Licensing

Getting plays produced is hard. Getting them licensed for amateur performance can be even harder. That's why I'm glad to announce that Keep On Walkin', the musical I wrote together with Lavell Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen, is now available to be performed by schools and community theatres.

The musical's licensing agreements are being handled by Plays for New Audiences, a division of Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. The company has done a lot of fine work over the years, and it would be a shame to see original work developed there not continue to have a life elsewhere. Keep On Walkin' wasn't developed there, but they are helping other works for young audiences connect to schools and children's theatres looking for material.

Keep On Walkin' weaves together history, humanity, and hope to tell the unforgettable story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott through the eyes of two teenage pen pals. One, May, lives on Staten Island, and the other, June, is in Montgomery. As their letters cross regional and racial divides, both girls come of age against the backdrop of one of the most pivotal movements in American history. The play was performed at schools on Staten Island and later won the Anna Zornio Memorial Children's Theatre Playwriting Award.

This is the first time a musical I worked on has been licensed, though a number of my plays are published and licensed for production. In fact, I recently received a check from Brooklyn Publishers for royalties for my play The New Mrs. Jones. Given that royalty rates for amateur and educational productions haven't gone up much in the past fifty years, no playwright in America can make a living this way, but it's nice when someone acknowledges that your work has value.

ALICE Pictures

I just received photographs from the wonderful production of my adaptation of Alice in Wonderland that toured through North Carolina earlier this month.

East Carolina University produced the show, which was directed by Nick Lease and Michael Eubanks. A couple of the performances were at the Turnage Theatre in Washington, N.C., and another was at Parkwood Elementary School in Jacksonville, N.C. They took some great photos, and I wanted to share a few of them here.

Here's Alice (Catie Griffin) with her sister Lorina (Jordan Biggers) at the beginning of the show:

Alice falls down the rabbit hole and finds herself in a rather curious place.

Once in Wonderland, she encounters the Duchess, played here by Emma Myers.

A friendly cat (played here by Michael VanHouten) helps her along the way.

Here's the crazy tea party with the Mad Hatter (Connor Gerney), the Dormouse (Tyler Whitley), and the March Hare (Grant Morgan).

The highlight of the show was a manxome Jabberwock. You should have heard its mighty burbles when it came whiffling through the tulgy wood...

Fortunately, Alice slew the beast with her vorpal sword. What a finale!

Thanks to everyone who made the show a success, including sound and lighting designers Jayme Johns and Andrew Fiorini, Dylan Bailey and Jordan Early who costumed the piece, and puppet designer David Lynn. Leslie Shaw stage managed the show, and Patch Clark provided faculty supervision.

Here's a shot of the whole goofy cast and crew:

Everyone at ECU was great, and I hope to work with them again some day.

Washington's Turnage Theatre

I'm back now from North Carolina, where the students at East Carolina University put on a wonderful production of my adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

On Sunday, I got to see the show at the historic Turnage Theatre in Washington, N.C. It's a beautiful building, originally built in 1913, and renovated and reopened 100 years later by a local arts council.

Originally, there was a vaudeville theatre built on the top floor, above a department store. Roy Rogers performed there, and according to legend rode his horse Trigger up the stairs and right into the theatre. The space was also used to show movies, but with the advent of talkies, audiences started to complain about too much noise from the street. Consequently, management decided to build a second theatre behind the first one.

It is the newer theatre that is in use today. The old department store beneath the vaudeville theatre is now a spacious lobby and cafe that opens into the lavish theatre where Alice was. The arts council has plans to eventually restore the older vaudeville theatre as well, but has to raise the money first. Fortunately, they were kind enough to let me upstairs to see the older space, and I took a few pictures. It's beautiful up there.

Near the stage is an indention in the floor where a piano used to be that could be played during silent movies. The ceiling is amazing, but falling apart. A chandelier used to hang down over the audience, but it is long gone. You can still see the balcony (though not climb up to it right now) and even go into the office, where the word "REVIVAL" is stenciled on the wall.

Best of luck to the people of Washington as they continue to renovate this gem of a theatre!

Wonderland, N.C.

This afternoon, I saw the students of East Carolina University put on a wonderful production of my adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

Today's show was in Jacksonville, N.C., at Parkwood Elementary School. Lots of folks showed up, including my old friend Jeff Hidek, who I used to do theater with in Pensacola, and who now lives in Wilmington.

It was great to see Jeff again, and his daughter seemed to enjoy the show, as did the other kids in attendance. Jacksonville doesn't get a lot of live theater, and this might have been their first play for some of the kids in the audience.

Catie Griffin, who plays Alice, did a wonderful job, and kids seemed to really relate to her. Michael VanHouten plays Lewis Carroll, as well as the Cheshire Cat and the White Knight. When he fell off his horse as the White Knight, there were howls of laughter from the audience.

The rest of the cast, likewise, did an excellent job. Jordan Biggers, who plays Alice's sister Lorina, also grabbed the audience's attention as the Cook and Tweedle Dee. Tyler Whitley, who plays Tweedle Dum (as well as the Dormouse and the King of Hearts), is considerably taller than her, but the staging made use of their height difference to great comic effect.

Emma Myers was delightfully frightening as the Queen of Hearts (also playing the Duchess and the Carpenter), and Connor Gerney was delicious as the Mad Hatter. Conner also operated some of the puppets, and his frog footman was a big hit with the audience. Of course, you can't have the story without the White Rabbit, which Grant Morgan hoppily played, jumping across the stage, later returning both as the March Hare and as the Walrus.

Many thanks to Nick Lease and Michael Eubanks for directing this production, and to the whole crew who helped bring it off today. Tomorrow, the show will be playing at the Turnage Theatre in Washington, N.C. at 2:00. The performance is free and open to the public, so if you're in the area, please come on out to see it!

ALICE Featured in Jacksonville Paper

My adaptation of Alice in Wonderland has been featured in an article in the Jacksonville Daily News in North Carolina.

I just arrived in North Carolina tonight, but earlier today the show had its first performance. There will be another performance I'll get to see tomorrow, and then one more I'll get to see on Sunday, after which I'll be heading back home.

You can read the article here if you're interested. I spoke with the reporter on Thursday over the phone, so I'm quoted in it, as is Liz Owens of the Zing Zumm Children's Museum. The play is being produced by East Carolina University, and is directed by two ECU seniors, Nick Lease and Michael Eubanks.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing the show tomorrow!

ALICE Opens Next Week!

I'm very excited that my stage adaptation of Alice in Wonderland will receive its world premiere in North Carolina next week.

East Carolina University students Nick Lease and Michael Eubanks are directing the production, and I've been in touch with them over e-mail. We've made a few changes to the script, some of which I'll be keeping for future productions, others of which are necessary for a younger audience, but might be adjusted for different productions going forward.

The piece will open on Friday, March 16th, but I'll be having to miss that performance, as my plane doesn't get in until quite late. I will see the performance on the following day at the Children's Museum in Jacksonville, as well as the performance on March 18th at the Turnage Theatre in Washington. (Apparently, North Carolina has a lot of towns named after presidents.)

Though this production will be the world premiere, Kim Sharp previously directed two staged readings of the piece at the Abingdon Theatre Company.

If you live in North Carolina and you're in the area, maybe you can pop in for tea!

Alice Premieres Next Month

Next month, I'll be heading down to North Carolina for the first fully staged production of my adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

The production is being directed by Nick Lease and Michael Eubanks, two students at East Carolina University who are putting it together as their senior project. Their professor, Patch Clark, is mentoring them.

I'll be missing the first showing of the piece on Friday, March 16th, but I'll be there for a Saint Patrick's Day performance at the Children's Museum in Jacksonville, N.C. I'll get to see it again on March 18th at the historic Turnage Theatre in Washington, N.C.

I first wrote the adaptation at the request of the late great Christopher Catt. Kim Sharp at the Abingdon Theatre Company later directed two staged readings of the piece, the latter of which starred Mckenna Cox as Alice. She passed the script on to the folks at her alma mater, E.C.U.

And now, the play will be getting a full production! I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Flight School

Yesterday I saw the delightful new children's musical Flight School at the Vital Theatre. Based on a picture book by Lita Judge, the play tells the story of a penguin who wants to learn to fly. What could be cuter than that?

Vital's music adaptation features a book by Cara Lustick and songs by David Mallamud and Joshua H. Cohen. I've long been an admirer of Mallamud's The Strange Affair of Doctor Crippen, and I've worked with Josh on a number of of pieces, including Keep On Walkin'.

The play shows a bevy of birds ready to learn how to fly from Teacher, a flamingo played by Ashtia Jewell. When Penguin, played by Jennifer Smith, arrives by boat, the other birds are skeptical. With a round body and a big belly, Penguins just aren't meant to fly. However, the play teaches children that there is a place for everyone, regardless of body type, and it is refreshing to see a protagonist unapologetic about a large stomach.

Mallamud's music is recorded, not live, but that didn't seem to phase the children in the audience. Penguin forms a friendship with a bookish owl (played by Alie B. Gorrie) that warms the heart, and even though our protagonist is never able to really fly, with a little help from friends, Penguin does manage to glide.

The show is recommended for children ages 2-7, so if you have any young ones in that age group, take them! You can find out more about the show here:

Vital Theatre

Keep On Walkin'

Last night, I got back from Durham, New Hampshire, where the University of New Hampshire put on my musical Keep On Walkin'. The play was the 2012 winner of the Anna Zornio Memorial Children's Theatre Playwrighting Award, and this production was part of the prize.

The play tells the story of a white girl on Staten Island who becomes pen pals with an African American girl in Montgomery, Alabama. Through the eyes of these two girls, we meet a young preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr. who is leading a boycott of segregated buses in Montgomery.

Lavell Blackwell composed the music for the piece, and Joshua H. Cohen wrote the lyrics. This production was directed by Raina Ames, who did a wonderful job bringing the play to life. The set, designed by David Kaye, was divided with two kitchen tables on each side and a prominent pulpit between the two. Above the stage were three screens that displayed projections designed by Natalie Bujeaud.

Our two leads were wonderful. Kaia Lontine-Kearson, who really is 13 years old, played the Montgomery girl, June Johnson. Katharine Paiva, who will graduate UNH next year, played May Masina, the girl from Staten Island. Though she is considerably older, I certainly believed her as thirteen years old, and the two actresses' voices melded beautifully onstage.

Other fine performances came from Robert Collinge II as May's father and Brian Walker as her older brother. Freshman Rebekah Londoff did a wonderful job playing a variety of roles, including May's teacher, a white woman who confronts June in Montgomery, and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Special praise, however, belongs to Michael Turner, an alumnus of UNH who returned to play Dr. King in this production. Turner nailed King's cadences, both when speaking and when singing. We were very fortunate to have him as part of the production.

Szu-Feng Chen designed colorful costumes that evoked the 1950s, and Ally Foy provided some lively choreography, especially toward the end of the play. The cast also benefited greatly from the musical direction of John Berst.

Lavell, Josh, and I all hope that Keep On Walkin' will continue to have a life in the future, so watch this blog for more information about the show in the future!

Keep On Walkin' opens this February!

My musical for young audiences, Keep On Walkin', with songs by Lavell Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen, is scheduled to open at the University of New Hampshire in Durham this February.

Raina Ames will be directing the production at UNH's Johnson Theatre. It will run February 18-22, which includes daytime performances for school groups. The play was the winner of the Anna Zornio Playwriting Award for Children's Theatre, which is given out in conjunction with the UNH's Department of Theatre and Dance.

Keep On Walkin' follows the stories of two young girls on opposite sides of the color line who become pen pals during the early days of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s. It was originally directed by Christopher Catt in a workshop. It had a staged reading in Manhattan and a few performances at schools on Staten Island.

This world premiere production, however, looks like it's going to be very special, so if you're in the area this February, please come out and see it!

You can find more information here:

UNH Department of Theatre and Dance

http://cola.unh.edu/theatre-dance/current-season

Alice This Weekend!

This Saturday and Sunday, the Abingdon Theatre Company's Pop Up Playhouse will present my adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. We have a great cast, including Glenn Beatty, Alanna Chuyan, Mckenna Cox, David Meyers, and Maayan Schneider. Kim Sharp directs.

The family-friendly performances will be at 11 am this Saturday and Sunday mornings in the June Havoc Theatre. That's on the second floor of the Abingdon Arts Complex, 312 W. 36th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan.

Admission is free, but if you want to make reservations, e-mail Vincent Scott at:

vscott@abingdontheatre.org

For more information, check out:

The Abingdon Theatre Company

http://www.abingdontheatre.org/

Alice in Wonderland

Come out this Saturday for a free staged reading of my adaptation of Alice in Wonderland by the Abingdon Theatre Company in their June Havoc Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, in Manhattan. The reading will be at 11:00 a.m., and children are welcome.

Kim T. Sharp is directing, and the cast includes Kim Allen, Gail Merzer Behrens, Jeanette Bonner, Mackenzie Hawkins, and Jacob Moore. It should be a great time!

Breaking news!

My musical for young audiences, Keep on Walkin', with songs by Lavell Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen, has been selected as the winner of the University of New Hampshire's Anna Zornio Children's Theatre Playwriting Award!

It's fitting I blog this on MLK Day, as the play tells the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott through the eyes of two young girls, one African American, one white. Amas Musical Theatre has also received a $25,000 grant from the NEA to do a co-production of the piece sometime in the next couple of years.

As part of the Zornio Award, UNH will mount a student production of Keep on Walkin' as part of it's 2014-2015 season, so the next few years will hopefully see two new productions of the play. Needless to say, I'm very excited.