Congratulations to Julia for receiving the 2020 Thom Thomas Award from the Dramatists Guild Foundation! The award winnings will go towards a very exciting, socially distanced REB+VoDKa+ME project to premiere later this summer. It’s been a decade since we were DG Fellows and it is wonderful to continue to have the Guild’s support!
As we expected, both of our scheduled productions of The Magnificent Seven have been postponed to next year. We are so looking forward to following through on all of the planning that we’ve done, and grateful for a moment to step back into our role as writers to tackle some refining and rewriting. It’s also exciting to be coinciding not only with the (now) 2021 Olympics but also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the team’s gold medal win!
There will be more information about our productions at Flint Rep and The Players Theatre, and we’ll share it with you when it’s available!
I’m sad to say that performances for the NYU production of Pregnancy Pact have been cancelled now that NYU has suspended all events in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. While I’m disappointed that we won’t get to share the hard work of the amazing ten actors pictured here with you all (not to mention the creative team behind the scenes) I’m so grateful to have had the chance to see the show run in the rehearsal room in front of a small audience of family and teachers and friends.
Thanks to Sarah Schlesinger and Kent Gash for giving us the opportunity; and thanks to our wonderful collaborators: director Catie Davis, music director Mark Evans, choreographer Nancy Renée Braun , stage manager Alannah O’Hagan, assistant director Sarah DeMarino, assistant stage manager Hannah Ford, and actors (pictured at left, clockwise) Cuinlin Pedretti (Cory/Justin), Caroline Reinstadtler (Jenn), Mary Jardine (Maddie), Scottie Schwefel (Brynn), Tiana Monique Jung (Sansanee), Jennifer Daly (Kaylee), Kylie Lavrenchik (Jeanelle), Ruby Zinner (Jeanelle), Chanel Morehead (Jenn), and Maddie Dyer (Maddie.)
This has been a wonderful second act for the show – we’ve gotten to tackle some meaningful rewrites and think through what this show means in 2020 – and Julia and I truly hope we’ll have a chance to share it again before too long.
In the lead up to the Olympics, The Magnificent Seven will vault onstage in New York this summer! Produced at the historic Players Theater in Greenwich Village, the show will be directed by Nikki DiLoreto (Soft Power, Kiss Me, Kate) with music direction by Alex Ratner and choreography by Sunny Hitt. The production runs June 25 to July 19. Casting will be announced shortly!
For more information and tickets: magnificentsevenmusical.com
I had a wonderful week back at San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre working on a reading of Something Blue! Julia and I were so happy to return to the theatre that produced the world premiere of The Loneliest Girl in the World and to have the opportunity to work with Artistic Director Matt Morrow and music director Patrick Marion once again.
It was a productive and intensely rewarding week thanks to the three stellar actors in the cast – Bryan Banville, Michael Cusimano, and Natasha Harris – who brought so much heart and pathos and humor to such a quick process.
We were also incredibly lucky to have set designer Justin Humphries consulting on the project, as well, giving us the chance to imagine how the musical lives in the space of a few cars and a few hotel rooms (and a lot of beds.)
Thanks to NAMT’s Frank Young Fund for New Musicals grant for making this wonderful week possible! We can’t wait to come back to Diversionary again soon.