As part of its partnership with BMG and licensing agency Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Lively McCabe Entertainment is developing three new musicals that will use music from the BMG catalog. The projects, set to premiere in 2020, are a country musical, a 1980s New Wave project, and a story about Mrs. Claus featuring contemporary pop hits.
The first of the projects, titled May We All, will tell the story of disappearing small-town America as seen through the hopeful eyes of its youth. Featuring a book by Troy Britton Johnson and Todd Johnson, the country musical will use songs from Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and featuring the title song by Florida Georgia Line and Tim McGraw.
An untitled New Wave Project will tell the story of two young New York City DJs who set off a music revolution in the 1980s. The new musical is conceived and written by Michael Kimmel (Songbird, The Last Goodbye), with arrangements and orchestrations by Kris Kukul (Beetlejuice, The Last Goodbye). The show will draw from the catalogs of Tears For Fears, Billy Idol, Simple Minds, Devo, Culture Club, and many more.
Rounding out the slate will be What A Wonderful World. Set in mid-20th-century New York, the musical comedy by Jeremy Desmon will tell the story of Mrs. Claus, the star behind modern-day Santa Claus. The musical will feature a score of contemporary pop hits arranged in an old-school “Nouveau Vintage”-style by arranger and orchestrator Jesse Vargas.
The three new projects join the existing developmental slate: Hey There, Delilah, a TV musical project in partnership with Plain White Ts; the new Joe Iconis musical Punk Rock Girl (a collaboration with BMG and R&H Theatricals); and the musical stage adaptation of Mystic Pizza (featuring songs by Melissa Etheridge, in partnership with MGM and Concord Theatricals).
Full casting has been announced for the American premiere of INK, written by Olivier Award winner James Graham Labour of Love, Privacy, Finding Neverland and directed by two-time Olivier Award winner, Tony and BAFTA Award nominee Almeida Theatre Artistic Director Rupert Goold King Charles III.
The Vineyard Theatre celebrates the opening of the New York premiere of Do You Feel Anger? by Mara Nelson-Greenberg April 2. Directed by Margot Bordelon, the new comedy arrives Off-Broadway following a world premiere at last year’s Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.
In Do You Feel Anger?, Tiffany Villarin plays Sofia, an empathy coach who is hired at a debt collection agency. But employees can barely identify what an emotion is, much less practice deep, radical compassion for others. As they stumble towards enlightenment, the unspoken dynamics of their seemingly blithe workplace become increasingly unsettling.
The cast also features Tom Aulino, Ugo Chukwu, Megan Hill, Greg Keller, Justin Long, and Jeanne Sakata.
Do You Feel Anger? began previews March 13 and is scheduled through April 20.
Nelson-Greenberg’s work has been developed at Playwrights Horizons, Clubbed Thumb, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Dixon Place, among others. She is a member of Youngblood at Ensemble Studio Theater and an alumnus of Clubbed Thumb’s Early Career Writers Group. Her play Hamlet by Mia Fefferman was a finalist for the 2017 Relentless Award.
This is Part 3 in the short series on the work of a scene - discussing “pointing forward” in every scene to some action or event that will occur - or at least have consequences - in a future scene.
