Gordon Leary

Twenty-twenty-three.

It was a year of fulfilling long-standing promises and wildest dreams before starting new ones!

After over three years of waiting and planning, Julia and I finally got to bring The Magnificent Seven to life at Flint Repertory Theatre. We released our very first original cast album featuring the 2022 Theatre Row cast of The Magnificent Seven. And we received our very first commission to write These Familiar Spirits with Flint Rep!

As always, the best part of the year was the community of artists – both longstanding and brand new – with whom, for whom, and because of whom I was able to create:

Kendra Babcock, Bret Beaudry, Ann Beyersdorfer, Ally Bonino, Taja Christine Calhoun, Catie Davis, Jake DeGroot, Adam Dill, LaRaisha Dionne, Sasha Dudock, Alex Finke, Emi Fishman, Jesse Glenn, Alex Grindey, Beth Guest, Bryana Hall, Miranda Hartman, Duane Lee Holland Jr, Scott Anthony Joy, Sukari Jones, MinJi Kim, Kimberly Koljat, Amanda Kuo, Allison Lian, Michael Lluberes, Jeremy Robin Lyons, Rebecca MacCreery, Ellen Condon Macy, Melissa A. Nathan, Terrence Newman, Emma Orr, Matt Otto, Lucas Perro, Allison Posner, Alvon Reed, Mary Paige Rieffel, Katie Rodgers, Lynne Marie Rosenberg, Nicole Samsel, Russ Sauter, Libby Servais, Rich Silverstein, Hana Slevin, Monica Spencer, Rebecca Spiro, Phoebe Strole, Dave Thompson, and Abbey Wiker.

I’m excited for a year of new ideas and new victories and new experiences in 2024!

2023 Wilde Awards

Flint Repertory Theatre’s World Premiere production of The Magnificent Seven has received four 2023 Wilde Awards from Encore Michigan:

Best Teamwork (for the entire cast)
Best Lighting Design (Jake DeGroot)
Best Costume Design (Adam Dill)

And Best Musical!

It’s so lovely to be recognized for all that went into the production (the only world premiere musical on the list!) And it’s especially lovely to see some terrific friends recognized for their work on other projects in Michigan: Michael Lluberes (twice!), Bryana Hall, Elexis Morton, and the powerhouse Flint Repertory Theatre with 25 awards for the season.

It’s all a wonderful cherry on top of the most wonderful experience this year!

A first table(t) reading!

As we quickly make our way through a first, rought draft of These Familiar Spirits, Julia and I wanted the chance to hear what we’ve written so far read outloud for the first time… mostly just to make sure it makes sense and we’re on the right track. So we enlisted some of our most trusted friends and collaborators (some stretching back over two decades!) to do a cold reading and see what we have!

Beyond being excited about what we’ve written, tonight was the best reminder that there’s nothing like longstanding collaborations with wonderful actors who know your work and know your heart to make you feel invincible (and not at all embarrassed, which is how I normally feel hearing anything for the first time.) I feel so lucky to have LaRaisha Dionne, Sukari Jones, Allison Lian, Ellen Macy, Allison Posner, Lynne Marie Rosenberg, Libby Servais, and Rich Silverstein as an integral part of my writing and my life!

(And the verdict from the read? These Familiar Spirits is a moooooood. Now back to writing!)

These Familiar Spirits

Julia and I are thrilled that our wonderful friends at Flint Repertory Theatre have commissioned us to write our next musical, These Familiar Spirits!

The musical imagines a reunion of the “afflicted girls of Salem” twenty-three years after the end of the witch trials as they return to Salem Village for the funeral of one of their own. (We like to say that the elevator pitch would be “The Crucible meets The Big Chill.“) The women have to face each other and their shared past and the harms they felt and caused… and probably encounter (or participate in?) some magic along the way!

We’ve been talking about the story and doing research and writing some exploratory songs for the last few years – you may have already heard “I Remember Summer” or “Scar” (starting around 26:30) – but we are so excited to get to work on writing the show itself and digging into a brand new world fully. And we’re even more excited to be doing so with everyone at Flint Rep… It’s an honor to get our first full commission from one of our favorite places!

We’ll be working on the piece over the course of the year with a few developmental steps in Flint and beyond, so keep an eye out for more information soon!

But that is joy, and that is life, and that is me

We stuck the landing! After thirteen wonderful performances, we’re leaving behind the Georgia Dome (for now, we hope.)

And a huge thanks to everyone involved in the production: Director Catie Davis, Choreographer Duane Lee Holland Jr., Associate Choreographer Alvon Reed, and Music Director Jeremy Robin Lyons; cast members Bret Beaudry, Alex Finke, Emi Fishman, Beth Guest, Bryana Hall, Scott Anthony Joy, Amanda Kuo, Mary Paige Rieffel, Hana Slevin, Monica Spencer & Phoebe Strole; stage management team Melissa A. Nathan & Rebecca MacCreery; designers Ann Beyersdorfer, Adam Dill, Jake DeGroot, Matt Otto, and Miranda Hartmann (and their associates/engineers Abbey Wiker, Alex Grindey & Emma Orr); musicians Lucas Perro, Terrence Newman & Russ Sauter; the remarkable Flint Rep Staff of Michael Lluberes, Nicole Samsel, Jesse Glenn, Sasha Dudock, Taja Christine Calhoun, Kendra Babcock & Dave Thompson, and show sponsors Dr. & Mrs. Frederick Van Duyne.

(And special thanks to Cynthia at Minerealm Crystals and everyone at the Flint Farmer’s Market for keeping me grounded and happy the whole time!)

I can’t wait to see what’s next for The Magnificent Seven and I’m so grateful to have had this magnificent opportunity to discover the heart of our musical.