op in January. Over those two weeks we were able to tackle a number of rewrites, including a number of streamlined scenes, a few new bridges for existing songs and an altogether new song to replace an existing one towards the end of the first act. We’ve also decided to have one actor play all of the male roles, so now we’ll only be working with seven actors.
What excites you about going up to VT this summer?
Since the show is still relatively young, we have yet to see it on its feet. We can’t wait to work with our production team to see the visual world of the show. The way the characters interact with technology and the way movement might be involved in the songs are especially exciting for us, as these are things we’ve largely had to imagine in readings.
How much do you expect the show to change between now and opening night?
We expect to do a fair amount of rewriting as the show gets staged. We feel that the structure of the piece is sound but look forward to working within that structure to realize a full production.
Why would YOU want to go see the show up at Weston this summer (if you hadn’t written it)?
The show tells a story we haven’t seen before about what it’s like to be a teenage girl in America today. Plus, we would travel any distance to hear these truly fierce beltresses on some new pop-rock musical theatre tunes!
For more information on Pregnancy Pact, head to www.westonplayhouse.org.
If you don’t see a slideshow above, please click here to view the photos.
The Festival is only a week away! Time to meet this year’s writers…a some are returning writers, some are a newbies to the NAMT Festival, but all of their shows are NEW!
In Part 1, we will introduce you to the writers and the shows that will take place on Stage 2 of New World Stages at the 23rd Annual Festival of New Musicals this October 27 and 28. Don’t forget to register before registration closes on Sunday!
DANI GIRL
Book & Lyrics by Christopher Dimond, Music by Michael Kooman
Directed by Scott Schwartz, Music Direction by Andy Einhorn
BLOODSONG OF LOVE
by Joe Iconis
Directed by John Simpkins, Music Direction by Brian Usifer
PREGNANCY PACT
Book & Lyrics by Gordon Leary, Music by Julia Meinwald
Directed by Mark Brokaw, Music Direction by Rich Silverstein
(warning: Like the show, this video contains strong language)
WATT?!?
Book & Lyrics by David Javerbaum, Music by Brendan Milburn
Directed by Steve Cosson, Music Direction by Zachary Dietz