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Imelda

Book by Sachi Oyama, Lyrics by Aaron Coleman, Music by Nathan Wang

The woman behind the shoes.

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: Tim Dang of Los Angeles' East West Players was looking for something to appeal to his Pilipino audience. ANMT helped him develop the new musical Imelda with writers Aaron Coleman, Sachi Oyama, and Nathan Wang.

AFTER ANMT: Imelda premiered at East West Players in May of 2005, and grossed the second-highest box office of any production in the company's history. Imelda was also one of the semi-finalists for the 2005 NAMT Festival of New Musicals. Imelda received a New York production at Pan Asian Rep in the fall of 2009.

Miss Vulcan 1939

Book by Marian Partree, Lyrics by Noelle Donfeld, Music by Jan Powell

A Beauty Contest in 1939...under the looming statue of Vulcan. What could possibly go wrong?

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: The Red Mountain Theatre approached the Academy to create a brand new musical to take place outdoors in Vulcan Park, under the shadow of the prominent statue of Vulcan, based on the true events of a beauty contest in 1939. ANMT assembled the creative team, and guided the work from outline through performance draft.

AFTER ANMT: Miss Vulcan 1939 received a first draft reading in Birmingham in November 2006, and the world premiere production took place in Vulcan Park in the fall of 2007. The show has become an annual event which has been re-mounted every summer since the premiere.

Got Milk? A moo-sical revue

Book and Lyrics by Hillary Rollins and Kellen Blair, Music by Bill Johnson

A revue of sketches involving all things bovine!

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: Currently in development for American Folklore Theatre in Door County, Wisconsin. Initial segments were presented as part of an Academy showcase in February 2008.

AFTER ANMT: Scheduled for public reading at the American Folklore Theatre in the summer of 2010.

Twice Told Tales

Written by Bill Berry, Kellen Blair, Nick DeGregorio, Scott Guy, Bill Johnson, Ed Martel, and Clay Zambo

An evening of four one-act musicals based on classic American short stories by O.Henry, Hawthorne, Poe, Twain.

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: The Academy developed these shows for the Colony Theatre. Workshopped with the Academy Repertory Company. Featured at the Academy's 2008 Showcase.

AFTER ANMT: Now marketing national campaign for production.

Now and Then a Hero

Book and Lyrics by Larry Johnson, Music by Jake Anthony

A cycle of ten short musicals, contrasting pairs of ordinary heroes -- then, and now.

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: The Academy developed Now and Then a Hero for the Colony Theatre using its classic model: idea, outline, 15-minute presentation and first draft. The Colony Theatre presented a public concert reading of the work. The show is now currently in re-development. STAGES semi-finalist 2008.

AFTER ANMT: . Dark Night Series Reading, Secret Rose, February 2010

Black & White Christmas

Book and lyrics by Chana Wise, music by Carl Johnson

Monica and Steve aren't happy about spending Christmas alone; can the heros of famous Christmas movies save them?

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: Greenlit by UC/Irvine for full draft

AFTER ANMT: UC/Irvine New Works Festival 2010

e-$cape: a cybermusical

book and lyrics by Scott Guy, music by Nick DeGregorio

what happens when the cyber world enfringes on the real world?

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: Developed for UC/Irvine and presented in concert by their students as part of their first annual New Works Festival.

AFTER ANMT: potential full production at UC/Irvine

Aging Out

Book and lyrics by Hillary Rollins and Tara Redepenning, music by Darin Goulet

an exploration of a group of 18 year olds "aging out" of the foster care system

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: Developed with UC/Irvine; presented during their first annual New Works Festival in September of 2009

AFTER ANMT: Potential full production at UC/Irvine

Cotton Club

Book by Arnold Margolin, Lyrics by Jason Kuller, Music by Weslie Brown

Love is never black and white.

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: James Blackman of Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities was looking for something to appeal to his unique racially mixed audience. ANMT helped him develop the new musical Cotton Club with writers Arnold Margolin, Jason Kuller, and Weslie Brown.

AFTER ANMT: Cotton Club had a successful public reading at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center for 400 CLOSBC subscribers. Now waiting for its world premiere.

Sour Grapes

Book and Lyrics by Carl Ritchie, Music by Charles Pelletier

Or, The Ladies of the Hood River Horticultural Society, and the Flower That Nearly Destroyed Them.

ANMT DEVELOPMENT: Sharon Mulroney of Broadway Rose Theatre in Oregon approached the Academy with the idea of developing a new musical which would feature Oregon and perhaps also feature her local Oregon stars. The Academy developed Sour Grapes for Broadway Rose Theatre using its classic model: assembling the creative team, followed by idea, outline, 15-minute presentation and first draft.

AFTER ANMT: Sour Grapes had a public reading at Broadway Rose Theatre in August 2006, and a workshop production at the Copake Lake Theatre Company in September 2006.

 

 

"ANMT has found a way to combine both the educational component – How To Write A Musical – with the practical application – access to people and organizations looking for new musicals.  In that, they are unique and proven. ANMT was responsible for bringing the three of us together – composer, lyricist and librettist – and introducing us to Steve Ullman and the South Bay Civic Light Opera.  Without ANMT, THE COTTON CLUB would never have happened for the three of us in the way it did."

Arnold Margolin, Jason Kuller, Weslie Brown
The Cotton Club

"EWP had an opportunity to create an original musical from idea-to-production.  We would never have attempted it on our own, but ANMT's incredible creativity, energy and artistic quality of musical development drove us all the way to production.  The process is astonishing.  We can't imagine how we would produce an original musical again without ANMT."

Tim Dang
East West Players

"ANMT is a welcome oasis for musical theatre devotees in the Los Angeles area. Its highly qualified staff knows the art inside-out, and in a stunningly comprehensive first year instilled in me the necessary tools to write professional level musical theatre. Their connections with the local and national musical theatre community provided me the dream chance of a lifetime: to write an original musical with a nationally recognized theater. I am grateful to ANMT for strengthening and deepening my already fervent passion for musical theatre."

Aaron Coleman
Lyricist, IMELDA

"I can’t tell you how useful your feedback is. We have NOTHING like this in England. No system at all for informed investigation of a musical. It’s so rewarding to see a group of professionals-in-the-know examining your work and not letting you get away with anything. It’s all too easy to kid yourself."

Chris Burgess
Mercury Musical Developments
London
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Bonnie & Clyde: A Folktale

Book by Hunter Foster, Music and Lyrics by Rick Crom

a side splittin’ toe tappin’ gun totin’ musical!

ACADEMY'S CONTRIBUTION: Bonnie and Clyde first came to the Academy's attention at the 2005 Songwriters Showcase at the NAMT Festival in New York. ANMT then workshopped the piece and provided extension feedback and brokered a national coaliltion of producers interested in the piece. After a successful reading in New York and a huge success at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, the Academy presented Bonnie and Clyde in a concert reading at the Colony Theatre, followed by an all-day session with the authors.

AFTER ANMT: York Theatre Reading (2006); NYMF Festival (2008); ANMT Concert Reading at the Colony Theatre (2009); recipient of the ASCAP/NAMT Irving Caeser Foundation Fund Award. Winner of 'Most Promising New Musical' at NYMF 2008. Plans for Los Angeles and New York productions.

Fairystories

by Paul Graham Brown

Are the childrens' photographs of fairies...real?

ACADEMY'S CONTRIBUTION: In 2005-06, the coalition of the Academy, Theatre Building Chicago, and Village Theatre in Washington co-developed Fairystories: workshops in Los Angeles, staged reading in Chicago, and developmental production in Washington.

AFTER ANMT: Monday Night Reading (Chicago), 2006 STAGES Festival (Chicago); developmental production at Village Theatre.

The Gypsy King

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Randy Rogel

Classic farce, involving look-alike twins: one's the nasty heir to the throne; the other is a poor starving actor.

ACADEMY'S CONTRIBUTION: NAMT Semi-Finalist 2005 (as Romancing the Throne). Two Academy workshops with the Academy Repertory Company.

AFTER ANMT: ASCAP/Disney Workshop 2006, NAMT Finalist 2007, Village Theatre developmental production 2009, Village Theatre Full Production upcoming next season.

Road to Ruin

Book, Lyrics, and Music by William Zeffiro

A harmless stick of chewing gum; will it lead Little Sally Canfield down the road to ruin?

ACADEMY'S CONTRIBUTION: In September 2006, the ANMT staff identified NAMT Festival semi-finalist The Road to Ruin as promising. ANMT partners with 5th Avenue (Seattle) and East of Doheny (Los Angeles) to develop the work. In November of 2006, the ANMT staff presented an informal table reading of the current draft, along with members of the Academy Repertory Company. In March of 2007, the Academy Repertory Company presented a staged reading at East of Doheny's Pico Playhouse in Los Angeles, directed by New York's David Glenn Armstrong.

AFTER ANMT: Road to Ruin was produced in the 2008 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

King of the Road: The Roger Miller Story

Music and Lyrics by Roger Miller, Book by Cort Casady

Kickback with the songs and life story of the funny and irrepressible Roger Miller, King of the Road.

ACADEMY'S CONTRIBUTION: Cort Casady Entertainment approached the Academy to develop the musical, in conjunction with the Roger Miller Estate. ANMT provided the work with two staff table readings, and ongoing feedback during revisions.

AFTER ANMT: Cort Casady Productions is now actively seeking partners in mounting a full production of the show.

 

 

 

"I can’t let 2007 proceed much further without putting officially into words what 2006 and my collaboration with ANMT has meant to me. John Sparks and his fabulous team were the best thing that could have happened to FAIRYSTORIES. Scott Guy and Elise Dewsberry’s careful and insightful feedback provided me with expert and informed opinions and still allowed my show to change and grow in the way I wanted it to. They applied their knowledge to both the general and the specific and did so with unfailing generosity of spirit. I can’t believe we did all this by email and video feedback and we’re still speaking to each other! Not only were they careful and caring with the content of the FAIRYSTORIES, they also magnificently guided an (at times) overwhelmed author/composer through the various stages of the process. They don’t just know what makes a good musical, they know that it takes experimentation, U-turns and false starts to get a show to a stronger place. The subsequent workshops at Theatre Building Chicago and the beautiful development production at Village Theatre, Issaquah were really able to blossom as a direct result of the time that FAIRYSTORIES had spent with Elise, Scott and John. I would recommend this programme to any writer, composer or producer with a new musical... or a not so new one that isn’t working...or a show that IS working but could work better. You could not wish to be in safer hands!"

Paul Graham Brown
Writer/Composer FAIRYSTORIES
Berlin, January 2007.

"I wanted to drop you a note to tell you that Mark and I have found your notes very helpful -- very very helpful. We are incorporating many of your suggestions and looking forward to working with you on the new draft of the show we are now calling THE GROUCH'S DAUGHTER."

Jack Helbig, collaborator with Mark Hollmann (Urinetown)

"Wow!! Thank you so very much. I love all your ideas. It's as though you were reading our minds -- Roger and I tossed some of those questions around as well -- then YOU magically solve our problems with the answers!! What's particularly brilliant is that you are having us work through the process in manageable stages. What a gift you have, that you can lead us so that we need to climb out of only puddles of quicksand of our own making, rather than oceans of it! We both hold you in the absolute highest esteem imaginable. Your very grateful students... "

Roger Love and Ann McNamee

"I absolutely want to put in my thanks for the reading you conducted on Monday, and for your comments about the work. It's going to help us greatly on our next leg of the process. Conversations are already heating up about how to further shape the material. I'm sure that our show will be much better for the process.
With much gratitude,"

Kirby Ward, bookwriter The Gypsy King

"I want to thank you both again for the tremendous help you've given us with Romancing the Throne. Please convey our thanks to the cast as well for all their hard in putting up the reading. I know I speak for Kirby as well in thanking you especially for the in-depth analysis and critique you provided. We've already begun discussing your comments and we're pumped up to start rewrites. We also plan to take you up on your offer to run our new outline by you. Again, much appreciated for all your help in this."

Randy Rogel, The Gypsy King

"I can't tell you how much I appreciated the insightful, perceptive, intelligent, thoughtful discussion with the three of you. Wow! It was clear to me that not only did you all really hear what I had to say, but understood the dilemmas and took perceptive leaps in your responses. Still, the most critical piece for me was your approach. I don't know if you are "tougher" with others, but I have to say that your sensitivity -- to my sensitivity,allowed me to hear and take in everything you said, even when I was disappointed in your reaction to what I had written, I still was able to hear you and understand your position about it without feeling like I had to defend myself from you. That made all the difference in the world for me."

Janet Sandoval, bookwriter/lyricist