Last month in Bethesda, Maryland, the Kingdom of Saldo and its intrepid twin princesses Lena and Meg came to life for the first time! Written with Mark Sonnenblick and Keah Brown.
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Something new for me: an art song! With fresh, beautiful music by Kim D. Sherman—who asked me to write a song Inspired by the photos I’d posted of abandoned umbrellas. Many thanks to Kate Baldwin for her glorious vocals and to Georgia Stitt for her impeccable piano performance.
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Delighted to be part of REIGNITE, a one-night-only concert event produced by Prospect Theatre and performed at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway @95th Street). The concert will feature songs from 15 new shows that have been in development over the past 18 months—including AMELIA AND ME.
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Big thanks to the gifted, brilliant performers who sang on our AMELIA AND ME recordings! Pictured here is Christiana Cole breaking our hearts with her performance as Amelia Earhart. Also making our songs come alive were the wonderful Charissa Bartels, Lauren Elder, Nick Kohn, and Jon-Michael Reese--and Carly Kincannon nailing it as scrappy young pilot Jackie Cochran.
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Jennie Redling, Phillip Palmer, and I decided to apply for a Jonathan Larson Grant this year for MY HEART IS THE DRUM, even though we're in the midst of a major rewrite...which included a first scene with an opening number still to come. So we consider it pretty encouraging that out of nearly 400 submissions, DRUM was one of 36 finalists for the 2020 Jonathan Larson Grant awarded by the American Theatre Wing. Here's looking at next year, with a new opening number!
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My one-act operetta, STORY OF AN HOUR, with music by Michael Valenti, will be performed by Gramercy Opera on Friday, December 13th at 7 pm and Saturday, December 14, at 3 pm, at the Montauk Club in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It's the main event in a program called "A Gramercy Opera Christmas." The program will also include a …
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So happy to share the first Salzman-Gramercy Opera Advancement Prize with composer Michael Valenti for our operetta, Story of an Hour, based on the classic Kate Chopin story by the same name. The award is presented to "a piece written in a tonal, lyrical idiom that invites new audiences into the world of opera."
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I was thrilled to receive this award! I've been presenting scenes from the first draft of Saving Amelia for the last year and a half--even the title is an early draft--so receiving this award is a big vote of confidence. Thank you, BMI!
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Songs from MY HEART IS THE DRUM will be featured at this year's 46th MINUTE Concert at the NAMT Festival! We'll be presenting shortened versions of "A World Beyond Kafrona," sung by Brittney Johnson (Sunset Boulevard, Motown, Beautiful, Les Mis) and "Your Heart Is the Drum," sung by Danielle Greaves (Sunset Boulevard, Hairspray, Rent).
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Well, THAT was fun. Just spent a fabulous week at the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat with Phillip Palmer, working on Saving Amelia (working title). Wrote two songs, dug deeper into the story.
Another highlight: taking a ride in this bi-plane, which has been around since 1929…
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So...what do you do when you have a play that gets you super jazzed...that has had several staged readings and a few honors, but no full production...a play that you've always felt somehow ought to go deeper, but feels a little bit stuck?
You turn it into a musical.
Yes, the play formerly known as JINXED, about Jackie Cochran and Amelia Earhart, is being reimagined as a musical, with the working title SAVING AMELIA. Music by Phillip Palmer and book and lyrics written by me….
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Honored to share this BMI award with DRUM composer Phillip Palmer. Standing to Phillip's right is Sheldon Harnick, who wrote the lyrics to FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. My favorite moment of a lovely luncheon was when Mr. Harnick pretended to steal my prize money.
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