Projects
In Development
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Saint-Ex
Book and lyrics by Sean Barry
Directed by Kent Nicholson
Musical Direction by Matt Castle
Orchestrations by Mary-Mitchell Campbell
Development history:
- 2008 Writers’ Retreat at TheatreWorks/Palo Alto
- 2008 Sundance Theatre Institute White Oak Residency
- 2008 Workshop at TheatreWorks/Palo Alto
- 2010 Weston Playhouse Theatre Company New Musical Award
- 2010 Workshop in NYC & at Weston Playhouse, VT
- 2011 National Alliance for Musical Theatre Production Grant
Productions:
- World Premiere Production, August 26 – September 4, 2011 Weston Playhouse Theatre Co., Weston, VT
Synopsis:
“Saint-Ex” is a musical journey through the life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the French author and aviator perhaps best known throughout the world as the author of the children’s classic, The Little Prince. In the 1920s, Saint-Exupéry was one of the pioneering members of the Aéropostale, the air-mail company that opened delivery from France to Dakar. In their open-cockpit planes and without the benefit of radar or weather reports, the pilots of the Aéropostale overflew the Pyrenees and the Sahara, risking their lives for the mail and for one another. Over the following decade, they would conquer the skies of South America and establish the first trans-Atlantic mail delivery service. Saint-Exupéry became famous in the 1930s for his books about this heroic era of flight, garnering literary awards both in France and America and earning the title of one of “the eternals” of the Académie Française. Yet his most famous book, The Little Prince, was written on Long Island, where Saint-Exupéry found himself in exile during the Nazi occupation of France. A pilot at heart, Saint-Exupéry used his influence and fame to earn himself the right to fly reconnaissance for the U.S. Air Force, returning to the war over the protests of his admirers, friends, and family, all of whom wished to keep him out of harm’s way. On July 31, 1944, only weeks before the end of the war in France, Saint-Exupéry flew from Sardinia on a mission to photograph the Nazi positions near Annecy and was never heard from again.
Saint-Ex is a magical and evocative exploration of Saint-Exupéry’s adventures and romances; of his tempestuous marriage to Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, his Salvadorean wife, and his delight in the brotherhood of the Aéropostale; of the fierce intellect and profound sensitivity of a soul who gave his life fighting for his home and beliefs, but who left behind that eternal character, The Little Prince.
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Alice Bliss
Book by Laura Harrington, Lyrics by Jenny Giering & Laura Harrington
(Based on the novel Alice Bliss by Laura Harrington)
Development history:
- Commissioned by Playwrights Horizons
Synopsis:
When Alice learns that her father is being deployed to Iraq, she’s heartbroken. Matt Bliss is leaving just as his daughter blossoms into a full-grown teenager. She will learn to drive, shop for a dress for her first dance, and fall in love, all while trying to be strong for her mother and take care of her younger sister. Alice wears her dad’s shirt every day, even though the scent of him is fading, and his phone calls are never long enough. Life continues without him, but nothing can prepare Alice for the day two uniformed officers arrive at their door with news.
Past Projects
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As You Like It (incidental music & songs)
Play by William Shakespeare
Directed by Gary Griffin
Produced by Chicago Shakespeare Theater, January – March, 2011
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Crossing Brooklyn
Book and lyrics by Laura Harrington
- Commissioned by the Boston Music Theatre Project (Marilyn Plotkins, Artistic Director)
- Winner of the 2008 Kleban Prize for the Book of a Musical
Development history:
- 2006 Workshop/Production at Suffolk University
- 2007 ASCAP/Disney Musical Theatre Workshop
- 2010 Reading as part of Bristol Riverside Theater’s America Rising Series
Production history:
- Transport Group, October-November 2007 (Directed by Jack Cummings III, Orchestrated by Mary-Mitchell Campbell)
- Pace University, March 2009
- Beautiful Soup Theatre Collective, January 2011
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Alice Unwrapped
Book by Laura Harrington, Lyrics by Jenny Giering & Laura Harrington
- Commissioned by Premieres, Inc., Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director as part of “Inner Voices: Solo Musicals”
Productions:
- The Zipper Theatre, New York, May 2008 (Directed by Jeremy Dobrish)
- Rough Cuts Series, Nautilus Music Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, July 2008
- Baldwin-Wallace College, November 2008
- Spirit in the House Festival, Nautilus Music Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, March 2009
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Princess Caraboo
Book by Marsha Norman, lyrics by Beth Blatt and Marsha Norman
Directed by Gary Griffin
Development history:
- 2003 Writers’ Retreat at TheatreWorks/Palo Alto
- 2003 New Works Festival at TheatreWorks/Palo Alto
- 2003 National Musical Theatre Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center
- 2005 National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals
- 2006 Workshop at Goodspeed Opera House, Norma Terrace Theatre
- 2008 29-hour staged reading at The Roundabout Theatre Studios
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The Mistress Cycle
Book and lyrics by Beth Blatt
- National Art Song Award, January 1995
- National Music Theatre Network Director’s Choice Award, September 2005
- 3 Nominations 2008 Jeff Awards (Best Director, Revue - Kurt Johns; Best Production, Revue; Best Actress, Revue – Angela Ingersoll)
Productions:
- New York Musical Theater Festival, September 2005
- Apple Tree Theatre Company, Highland Park, IL, December 2007
- Harvard Community Players, Harvard, MA, June 2008
- Minnesota Fringe Festival, July/August 2008
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Songs from an Unmade Bed
Lyrics by Mark Campbell
Directed by David Schweizer
- Drama Desk Nomination for Best Musical
Productions:
- New York Theatre Workshop, June 2005
- Celebration Theatre, Los Angeles, June 2008
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The Hotel Carter
Book and lyrics by Stephanie Fleischmann
Directed by Joe Calarco
- Frederick Loewe Award and Workshop, May 2000
- Cameron Mackintosh Development Award (New Dramatists’), May 2000
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Still Life (one act)
Book and lyrics by David Javerbaum
- Special Adjudicator’s Award for New Work, New England Regional Community Theater Festival, August 1996
- Special Adjudicator’s Award for Excellence in Music and Lyrics, Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters, March 1996
Productions:
- Harvard Community Theatre, Harvard, MA, Summer 1996
- Bridewell Theatre Lunchbox Series, London, Spring 2003
- Henlopen Theater Project, Rehoboth Beach, DE, July 2004
- Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA, August 2005
- Blue Spruce Theatre Company, Watertown, MA, November 2008
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Arthur’s War (incidental music and songs)
Play by Catherine Filloux
Directed by Rachel Dickstein
- Commissioned by Theatreworks USA
- Workshopped at Theatreworks USA, April 2002
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Island of the Blue Dolphins
Book and lyrics by Beth Blatt
Directed by Rob Ruggerio
- Commissioned by Theatreworks USA
Productions:
- Toured for two sold-out seasons, 2001-2003
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