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TWO COMPANIES - THREE NEW MUSICALS - THREE DAYS
Our new partner is the Encore Theatre Company – a local community theatre dedicated to developing and producing new musicals. As part of our Festival, they will bring a staged reading of the new musical Pump Up The Volume, music by Jeff Thomson, lyrics by Jordan Mann, and book by Jeremy Desmon. It is based on the 1990 film written and directed by Allan Moyle. The story of a teenage loner who starts an FM Pirate Radio station that broadcasts from his bedroom in the basement of his parents' house. These musical writers have transformed this story of rebellion and finding your voice into a driving new rock musical. The Human Race will change the tempo with its two musical workshops. Love Makes The World Go 'Round : The Songs of Bob Merrill is what the writers like to call "A Revusical." With the book by Duane Poole (book writer of a previous Human Race workshop A Christmas Memory) and musical arrangements by Brad Ellis (arranger and pianist for the hit TV show Glee) , this romp through the Merrill catalogue is set in a piano bar. Three ladies wander in – in search of something missing in their lives – and connect with the pianist through the music of Bob Merrill. It includes hit songs from his musicals - Funny Girl, Carnival, Henry, Sweet Henry, Take Me Along, to name just a few, and popular songs like Mambo Italiano (another Rosemary Clooney connection), How Much Is That Doggie In The Window, Honeycomb, If I Knew You We're Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake, and many more. The Human Race's second workshop is the new jazz musical Play It Cool – conceived by Larry Dean Harris, lyrics by Mark Winkler, music by Phillip Swann and book by Martin Casella & Larry Dean Harris. Play It Cool transports you back to the days of film noir and smoky hot jazz in a secret 1953 Hollywood club called Mary's Hideaway – where men couldn't dance with men and women were expected to know their place in society. It's a show about five individuals: their passions, ambitions and their courage to break the rules no matter what the price. A 45-minute version of Play It Cool appeared in the 2010 National Alliance for Musical Theatre's Festival of New Musicals in NYC. This year's Festival is sponsored, in part, by our Producers' Circle and a grant from the Dramatists Guild Fund. Encore Theatre Company will also have some additional readings and concerts throughout the weekend. Check out their website at www.encoretheatercompany.com for more details. The Festival performance schedule at The Loft Theatre is listed below and ticket's will be available at www.ticketcenterstage.com starting July 5. I'd suggest blocking the entire weekend for a musical experience like no other. |
The 2011 Human Race Festival of New Musicals not only will have three new musicals, but also a new date on the calendar and a new partner. Let's start with the date – Friday August 5 – Sunday August 7, 2011 in The Loft Theatre. This year we decided to separate from the Lovewell performance in order to give both events their own time on the stage.
Musical Theatre Workshop 2010 By all reports, both the three musicals and the three parties exceeded expectations this weekend as The Human Race celebrated America's art form – musical theatre. Hundreds of Human Race regulars, and a number of first-time attendees, gathered at The Loft Theatre and the Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center to witness the birth of three great shows. Play It By Heart, by Brian Yorkey, David Spangler and Jerry Taylor, started off the weekend with exciting country music and an engaging story of a family in transition. With ten wonderful singer/actors – led by Leslie Jo Bissett-Hood as the country music star "Jeannine Jasper," and a six-piece band led by Jay Brunner, the Loft Theatre rocked the audience into standing ovations. Many audience members stated, "I have never been a fan of country music, but I sure liked this show". Dust In The Sunlight: A Musical In Pieces was conceived, written and performed by our Lovewell teens. A very thoughtful piece, the show paralleled a modern family in economic crisis with the story of their ancestors during the Great Depression. Moving with ease back and forth through time, using music and dance to tell their story, the young performers brought the audience both to their feet and to tears – simultaneously. Wrapping up the Festival was the musical about the amazing Rosemary Clooney, Tenderly, by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman. A tribute to both her honesty regarding her struggles and her ability to re-invent herself, the musical took us on the roller coaster ride that was her career, with all the music that made her one of the biggest stars of her generation. Cincinnati artist Beth Harris channeled Ms. Clooney, assisted by Scott Stoney, playing a dozen or more people in her life. Thanks again to our Sponsors – the Miriam Rosenthal Memorial Trust Fund, the Dayton Racquet Club and The Producers' Circle. Thanks to all who attended – and we hope to see you all next summer for another great weekend of new musicals.
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