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.

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!

Walkin' Later This Month!

This month will be the World Premier of the musical Keep On Walkin', with songs by Lavell Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen and a book by yours truly, James Armstrong.

The play is a recipient of the Anna Zornio Playwriting Award. It follows the story of two young girls who became pen pals by chance during the throes of the civil rights movement. The cast includes Robert Collinge II, Rebekah Londoff, Kaia Lontine-Kearson, Katherine Paiva, Michael Turner, and Brian Walker. Raina Ames directs.

Performances run February 18th through the 22nd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Tickets are $12 for the general public. UNH students and youths 17 and under can get in for $8. As this is a family musical, we are encouraging people to bring their children.

You can purchase tickets here:

KEEP ON WALKIN'

Hope to see you at the show!

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.