NEWS

A MUSICAL WEEKEND AT THE HUMAN RACE

Three brand new musicals will all collide on the Loft stage the weekend of July 11 – 13, 2008, in what will be our most musical week ever! Our Musical Theatre Workshop will have two musicals in development being presented as staged readings, and our Summer Stock Teens program will be presenting their original musical, developed in cooperation with the Lovewell Institute. (see Summer 2008 Classes)

The Human Race has a national reputation for developing new musicals. Workshops of CONVENIENCE, MOBY DICK, GREEN GABLES and NEFERTITI have inspired further development and a number of regional productions. “We are committed to establishing relationships with writers as well as showcasing new works,” said Kevin Moore, Human Race Executive Director. “The future of musical theatre exists in regional theatres like The Human Race – not on Broadway.”

Summer Stock TEENS as they work on the musical they’re creating for the Musical Theatre Weekend

Two new shows getting their “off-off Broadway” workshops this summer both have a bit of history with the Human Race Executive Director. TINYARD HILL, by Mark Allen and Tommy Newman, was part of the 2007 Festival of New Musicals presented by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre – of which Kevin Moore is the co-chair of the festival. “I was impressed with the score – the complexity, yet accessibility of it. And it was a totally engaging story. I really wanted to help shape that,” said Moore.

It’s 1964 in South Georgia, and a young man struggles to understand his place in a world that seems to be outgrowing his family and his dreams. It’s a touching story about big love and small-town, with a musical score that will warm your heart with Southern hospitality.

The second, currently “Untitled” new musical is by Joseph Thalken, the very talented composer who wrote WAS and HAROLD & MAUDE. Joe, together with Mark Campbell (his lyricist partner from SONGS FOR AN UNMADE BED) and book writer Michael Slade, are developing a show that is loosely based on real-life events in 1866 that culminated in creating the very first American “musical.” Joe said to expect “divas, crazy playwrights, ballerinas and a lot of backstage mayhem.” Sounds right up our alley.

Both shows will receive two public readings over the weekend, sharing the stage with a new musical production that will be written and performed by the teens during their three-week summer workshop. The performance schedule at The Loft Theatre is as follows:

Reserved Patron Tickets are $25. General admission tickets are $15. For tickets, call The Human Race office at 937-461-3823.

The Human Race proudly announces the 2007–08 Producers’ Circle — supporting the development of new musical theatre projects:

Barbara Ackerman
Lois and Don Bigler
Larry Glickler and Charles Quinn
Patti Giering
Jim and Enid Goubeaux
Carol and Duncan Powell
John and Barbara Rion
Paul and Susanne Weaver/Mousaian Oriental Rugs
Betsy and Lee Whitney
Sharon Peake Williamson
Moore Family Fund
Alice and Burt Saidel

The Human Race helps develop a new musical — MAKEOVER

The Human Race Theatre Company of Dayton is one of five theatres nationwide to receive 2007 Producer-Writer Initiative grants through the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT).

Under the grant, funded by The Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Fellowship, The Human Race will host composer Kim Sherman and playwright/lyricist Darrah Cloud for a two-week period, giving the team a chance for uninterrupted work on their new collaboration, Makeover, in a nurturing environment. Makeover is about a woman whose life is based on the combined real-life stories of Mary Kay, Estée Lauder, and the Tupperware Party creator, and how the character rises to power by inventing a new sales technique.

Human Race Executive Director Kevin Moore chose Sherman and Cloud from ten applicant teams, based on what he had seen of their previous work at NAMT festivals – especially O Pioneers!, a musical adaptation of the Willa Cather novel.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Kim and Darrah,” said Moore. “To be able to be involved with the development of their show at this early a stage is very exciting. I hope that we will be able to continue that relationship into the future.”

The Human Race will travel the writers to Dayton, house them, give them access to a piano, internet and singing actors – and then get out of their way. Their residency in Dayton will begin on October 15, 2007, and is also supported by The Human Race’s Producers’ Circle – a group of individuals dedicated to helping The Human Race foster new musical theatre writers. The finale of their residency will give the Producers’ Circle a peek at their progress at a reception hosted by Larry Glickler and Charles Quinn.

More News about Makeover…

A cast of singer/actors has been assembled by Human Race Executive Director Kevin Moore to work with writers Kim Sherman and Darrah Cloud on their new musical, Makeover. They include Becky Barrett-Jones, Kay Bosse, Patricia Linhart, Katie Pees, Tara Snyder, Scott Stoney and Aaron Vega, along with music director Janet Yates Vogt. Moore will serve as Director as the writers work to develop the first act of their new musical.