My Musicals
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A screwball
musical comedy about a phobic U.N. bookstore clerk who develops
the ability to read people’s minds. Played Off-Broadway at New World Stages in
2006. |
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An adaptation of the Dickens fairy tale about a princess
who fights the good fight against all odds. |
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The adventures of Prince Jen told through a
synthesis of American musical theatre and traditional Chinese opera. |
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Thackeray's Napoleonic-era novel transplanted to 1960s-1980s New York City. |
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A romantic comedy about a professor who can make people fall in love
when he sings the kind of sentimental songs he loathes. |
Book and lyrics by Jonathan Karp
Music by Seth Weinstein
Listen to songs
Synopsis
How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes is the story of
two days in the life of MILES MULDOON, a phobic bookstore clerk at the United
Nations who, after an unfortunate incident with a barrage of Guatemalan
melons, develops the ability to read people's minds.
Miles has never been one of life's overachievers. A rising young diplomat at
the United Nations, VIOLET ZIPPER, informs him that he's a slacker. Violet is
ambitious and sexy - she's even been featured on the cover of Disarmament
Quarterly posing suggestively with a scud missile. Miles is determined to
charm her into giving him a better job...and more.
For counsel, Miles finds solace in the company of his best friend, JULIE
LEMMON, a fellow slacker at the bookstore. Beneath
Julie's pierced nipples beats the heart of a spiritual seeker. Julie can cite Conversations
With God chapter and verse. That book provides her with the chief lesson she
is determined to teach Miles: There are only two emotions in life - love or
fear.
When the melons change MIles's life forever and the very nature of the new
world order is threatened, Miles must make a choice between love and fear.
Helping him battle his inner coward is his personal Greek chorus (also known as
the Pretentious Assholes), a versatile trio of players who help Miles re-enact
events while occasionally singing in foreboding three-part harmonies.
Inspired in equal parts by Neil Simon and William Finn, The Daily Show
and Danny Kaye, this is a contemporary musical comedy for a new
generation.
Book and lyrics by Judith Zocchi
Music by Seth Weinstein
Based on the
short story by Charles Dickens
An adaptation of the Dickens fairy tale about a princess who fights the good
fight against all odds. Currently under development.
Book and lyrics by Brian Vinero
Music by Seth Weinstein
Based on the novel by Lloyd Alexander
Listen to songs
Synopsis
Time: Tonight and Many Years Ago.
Place: This Theatre and the Kingdom of T'ang.
THE CONTROLLER steps forward and invites the audience to witness a blending of two great art forms: American musical comedy and Chinese opera. As the performance progresses, he and his multi-talented COMPANY of actors will use their considerable performance skills to bring a tale of powerful kings, far-off adventure, and ancient magic to life on a mostly bare stage, using song and dance, shadow puppets, mime, acrobatics, and other techniques.
The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen follows the adventures of PRINCE JEN as he sets off on a quest to find the mythical kingdom of T'ien-kuo, where he hopes to learn the skills that will make him a great king. Accompanied by his loyal servant, MAFOO, and a full complement of warriors acting as bodyguards, he is instructed to carry six ordinary objects with him to present to the king of T'ien-kuo as a show of respect: a saddle, a flute, a sword, a kite, a box of paints, and a bowl. Jen is puzzled by the simplicity of the objects, but he sets off on his journey with high hopes.
A series of misfortunes soon befall him and he finds himself separated from his bodyguards and lost in the wilderness with no money or identification to prove that he is the prince. Still heading for his goal of reaching T'ien-kuo and on the run from a band of dangerous bandits led by the deadly NATHA YELLOW SCARF, Jen presses on through the outlands of China, far from the familiarity and safety of the castle walls that have always shielded him from the harsh lives of the subjects he has never known. He and the ever-present Mafoo are soon joined by MOXA, a mad robber with a talent for protection, and VOYAGING MOON, a flute-playing slave girl on the run from her wicked master, FAT-CHOY. Jen finds himself falling in love with the clever and resourceful Voyaging Moon just as they are all separated in a fierce storm.
Now truly alone, Jen forsakes his quest and searches for his missing friends. He soon finds that the simple gifts he carries turn magical in the hands of others, and as he passes these gifts on, the gift of great leadership comes to him. He reunites with his friends as they defend the kingdom against Natha and his bandits. And at long last Prince Jen becomes the great King Jen, having never set foot in
T'ien-kuo - realizing that the journey is far more valuable than the destination.
Book and lyrics by Brian Vinero
Music by Seth Weinstein
Based on the
novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
Listen to songs
Vanity Fair takes William Makepeace Thackeray's immortal, immoral heroine
Becky Sharp and transplants her from London in the Napoleonic era to New York City during the years surrounding the Vietnam War. As the years pass from
1965 to 1985, Becky sees her fortunes rise and fall with the hemlines as she searches for wealth and social position.
Becky’s cunning and guile are contrasted with the helpless innocence of her wealthy school chum, Amelia
Sedley, who also sees her fortunes shift as she makes her way through the
turbulent social upheaval of the times. In the end, both women manage to triumph and take their places among the rich, famous, and elite of New
York’s high society: Vanity Fair.
Synopsis
Act One
May to June 1965
As a group of polished, privileged young ladies graduate from a
convent school (Bless Your Path), the orphaned, impoverished
BECKY SHARP finds herself free and eager to climb her way into New York
Society. She sees her sweet, generous classmate AMELIA SEDLEY as her
ticket to Park Avenue and finagles an invitation for an extended stay
with her family and a brand-new wardrobe (The Legend of New York).
Becky immediately ingratiates herself with Amelia's family, but the
servants aren't fooled (The Master Doesn't Know). At a
cocktail party, Becky meets Amelia's playboy fiance, GEORGE OSBORNE,
his West Point classmate WILL DOBBIN, and Amelia's confirmed-bachelor
brother JOSEPH SEDLEY. Becky makes a quick pass at Joseph, and they make
plans to go out dancing. As Will - a member of the working class - gets
a dance lesson from Amelia, it becomes clear that they are the ones who
are actually meant for each other (A Little Romantic). At the
dance hall, Becky gives Amelia a crash course on the birds and the bees
and convinces her to go “all the way” with George, lest she lose
him. George, alarmed at Joseph's plans to propose to Becky, gets
Joseph drunk to keep him from popping the question to a girl of such a
lowly station (The Kind of Girl (Quintet)). Her plot to snare
Joseph thwarted, Becky is exiled to New Jersey to work as a nanny (OK,
OK).
June to September 1965 Becky makes quick work of taking over the estate of her
new employer while Amelia finds herself pregnant just as her family
loses its fortune. Will forces George to take responsibility and marry
her, despite his family's wish that he break the engagement (So
Hard to Say Good-Bye (The Auction)). Becky celebrates her triumphs
in New Jersey by throwing a party, where she meets her employer's
dashing naval-officer son RAWDON CRAWLEY and wealthy sister AUNT TILDA,
both of whom find her irresistible (The Lady Was Made for Dancing).
Becky has finally met her match in Rawdon (Don't Call It Love),
and she leaves the estate and returns to New York to be a companion to
Aunt Tilda and to be nearer to Rawdon.
November 1965
Becky marries Rawdon, and a very pregnant Amelia marries George,
as Will looks on. Both couples find themselves cut off from their
families as the specter of the Vietnam War approaches.
March 1966
The newlyweds meet up at a U.S.O. dance in Atlantic City (Atlantic
City, New Jersey) as the boys prepare to ship off. Becky, still
vengeful toward George after he prevented her from marrying Joseph,
seduces him as Will comforts a helpless Amelia (Say Farewell for Now).
As the sounds of war drums are heard, Becky finds herself at the end of
one era and the beginning of another and uses her ability to procure
drugs for the wealthy and powerful to restart her climb to the top of
New York society (This Is the Time).
Act Two
March 1969 to October 1971 One step ahead of fashion and two steps ahead of
creditors, Becky is the queen of New York's young, hip and mod (The
Legend of New York (Reprise)/She's the Life of the Party (And the
Party Goes On and On)). Rawdon,
changed from his experiences in Vietnam and now a father to their young
son, deals drugs to Becky's society friends to keep them afloat.
Amelia lives in poverty, barely able to support her young son and (to
Will's great frustration) unable to give up the ghost of George, who
died in Vietnam (After the Day). Becky's all-too-frequent
trysts with powerful men prove too much for Rawdon, and when she
wickedly reveals that the son he adores is really the offspring of
George, he shoots himself and her lover in a rage. The resulting scandal
sets New York on its ear, and Becky is shunned from society and flees
the city (Today Is the Day That the Circus Came to Town).
December 1979 to January 1980
Becky is discovered by Amelia to be working as a prostitute in
much-changed Atlantic City (Atlantic City, New Jersey (Reprise)/Let
the Dice Roll). Once again, Becky tries to use Amelia (now living
comfortably, as her son has inherited a fortune) as her means of getting
to New York. Both women look at how their disparate childhoods poorly
prepared them for the world, and they come to an understanding (There
Was You). Becky finally tells Amelia the truth about George's
lecherous ways, leaving her at last free to marry the faithful Will (A
Little Romantic (Reprise)). Becky finally snares Joseph, her joy cut
short by his death immediately following the wedding. He leaves her with
nothing, save for stock in a computer company...
May 1985
One of the richest and most famous women in America, Becky has
written a tell-all book and muses about her success on a talk show (Just
an American Fairy Tale).
Book and Lyrics by Jonathan Karp
Music by Seth Weinstein
Listen to songs
Synopsis
Cast: 7 actors (4 men, 3 women)
Running time: 100 minutes (no intermission)
Heart Throb is a contemporary romantic comedy
about a cerebral literature professor who, to his dread, discovers he
can make people fall in love with each other when he sings the kind of
sentimental songs he loathes.
Professor Anthony Jasper is beginning his first year as
a professor of literature at a small liberal-arts college. He is a man
of erudition and taste, a discriminating critic who sincerely believes
that the root of all evil in modern society can be traced directly to
Olivia Newton-John's 1974 recording of "I Honestly Love
You."
Jasper can explain his aversion to all things romantic
in precise academic terms, but his theories may also relate to his
father, Teddy, who abandoned the family years ago to pursue a career as
a lounge singer in Las Vegas. Teddy has recently returned home for a
rapprochement with his son and is playing piano at the only hotel bar in
town.
Jasper begins to teach an unruly class of students,
including a particularly assertive blonde named Rachel Romero, who
challenges his theories. On the home front, Jasper is also confronted by
his long-time girlfriend, Margo, who has become frustrated with his
denunciations of love. Margo wants to see some passion.
Forced to articulate why he believes love - and love
songs - are pointless, Jasper cynically sings his father's favorite
ditty, "(You Make My) Heart Throb." But as Jasper sings,
strange things happen to the people around him - kissing, groping,
unprovoked displays of public affection. Jasper is alarmed and
nauseated. Meanwhile, two local music producers, Rocky Valentine and
Herbie Stone, see an easy buck in Jasper's talent and offer the
professor a record deal.
As Jasper begins to wield his power as a human aphrodisiac, he is forced to rethink his assumptions about love,
particularly with regard to his father, his girlfriend, and his best
student, whose interest in Jasper is not just intellectual.
At turns romantic and comically absurd, Heart Throb asks
this question: Can life ever live up to the love songs? By the end of
this musical journey, Professor Anthony Jasper finds his answer.
