Theatre Barn’s original core program is the New Works Series, an incubator of new musicals now in its 10th season. New Works Series presents bi-monthly, “pre-premieres” of untold stories in the early stages of development. As the primary incubator, Theatre Barn serves as the first curator and developer of these untold stories. We consider more than 100 new musicals each year before choosing the twelve eclectic stories we present. Our selection process becomes a showcase for burgeoning talent and
Book, Music and Lyrics by Chris Reza
Directed by Joe Barros (Bastard Jones, Cagney)
Music Direction by James Higgins (Old Jews Telling Jokes)
Line Producer Sam Strum
Presented in association with Jesse B. Langston (Joan of Arc: Into the Fire)
With
Cam Cote
George Dvorsky (Closer Than Ever)
Alie B. Gorrie (Bastard Jones)
Julia Johanos
Deven Kolluri (The Boy Who Danced On Air)
Jordyn Norkey
Onyie Nwachukwu (Rent National Tour)
Nicholas Park (Bedbugs)
Anthony SimoneWith
When a closeted politician becomes the center of Maine’s heated 2009 same-sex marriage debate, he must choose between being honest with himself and the world, or risk losing his entire career and family. Inspired by true events, Question 1 is a musical dramedy about human equality and the power within each of us to contribute either strife or kindness to humanity. Question 1 was previously presented in the Theatre Resources Unlimited Play Reading Series.
Book by Tony Le Page & Josh Sassanella
Music and Lyrics by Josh Sassanella
Directed by Seonjae Kim (KPOP)
Line Producer Adam Chisnall
With
Ester Barroso-Guerzon
Joey Calveri (Rock of Ages)
Rebecca Hoodwin (Fiddler on the Roof)
Crystal Kellogg (Rock of Ages)
Emilie Renier
Justin Matthew Sargent (Rock of Ages)
Brandon Shraml
Jim Stanek (Fun Home)
Tony Vincent (American Idiot)
Ryan Williams
November 22nd, 1963: John F. Kennedy's presidential motorcade heads ominously down the streets of Dallas, Texas. 3 shots ring out. Days later, Lee Harvey Oswald is led through the basement of the Dallas Police headquarters, only to meet his doom at the hands of Jack Ruby. A nation mourns. Not only for the loss of a great leader, but for a truth that can never be told. Oswald follows Lee Harvey Oswald’s elderly widow as she tells two possible versions of her husband’s story simultaneously.
LISTEN to a teaser from the new musical Oswald:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/48e2viq900rvju2/Oswald-Teaser.mp3?dl=0
Music and Lyrics by Tim McCorry
Book by Michael Aman
Directed by Joe Barros (Cagney)
Music Direction by Ben Kiley
Line Producer Sam Strum
With
Danny Bolero (In the Heights)
Mili Diaz
Brian Losoya
Val Moranto
Pedro and Bernadice are young lovers, determined to be re-united, who turn to a mysterious figure known only as Coyote to help them make a perilous crossing from Mexico into the United States. They have no idea that they have engaged the services of a magical, god-like creature who can change form, leap into their dreams and is bound by neither time nor space. He is a trickster. He is also their only hope in the struggle of love against fear. Inspired by a true story, Coyote is a modern American story about love and immigration. Coyote is performed in repertory with The Goree All-Girl String Band at both the 7PM and 9PM New Works Series presentations.
Coyote was developed in conjunction with FWD Theatre Project, Chicago in 2016.
Book and Lyrics by Michael Bradley
Music by Artie Sievers
Directed by Ashley Brooke Monroe (Indecent)
Music Direction by Max Gordon
Line Producer Adam Chisnall
With
Kendra Jo Brook
Lizzie Hagstedt (Sweeney Todd)
Chanel Karimkhani
Nattalyee Randall
Lauren J. Thomas (Once)
Titus Tompkin
Ruby Wolf
Inspired by a true story, The Goree All-Girl String Band is a tale of redemption that features an ensemble of actor-musicians performing a brand new country score. The year is 1938 and The Goree All-Girl String Band is the biggest new radio sensation in Texas. They also happen to be convicted criminals. The six band members teach themselves music from behind bars and earn a slot on a prison-based radio program. Through sisterhood, determination, and a little bit of luck, these women work and play together to fiddle their way to freedom. The Goree All-Girl String Band is performed in repertory with Coyote at both the 7PM and 9PM New Works Series presentations.
The Goree All-Girl String Band was first presented as part of the New York Musical Festival where it was co-produced by The Kevin Spacey Foundation.
Book+Lyrics by Khiyon Hursey
Book+Music by Cheeyang Ng
Directed by Joe Barros (Cagney, Gigi)
Music Direction by Michael Moise
Line Producer Sam Strum
Cast:
Calvin Zach Piser
Jessica Helen White
Caroline Jessica Tyler Wright (War Horse)
Yun Jonathan Lee
Tian Shan Y. Chuang
Qing Mandarin Wu
Alec Nicholas Park
Musicians:
Piano Michael Moise
Percussion Dan Berkery
Eastbound follows the story of Asian twin brothers separated at birth who both travel across the world, one in search of a bone marrow donor for his cancer, the other in search of a new identity. Through their intertwined journeys, the show explores how culture and society shape the way we deal with loss, tradition and our own mortality. The writers of Eastbound are the recipients of a NAMT Writers Residency grant, and the show is being developed in partnership with the Musical Theatre Factory.
Book, Music + Lyrics by Marcus Scott
Directed by Erin Soler
Music Direction/Orchestrations/Arrangements by Justin Ward Weber
Line Producer Adam Chisnall
Cast:
Franklin McQueen Melvin Cox
Phaedra Pharaoh Britney Abrahams
Quentin Abbot Mark Andrew Garner
Aerosol Chateau KC Morse
Letterman Caballero Luis E. Mora
Princess Karen Pangantihon
Avi Ian Fields Stewart
Mr. Stevens Michael Enright
Ensemble Emma Clayne
Ensemble Evan Watkins
Ensemble Javelle C. Lawrence
Musicians:
Piano Justin Ward Weber
Percussion Derek Swink
When all of the academic and extracurricular programs are eliminated from their high school arts and humanities curriculum, theatre geek and chess prodigy Franklin McQueen stages a revolt against the Department of Education and the topsy-turvy education system, inspiring and recruiting the student body in his passionate and fearless mission. Cherry Bomb explores many social issues including class consciousness, the decline of arts and humanities education, ethics in modern child psychiatry, juvenile prescription medication, teenage rebellion, and sexual exploration during adolescence.
Book + Lyrics by David Brush
Music by Rachel Dean
Based on the novel by David Gerrold
Directed by Sammi Cannold (Ragtime on Ellis Island)
Featuring:
Tsilala Brock (Migguel Anggelo, Satchel Paige)
Noah Hinsdale (Fun Home, Finding Neverland)
Christopher Michael McLamb (Ragtime on Ellis Island, Unexplored Interior)
Trevor St. John-Gilbert (Les Miserables, The Church of Why Not)
Franca Vercelloni (Ragtime on Ellis Island, Tony ’N Tina’s Wedding)
Noah Weisberg (Elf, South Pacific)
Jessica Tyler Wright (War Horse, Sweeney Todd)
What happens when a single science fiction writer from Los Angeles adopts a 9-year-old boy who believes he's from Mars? Together, David and Dennis must navigate the treacherous waters of adoption to discover how it feels to be alien and what it means to be human. Based on the award-winning true story by David Gerrold, Martian Child is a funny, touching and honest account of discovering where you belong no matter where you're from.
Book, Music + Lyrics by Katya Stanislavskaya
Directed by Joe Barros (Cagney, Gigi)
Music Direction by Katya Stanislavskaya
Featuring:
Amy Justman (In Transit, Company, Phantom of the Opera)
Theresa McCarthy (Floyd Collins, Queen of the Mist)
Arden Truax
Matthew Hardy
Babs Rubenstein (Priscilla Queen of the Desert)
Joanna Carpenter
Anne Wechsler
North Carolina has been in the news a lot lately. Some say it no longer qualifies as a democracy. Most have heard about its views on discrimination and its infamous "bathroom law." But lurking just beneath the surface are its outdated family laws. Going South examines the legal, social and emotional ramifications of getting divorced in the 21st Century American South. New York Theatre Barn previously developed Stanislavskaya's Resident Alien, a new musical about a Russian family's struggle with the American dream.
A new musical by Joe Barros + Ryan Haase
Directed by Joe Barros
Music Direction by Ben Shaver
Line Producer Adam Chisnall
With
Sage Chase
Tais Fontanez
Ella Martin
Lucas Rosenblum
Blake Sheridan
Brooklyn Shuck (Matilda, Les Miserables)
Raleigh Shuck (Beaches)
Lucy Taylor
It’s 1984 and Ryan White is a thirteen-year-old hemophiliac living with AIDS. When Ryan puts on the headphones to his walkman, he can escape into his own fantasy world where he is the the rockstar of his mind. But Ryan soon becomes a celebrity in the real world: America’s first poster child for AIDS. All he wants to do is to return to school and be normal. It is in the great escape of his fantasy world that he is able to deal with the pressures, problems and hysteria of the real world. Maybe he can live in the fantasy world for eternity, even if his body eventually fails him. Inspired by the incredible true story, Ryan White is told through the eyes of an all-teenage cast, and is being presented in collaboration with Broadway For All.
Book by Yvonne Adrian
Lyrics by Cheryl Stern
Music by Tom Kochan
Developed by Jack Cummings III
Co-Adapted by Robyn Hussa + Eric R. Christiansen
Directed by Joe Barros (Gigi, Cagney)
Choreography by Katharine Pettit (Bullets Over Broadway)
Music Direction by Karen Dryer
Line Producer Sam Strum
With
Sage Chase
George Dvorsky (Closer Than Ever revival)
Nichole Forde
Ella Martin
Erin Leigh Peck (Disenchanted, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change)
Evan Ruggiero (Bastard Jones)
Sydney Shuck (Annie)
Lucy Taylor
Aimee Van Dam
Pretty to the Bone is a dynamic, provocative and contemporary musical based on a true story. When fifteen-year-old Polly develops an eating disorder, a “perfect and happy” American family is shaken to the core and embarks on the emotional roller coaster ride of a lifetime. Humorous, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting, Pretty to the Bone is about family, survival and love. Winner of the Jonathan Larson Award, Pretty to the Bone was previously titled Normal. It was originally produced Off-Broadway at Transport Group Theatre Company with direction by Jack Cummings III.
Book by Whitney Rhodes, Shenelle Salcido and Spencer Williams
Music + Lyrics by Shenelle Salcido and Spencer Williams
Directed by Joe Barros (Gigi, Cagney)
Music Direction by Shenelle Salcido
With
Drew Arisco
Alison Lea Bender
Sean Buhr
Adam Theodore Barry
Jordan J. Ford
Keri Rene Fuller
Michelle Beth Herman
Brandon Kalm (American Psycho)
Deven Kolluri
Lori Lusted
Kelly McIntyre (A Night With Janis Joplin)
Krista Pioppi (Lazarus)
Blake Sheridan
Zurin Villanueva (Shuffle Along)
When their parents die of a mysterious illness in their small Welsh village, surviving siblings Thomas, Haydon, and Nettie are forced to fend for themselves. Unhappy with small town life, Haydon runs off to Liverpool where he meets a Romani woman, Mirela, who speaks to his wandering soul. This enchanting story, inspired by the author’s great-great-great grandfather’s journals, is magically recounted by a band of Romani musicians. Through a riveting indie-rock/folk score, For Tonight explores prejudices, family relationships and the indelible power of home.
For Tonight was featured in Goodspeed’s Festival of New Musicals, NYMF, Michigan State University's ĭmáGen program, and TheatreFest on the Isle of Man.
Book by Katie Palmer, Lucas Tahiruzzaman Syed, and Sarah Ziegler
Music by Lucas Tahiruzzaman Syed
Lyrics by Sarah Ziegler
Music Direction by Kevin Winebold
Directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz (Violet)
With
Carly Kincannon
Patricia Noonan (Death Takes A Holiday)
Gilbert Sanchez
Anne Wechsler
"Literature cannot be the business of a woman's life." After receiving this crushing response from the poet laureate, Charlotte Brontë went on to write “Jane Eyre”, spearhead her sisters' writing careers, and break through a Victorian "glass ceiling." Literary history is forever grateful. So why did her family resent her and fall apart?
The Brontës is being developed by Theater in Asylum and is coming to Brooklyn in the Summer of 2017 with Piper Theatre Productions.
Copyright © 2021 Michael Bonasio - All Rights Reserved.