2022 Festival of New Musical Program Book

WELCOME!

Welcome to the 16th Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals!

For the past two weeks, the Goodspeed campus has been abuzz with the exploration of new musicals. We are happy to have you with us and to share the beautiful work of all the artists represented in this year’s Festival. And we are particularly proud that the three full length musicals you will enjoy at The Goodspeed this weekend are written entirely by female identifying artists. We are certain that, by the end of this weekend, you will share our belief that the future of musical theatre is alive and well!

Alongside our newly-minted GoodWorks commissioning program, the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed, developmental productions of new musicals at The Terris and World Premieres on The Goodspeed stage—the Festival of New Musicals is a critical piece of Goodspeed’s commitment to the development of new work. And that commitment did not diminish during the long pandemic shutdown. Thank you for being a part of this important work.

We are grateful to our partners at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford for shifting their calendar to allow the senior musical theatre class to join us here in East Haddam over their spring break. Thank you to our sponsors and to our very special group of “Friends of the Festival” for your belief in and commitment to this special program.

If you’ve never attended the Festival before—well, you’re in for a treat—you will be enjoying musical theatre students from The Hartt School perform the book-in-hand readings of three brand new musicals written by some of the premiere talent writing today. In the case of each of these shows, this weekend will mark the very first time the writers have had the opportunity to see their work in front of an audience. No pressure on you!

Thank you for being with us!

Lynn Hilton Artistic Director

Donna

The Tattooed Lady, 2020

Basit Shittu and Jonathan Brielle, 2020 Cabaret

Meet the Writers Q&A with Erin Courtney & Max Vernon, 2020

David B. Byrd Managing Director

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, MARCH 18

Ticket Distribution••

A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS

•Friends of the Festival Event •Gold Package Event •Silver Package Event

5:00pm - 7:15pm | Porch Bar, The Goodspeed

7:30pm | The Goodspeed

Festival Cabaret: Timothy Huang & Friends•• 10:00pm | Gelston House

Please refer to your tickets to see whether you are attending the Friday or Saturday Cabaret and to see your assigned table number.

SATURDAY, MARCH 19

Ticket Distribution••

9:00am - 12:00pm | Gelston House Lobby

Seminar Session I•••(Choice of sessions) 10:00am | Gelston House or La Vita

Seminar Session II••• (Choice of sessions) 11:00am | Gelston House or La Vita

Seminar Session III: The New Majority: Women in CT Theatre••• 12:00pm | Gelston House Dining Room

Three years ago, women were scarce in the top rungs of Connecticut’s major regional theater leadership. Today, they’re the majority. Hear from these female leaders of Connecticut’s Producing Flagship Theatres as they share their stories, struggles and triumphs in successfully guiding arts organizations, while recovering from a pandemic. The panel will include Melia Bensussen (Hartford Stage Artistic Director), Cynthia Rider (Hartford Stage Managing Director), Florie Seerie (Yale Rep Managing Director), Tiffani Gavin (Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center Executive Director), Kit Ingui (Long Wharf Theatre Managing Director), and Goodspeed’s own Artistic Director, Donna Lynn Hilton.

A HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS

FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 7:30PM

Book by Anna Ziegler Music & Lyrics by Anna K. Jacobs Music Direction by Vadim Feichtner Directed by Jenny Koons

A House Without Windows was developed in part at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat

Barbara Newhall Follett was the child prodigy author of a celebrated novel about a young girl who runs away from her family and vanishes into nature. Twelve years after its publication, on December 7, 1939, Barbara walked out of her apartment with $30 and a light overcoat, and was never seen or heard from again. She was twenty-five years old. A House Without Windows is a meditation on the mystery of Barbara’s disappearance, the ways in which art imitates life and vice-versa, and what can happen when the life that seemed promised never materializes, especially to those for whom the line between reality and fantasy is already gossamer-thin.

musical about the life and disappearance of child prodigy author Barbara Newhall Follett and commissioned by Barbara Whitman Productions and Grove Entertainment. She is also writing the book for a new musical adaptation for Disney Cruise Line Entertainment. Anna is a former Sundance Fellow and Dramatists Guild Fellow, and received her MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYUTisch. When not working on her own musicals, she can be found nurturing young artists as Artistic Director of the New York Youth Symphony’s Musical Theater Songwriting Program. www.annakjacobs.com

VADIM FEICHTNER (Music Director) Broadway: Falsettos (revival); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Off-Broadway: Scotland PA, Fly By Night, A New Brain (City Center Encores!); Little Miss Sunshine; Nobody Loves You; Elegies: A Song Cycle; The Other Josh Cohen; The Memory Show; Infinite Joy; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; The Burnt Part Boys; Ordinary Days; Long Story Short; Sing!; Songs of Innocence & Experience; As You Like It (The Public). TV: “Last Week Tonight,” “Live at Lincoln Center.”

Symposium: Goodspeed and the Racial Equity Movement in Theatre

3:30pm | The Goodspeed This event is free and open to the public.

Seena Hodges and Ansa Akyea of The Woke Coach will lead an important conversation with Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton and Managing Director David B. Byrd about the racial equity issues that are impacting Goodspeed Musicals and the theatre industry at large. Through a guided discussion, audience members will begin to examine their role in supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism individually and in partnership with Goodspeed Musicals.

Festival Dinner••

Please refer to your tickets to see whether your dinner is at the Gelston House or La Vita. Enjoy a three-course meal with fellow festival-goers.

HoT

5:30pm | Gelston House or La Vita

7:30pm | The Goodspeed

Festival Cabaret: Joriah Kwamé & Friends •• 10:00pm | Gelston House

Please refer to your tickets to see whether you are attending the Friday or Saturday Cabaret and to see your assigned table number.

SUNDAY, MARCH 20

Friends of the Festival Brunch•

THE GUNFIGHTER MEETS HIS MATCH

Meet the Creators Q&A•••

Gain insight into the inspirations and processes of the Festival creative teams.

11:00am | The Alice Studio

1:00pm | The Goodspeed

3:30pm | The Goodspeed

ANNA ZIEGLER’s (Book) plays include the widely-produced Photograph 51 (West End, directed by Michael Grandage and starring Nicole Kidman; named the number one play of 2019 by the Chicago Tribune; winner of London’s WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play; available on Audible; published in Bloomsbury’s Modern Classics series), The Last Match (Roundabout; Old Globe; Writers Theatre), The Wanderers (Old Globe and upcoming at The Roundabout, winter 2023), Actually (Geffen Playhouse; Williamstown; Manhattan Theatre Club; Trafalgar Studios and many more; L.A. Ovation Award winner for Playwriting for an Original Play). She holds commissions from Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage Theatre and The Geffen Playhouse. Bloomsbury/Oberon Books has published a collection of her work entitled Anna Ziegler: Plays One. She is developing TV and film projects at HBO Max, Apple and Scott Free Productions.

ANNA K. JACOBS (Music, & Lyrics) is a Jonathan Larson and Billie Burke Ziegfeld Award-winning composer, lyricist, and book writer. Her stage musicals include POP! (Yale Rep, Pittsburgh City Theatre, Studio Theatre; book/lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman), Teeth (NAMT, O’Neill; co-book/lyrics by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael R. Jackson), Anytown (George Street Playhouse; book by Jim Jack), Harmony, Kansas (Diversionary Theatre; book/lyrics by Bill Nelson), Echo (Musical Theatre Factory), and Stella and the Moon Man (Sydney Theatre Company/Theatre of Image; play by Richard Tulloch, co-composed by Adrian Kelly). She contributed music and lyrics to the multi-composer works, Witnesses (California Center for the Arts; book by Robert Freedman) and Letters to the President (Cooper Union). She also penned the screenplay for The Real Gemma Jordan (University of Nebraska-Lincoln; music/lyrics by Rob Rokicki, directed by Alexander Jeffery & Alisa Belflower), which she is now adapting into a stage musical, and music and lyrics for the movie musical, Kaya: Taste of Paradise (NY Film Academy; screenplay by Jerome A. Parker, directed by Paul Warner). Currently, Anna and her playwright-collaborator Anna Ziegler are working on A House Without Windows, a new

JENNY KOONS (Director) Selected Projects: Head Over Heels (Pasadena Playhouse), Hurricane Diane (Huntington Theatre), Men on Boats (Baltimore Center Stage), Speechless (New Blue Man Group North American Tour), Between Us: The Deck of Cards (Denver Center), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Public Theater Mobile Unit), Burn All Night (American Repertory Theatre), A Sucker Emcee (National Black Theatre, LAByrinth Theater Company), Queen of the Night (Drama Desk Award). Jenny is a Lilly Award recipient and proud member of the SDC.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SHOW

• Barbara Newhall Follett was something of a child prodigy when her debut novel The House Without Windows was published when she was 12 years old. Though she published one more book the following year and in subsequent years wrote a couple of manuscripts, she never published them.

• Though The House Without Windows is based on the true story of Follett’s life, it also is partially inspired by the story of Hannah Upp, a young American woman, who is reported to have suffered from fugue states. Upp, who experienced a couple of fugue episodes, remains missing to this day after her last disappearance in 2017. Dissociative fugue is a psychological state in which a person loses awareness of their identity or other important autobiographical information.

• This show is a part of the Grove/Whitman Commissioning Program started by Broadway producers Beth Williams (Diana, Escape to Margaritaville) and Barbara Whitman (A Strange Loop, Fun Home, Next to Normal) to foster the development of new and innovative musicals.

HoT

SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 7:30PM

Music by Lynne Shankel

Words by Sara Cooper

Music Direction by Britt Bonney Directed by Ann Yee

HoT is a darkly comic, through-composed feminist adaptation of Helen of Troy featuring an all-women+ cast. It exposes and examines the commodification women face throughout our lifetimes as Helen is first sexualized, then held to unrealistic beauty and gender-based standards, and finally vilified and discarded—until she decides to stand up and take back her power.

LYNNE SHANKEL (Music) As composer: bare: The Musical (additional music); Red Velvet (original music, The Old Globe), HoT (Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove 2020, New York Theatre Barn New Works Series (2020), Dixon Place (2019); Perpetual Sunshine & The Ghost Girls (1st place winner NAMT 15 Minute Musical Competition; 5x15 Festival, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat 2021); As composer and lyricist: Postcard American Town (New York Theatre Barn New Works Series 2019, Winner- SDSU New Musicals Initiative 2020). 2021 ASCAP Lucille and Jack Yellen Award. Album: Bare Naked on Yellow Sound Label. Lynne teaches Musical Theatre Composition at the University of Michigan. Lynneshankel.com

SARA COOPER (Words) is a Playwright-Lyricist. Recent highlights: The ASCAP Foundation Lucille and Jack Yellen Award (2021); Commercial musical adaptation of a major motion picture (TBA), lyricist (in development); The Memory Show production TBA (2022), Benefit Reading, Alzheimer’s Association, The Mercury Theater Chicago (2019), New Bard, London (2016), Transport Group, The Duke on 42nd Street (2013), Water Gate Media, Seoul (20122013), Barrington Stage Company (2010), NAMT (2010); Perpetual Sunshine & the Ghost Girls, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (2021), New York Theatre Barn New Works Series (2021), 5X15, Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace (2021), National Alliance for Musical Theatre 15-Minute Challenge winner (2020); HoT, Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals (2020), New York Theatre Barn New Works Series (2020), concert, Dixon Place (2019); Barrington Stage Company Spark Grant (2020); Windows and Breakfast Lowbrow Opera Collective (2021, 2020); Polyanna, Grand Jury Prize, Barnstorm Media (2020); Elevator Heart Moxie Arts (2019), USF (2018), Tisch New Musicals (2016); Fault Lines The Kennedy Center (2018), American Opera Initiative Fellowship (2017); NYSCA Individual Theatre Artist Commission (2015); Things I Left On Long Island, FringeNYC (2014), Overall Excellence Award: Playwriting (2014), Time Out NY Critics’ Pick (2014); Jonathan Larson Grant, American Theatre Wing (2014). MFA Graduate Musical Theatre Writing, Tisch NYU. Dramatists Guild, ASCAP. www.saracooper.me

BRITT BONNEY (Music Director) is an award-winning music director, arranger, and composer who recently conducted the world premiere of Once Upon A One More Time at Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre. When the pandemic hit, Britt was serving as the associate music director for Broadway’s Sing Street. Other MD credits include The Big One-Oh at the Atlantic Theater and Todd Almond’s Girlfriend at Signature Theatre, for which she received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical Direction. BMI Workshop; M.A., Columbia University.

ANN YEE (Director) As Director: As You Like It (Public Works Dallas/Dallas Theater Center). As Choreographer and Movement Director: Theatre includes Caroline or Change, (Studio 54); South Pacific (Chichester Festival Theater); La Bohème (Göteborg Opera, Sweden); Oklahoma! (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Life After (Old Globe, San Diego); The American Clock (Old Vic); War Requiem (ENO); Sunday in the Park with George (Hudson Theater, Broadway); The Taming of the Shrew (Public Theatre in the Park, NY); Queen Anne, Titus Andronicus (RSC); Mackie Messer (Salzburg Festival); Shakespeare Trilogy (Donmar at Kings Cross and St Ann’s Warehouse, New York); Berenice, Philadelphia, Here Come! and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Donmar Warehouse); Anita and Me (Birmingham Rep and Stratford East); Ah, Wilderness!, After Miss Julie (Young Vic); How to Hold Your Breath, Birdland and Oxford Street (Royal Court); Thérèse Raquin (Theatre Royal Bath); Mr Burns (Almeida Theatre); Urinetown (St James’ Theatre and Apollo Theatre); Julie, Blurred Lines, She Stoops to Conquer and The Comedy of Errors (National Theatre); Care (co-devised, NT Studio); The Commitments (Palace Theatre); Wozzeck (ENO); The Country Wife, Sex, Chips & Rock’n’Roll (Royal Exchange Manchester); The Color Purple, Torch Song Trilogy (Menier Chocolate Factory); The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic); God of Soho (Globe); King Lear (RSC/Roundhouse/NY). Films include A Bigger Splash, PPE: Off the Page. Trained at Boston Conservatoire of Music, Harvard Summer Dance Center, and Ohio State University.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SHOW

• The writers of HoT attended the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals in the Winter of 2020, where they completed their first full draft of the show—even going so far as to do a read/sing-through of the material with other the writers in residency while they were here. We were immediately so taken with it’s bold point of view that we knew it was a perfect show to include in our Festival.

• The character of Helen of Troy is no stranger to the stage, dating back, of course, to the origins of theatre in Greece. She was frequently featured in Athenian comedies, but perhaps most notably as one of the eponymous Trojan Women in Euripides’ tragedy. And while she appears in both of the most famous adaptations of the Faust myth (Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus and Geoethe’s Faust) and is quite prolific in opera and literature, she hasn’t appear in very many musicals…though there was a short-lived Broadway show titled Helen of Troy that premiered almost 100 years ago in 1923.

THE GUNFIGHTER MEETS HIS MATCH

SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 1:00PM

Book, Music & Lyrics by Abby Payne Music Direction by Anessa Marie Directed by Estefanía

Fadul

A Wild West boom town, famous for the legend of a brilliant Gunfighter, is stirred up by the arrival of a young ranch hand on a mission to understand the truth behind the Gunfighter stories. As mysterious past and present meld and the Gunfighter returns to protect his long lost love, he and the townsfolk must face their ghosts in this new musical filled with humor and heart.

ABBY PAYNE (Book, Music & Lyrics) grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York. She has been a performer and singer/songwriter in New York City for several years, releasing four albums of original music with a fifth to be released in May 2022. Payne has also produced, created, and starred in several music videos and is a founding member of the Round Table, a female artist collective that seeks to create more community and opportunities for women. Her musical The Gunfighter Meets His Match, for which she wrote the book, music, and lyrics, was selected for the 2018 New York Musical Festival. Portions of the show have also been performed at HERE Arts, Joe’s Pub, and Playwright’s Horizons (with the Musical Theatre Factory). In 2019, she joined the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, and also performed an original holiday cabaret show entitled Christmas Spirits: Neat Edition with Craig Winberry at Feinstein’s/54 Below. In 2020 Payne was selected to attend the HBMG National Winter Playwrights Retreat in Grand Lake, CO.

ANESSA MARIE (Music Director) is a music director, composer, lyricist/librettist, orchestrator, audition coach, and pianist based in Manhattan. As composer/Orchestrator: Finding Beautiful (NYMF), Queering the Canon (Joe’s Pub), Broadway’s Future Songbook (NYPL Lincoln Center). As MD: Queer. People. Time. (The Tank), Far From Canterbury (Barnstormers), American Girl Live (Nat’l Tour), Miss Step (5th Ave), Urinetown (NYU Tisch), Fugitive Songs (Pace), Into The Woods (OOTB). Anessa is the founder and director of the Phoenix Trans Chorus of NYC, and a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and Maestra.

www.Anessamarie.com

ESTEFANÍA FADUL (Director) is a Colombian-American NYC-based stage director, focusing primarily on new plays and musicals. Recent: world premieres of Lindsay Joelle’s The Garbologists (Philadelphia Theatre Company), and the Drama League-nominated Carla’s Quince, an immersive bilingual virtual theatre experience to mobilize the Latinx vote. Estefanía is a member of the Leadership Circle of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice, the New Georges Jam, the Latinx Theater Commons advisory committee, the Drama League Directors’ Council, and the LCT Directors Lab. B.A. Vassar College.

www.estefaniafadul.com

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SHOW

• One of the less-discussed paths of musical development is when a show begins life as a concept album. This has been the road of many of the most beloved musicals of all-time including Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and The Who’s Tommy. Writer Abby Payne began exploring the Wild West characters and writing the music of Gunfighter to process some thoughts and feelings about being a musician in New York City. After sharing some of the songs with a group of female artists she often collaborates with called The Round Table, they encouraged her to turn the idea into a full-blown musical.

• Gunfighter has had previous developmental workshops with sold-out runs at HERE Arts Center and at the New York Musical Festival, whose alumni include Next to Normal, [title of show], Chaplin, In Transit, and Altar Boyz

STUDENT ACTORS

DELANEY AGER ISABELLE ARCHER STEPHANIE IRIS

BAUDUCCIO

ANNIE JEAN BUCKLEY

TOMMY BERGERON

NICHOLAS DECKER KRISTEN DOWLING

JACKIE GARMONE EMILY DUNN

GRIFFIN COLE

GRACE PARKER HANSON

OWEN ING

NICK LAMBERTI

TANNER JAMES

YONI HALLER

NATHAN LUCAS

CHARLOTTE

MURRAY

THABITHA MORUTHANE

KRYSTINA MORRILL

BELLA LOPEZ

LILITH QUINT LINDSEY RENNA

SHERIDAN SCHREYER ANA LAURA SANTANA

ERIKA SPONDIKE EMILY STRASSHEIM

ALEXANDRA TARSINOV JACOB TALL

EMMA SHAKAL

MADDIE YOUNG COLLAN ZIMMERMAN ALEXANDRA ZOGRAFOS

SAM VANA

JACK PACETTI

Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals is a Partnership in Training with

FRIDAY CABARET

TIMOTHY HUANG (Composer) is a New York based composer/lyricist/librettist. His musical American Morning (Prospect Theater, 2016 Village Theater Festival, 2015 NAMT Festival, 2012 BMI Master Class with Stephen Sondheim, 2011 ASCAP Musical Theater Workshop) was the recipient of the 2015 New American Musical Award, and 2016 Richard Rodgers Award, making its author the first and only Asian American to win the latter as a triple-threat composer/ lyricist/librettist. Timothy has contributed songs to Not Working: A 2020 Song Cycle (NYFA), This Golden Day (Emerson Stage) and Roasting on an Open Fire (Live and in Color). Other works include Gates of Remembering (Artistic Stamp) Peter and the Wave (DGF Fellows, Rhinebeck), The View From Here And the Earth Moved, LINES: A Song Cycle (NYMF 05, 04, 08), A Relative Relationship (SoundBites, Best Musical) Missing Karma (City Theater of Miami, Theater Elision) and Koi Story (Sam French OOB SPF). Proud husband to Laura and father to Haven. www.timothyhuang.net

JENNIFER BLOOD (Vocalist) was most recently in the company of Girl from the North Country on Broadway. Other Broadway: Miss Honey in Matilda, Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Violet. Off Broadway: Merrily We Roll Along (Fiasco/Roundabout), Unlock’d (Prospect), A Little Journey (Mint), Falling For Eve (York). Favorite Regional of all time: Maria in Sound of Music at Drury Lane directed by the late, brilliant Rachel Rockwell. Thanks to Tim for all the beautiful music!

MICHAEL HICKS (Accompanist) is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, coach and performer. He’s known Tim Huang since college and is so very happy to be offering support on this evening. Before the world went kablooey, Michael made most of his living as an audition accompanist and vocal coach. Over the past couple of years, he’s tried new things: He was teaching music theory, sight singing and tap dance at Stephens College and performed in Ring of Fire at The Weston Playhouse. www.MichaelHicks.nyc

HANSEL TAN (Vocalist) reps the small island-state of Singapore, and is a card-carrying Tim Huang fanboy. With Tim: American Morning, Peter And The Wall, Missing Karma, A Relative Relationship and Crossing Over. He has appeared extensively Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, regionally, internationally, on film, and TV. Hansel is a proud member of Actor’s Equity and SAG-AFTRA, is a Designated Meisner Teacher with the Meisner Institute, and is working towards his MFA in Performance Pedagogy.

SATURDAY CABARET

JORIAH KWAMÉ (Composer/Vocalist/Keyboard) is a writer based in NYC whose career launched when he won Tony Nominee Taylor Louderman’s WRITE OUT LOUD competition for “Little Miss Perfect.” He received the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award and was one of six ASCAP writers featured in their Songwriters: Next Generation showcase. He participated in the 2020 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project. He has written pieces for New York Film Academy, Prospect Theater Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and 54 Below. He is penning original scores for two musicals alongside renowned playwright Lauren Gunderson: Sinister and Little Miss Perfect He was enlisted by Andrew Lippa to write a piece for San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus alongside the likes of Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Sondheim. Alongside Pasek and Paul, he wrote a song for Shawn Mendez in the upcoming Sony Picture Film Lyle, Lyle Crocodile He is a 2021 Jonathan Larson finalist.

RACHAEL CELL (Vocalist) is so excited to be a part of Goodspeed Musicals 2022 festival! Originally from Northbrook, IL., Rachael recently moved to New York City after earning a BFA from Western Michigan University.

Regional Credits: Sophia, Our Beloved (Farmers Alley Theater); Elephant and Piggie: We Are In A Play! (Timberlake Playhouse). Concert/Cabaret: John Zisa: Being Alive (The Green Room 42), Doug Lebrecque: Live In Concert. Discography: Little Miss Perfect: The Musical (Apple Music/Spotify); Sophia, Our Beloved (Apple Music/Spotify). Instagram: @rachaelcellofficial, rachaelcell.com

PATRICK OBERSTAEDT (Guitar) is a multi-instrumentalist, arranger and songwriter based in NYC. He studied at Temple University and freelanced in the Philadelphia area before moving to Brooklyn in March 2022. He specializes in guitar, upright bass and electric bass, but also performs professionally on saxophone, trumpet, mandolin, banjo and percussion. He writes and performs as half of indie/folk/jazz/pop duo The Gender Gnomes, who are currently working on their first full-length album.

SEMINARS

APPLES & ORANGES STUDIOS (Theatre Technology) shatters the forgone myth of “Broadway or Bust” through the convergence of creativity and technology. By partnering with artists, they apply a digital long-tail approach, empowering storytellers to envision their work through the lens of a creative entrepreneur. They put the audience at the epicenter during the entire developmental process creating a community of customers, fans, and influencers early on. By aligning the theme of story with existing and new audiences, they develop the next generation of storytellers for both digital and live theatre. Similar to the music, episodic, and film industries, they expand the physical fourth wall opening new opportunities for diverse transformative stories.

MELIA BENSUSSEN (The New Majority) became Artistic Director of Hartford Stage in 2019. The recipient of an OBIE Award for Outstanding Direction, she is from Mexico City and has translated and adapted a variety of works, including the Hughes translation of Lorca’s Blood Wedding (TCG). A recipient of a Princess Grace Fellowship, and a Drama League Fellowship, she serves as Chair of the Arts Advisory Board for the Princess Grace Foundation, and Secretary for the Executive Board of the Society of Directors and Choreographers.

RASHAD V. CHAMBERS (Little Girl Blue) is an award-winning producer, talent manager and lawyer. A licensed attorney in New York and Connecticut, Rashad is the Founder and President of Esquire Entertainment. His Broadway producing credits include American Son; Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations; Betrayal; The Inheritance; Caroline, or Change and The Music Man. Rashad also produced the world premiere of It Happened In Key West in London. Rashad attended Morehouse College where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. He also earned his JD and MBA degrees from The Ohio State University. Rashad is a co-founder of The Industry Standard Group and served as the program mentor for Theatre Producers of Color. In addition, he is a board member of On Broadway Performing Arts Training Program and Houses on the Moon Theater Company. www.esquireentertainment.com.

TIFFANI GAVIN (The New Majority) brings over 25 years of experience in theater administration and producing to her position as Executive Director of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Beginning her career in general management at The Public Theater in NY and as a company manager at Blue Man Group, she went on to hold leadership positions in both nonprofit and commer-

cial theater organizations, including Clear Channel Entertainment and the American Repertory Theater. She also has been the Manager of the Marquis Theatre on Broadway.

KIT INGUI (The New Majority) is Managing Director of Long Wharf Theatre. She was company manager for the Broadway productions of This Is Our Youth, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Other Broadway credits: End of the Rainbow, Passing Strange, Butley, Well Kit worked in the producing office of the 2006-2008 Tony and 20122016 Drama Desk Awards. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Theatre Forward.

DEVANAND JANKI (Little Girl Blue) is an award-winning Director-Choreographer based in New York City, originally from Canada. He is the founder and artistic director of Live & In Color, whose mission is developing new plays and musicals that celebrate diversity. Janki directed Little Girl Blue, which is now running Off-Broadway. His prolific New York credits include the hit Off-Broadway show Zanna, Don’t! John Patrick Shanley’s Romantic Poetry for the Manhattan Theatre Club; The Yellow Brick; Junie B. Jones; Cupid & Psyche; Henry & Mudge; Skippyjon; Shine! The Horatio Alger Musical; This One Girl’s Story and Buddy’s Tavern. He is the Director of the Musical Theatre Division at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting. He is a frequent guest teacher and lecturer across the country where he continues to be a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the arts. www.devanandjanki.com

BETSY KING MILITELLO (The Show Must Go On) has been Executive Director of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre since 2011. Before joining NAMT, she was VP, Development at Outward Bound, and previously served in leadership roles at Hunter College, NYU Child Study Center and the Big Apple Circus. She was also an adjunct professor in non-profit management at Marymount College. She is currently Treasurer on the Performing Arts Alliance Board of Directors and also has extensive theatre production experience, especially in stage management and lighting design.

CYNTHIA RIDER (The New Majority) is the Managing Director at Hartford Stage, having joined Hartford Stage along with Artistic Director Melia Bensussen in summer 2019. Previously Rider was the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s (OSF) executive director. Prior to joining OSF, Cynthia Rider spent nine years at Kansas City Repertory Theatre as Managing Director and, earlier, as Associate Director for Advancement and Administration. Her experience also includes six years as Executive Director of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey.

JORGE MIGUEL RIVERA-HERRANS (An EPIC Journey) Jorge “Jay” Rivera-Herrans is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame from Dorado, Puerto Rico. Jay switched from his Pre-Med major to a major in Film, Television, and Theatre to pursue his dreams of becoming a playwright. After receiving pushback for his sudden change, Jay teamed up with Professor Matt Hawkins to write and develop the musical My Heart Says Go, which is now in development with Apples and Oranges Arts, as well as The Goodman Theatre. Jay is currently in the process of writing his second major project, Epic, a musical adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey. He recently received the first ever Career Launch Fellowship with Show Shepherd, a New York-based musical theatre consulting firm that specializes in the development of new pieces.

BLAIR RUSSELL (An EPIC Journey) is a producer, developer, supporter and lover of theatre and live performances whose experience ranges from fringe festivals to Broadway shows. His most recent theatre projects include the 12-time Tony-nominated Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris, Lizard Boy by Justin Huertas, and the concept recording of the new musical For Tonight. Recent credits include the critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd and the West End productions of Gypsy with Imelda Stanton and Show Boat He is currently Co-President of the board of New York Theatre Barn and Vice Chair of the board of The New Harmony Project.

FLORIE SEERY (The New Majority) is an Associate Dean of David Geffen School of Drama and the Managing Director of the Yale Repertory Theatre. She is an assistant professor adjunct in the theatre management department. Ms. Seery spent 15 years as general manager of Manhattan Theatre Club, producing work on and off Broadway. She worked at Disney Theatrical Productions and Stuart Thompson Productions. She is a trustee of the Camphill Foundation and graduate of Smith College.

JANE WHITTY (Data-Driven Marketing) is a digital marketer and arts administration professional with over 15 years of experience working in the arts. Jane holds an undergraduate degree from Emerson College and a master’s degree from NYU. In 2013, she joined Capacity Interactive, where she works to help organizations meet their digital marketing goals. Since 2018, Jane has served as an Adjunct Instructor at NYU, where she teaches marketing for the performing arts. She is also on the board of Broadway Bound Kids, an arts education nonprofit.

SYMPOSIUM

ANSA AKYEA (he, him, his) is the lead facilitator and Coach at The Woke Coach. Ansa holds a Master’s (MA) in African American World Studies, a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Iowa, and is a certified qualified administrator for the (IDI) Intercultural Development Inventory assessment. Ansa is a member of AEA and SAG AFTRA actors unions with over 22 years of professional stage and screen experience as well as a teaching artist in the arts, business, and educational settings working at the intersection of social justice, race, and culture.

SEENA HODGES is a connector who is passionate about equity, intersectional feminism, and access to brave spaces for all. Seena founded The Woke Coach® as she witnessed the nation’s response to racial injustices and people’s desire to change, but not knowing where to start. She saw an opportunity to transition people through their journeys by helping them move From Ally to Accomplice®. The company’s mission is to help individuals deepen their analysis and develop an understanding around issues of racism, bias, and injustice to become the best, most understanding, empathetic version of themselves. Seena holds a master’s degree in Theatre Management & Producing from Columbia University. She is also a trained equity, diversity, and inclusion facilitator and a certified administrator of Clifton Strengths and the Intercultural Development Inventory®. Seena’s theater affiliations past and present include: Artistry MN, Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Guthrie Theater, Goodspeed Musicals, Mixed Blood Theatre Company, Pillsbury House Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theater Company, and Theater Latté Da. She was previously the Associate Vice President of Strategy and Communication at the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation and is currently a core facilitator with artEquity. A lover of art in all of its forms, Seena is the President of the Board of Trustees of the Walker Art Center.

THE HARTT SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD, founded in 1920, is one of three founding institutions of the University of Hartford and an internationally-acclaimed conservatory with innovative programs in music, dance, and theatre. Senior students from Hartt’s BFA musical theatre performance major are participating in the festival productions. www.hartford.edu/hartt

THE MAX SHOWALTER CENTER

FOR EDUCATION

IN MUSICAL THEATRE encourages and nurtures musical theatre artists and students by providing a unique and comprehensive array of training and educational programs to serve both the national and local academic communities, such as the Goodspeed Musical Theatre Institute, the Arts Education Collaboration, Kids/Teen Nights, and Audience Insights guides.

GOODSPEED MUSICALS STAFF

LEADERSHIP

Donna Lynn Hilton Artistic Director

David B. Byrd ........................................................ Managing Director

ARTISTIC

Adam Souza Resident Music Director

Michael Fling Festival Line Producer/Artistic Associate

ADMINISTRATION

Rachel J. Tischler General Manager

Kristan McLaughlin Artistic Administrator

Kendra Garnett.................................................... Executive Assistant

BUILDING SERVICES

Edward C. Blaschik Theatre Manager

Karin Nickel Building Services Assistant

Paul Zajac ................................................................Building Services

CleanChoiceCleaning.com Custodial Services

COMPANY MANAGEMENT

Paul Sieveking Company Manager

Ryan Mayfield Assistant Company Manager

DEVELOPMENT

Nancy Altschuler ......................................... Director of Development

Gloria Gorton Director of Major Gifts

Michele R. Baumann Membership Director

Mary Miko .......................... Special Events and Corporate Relations

Katie Wasserman Database Administrator

Marjorie Rode Grant Writer

David Mai Development Associate

EDUCATION & LIBRARY

Cecilia Kurachi Ubé Education Assistant

FINANCE

Trisha Cabral Director of Finance

Stacy Booth Accounts Payable Manager

Joanne D’Amato Payroll Manager

WithumSmith+Brown, PC; Karen Kowgios Accountants

HOUSE MANAGEMENT

Kathy Raczka Supervising House Manager

Beryl W. Thorpe ......................................................... House Manager

Leigh Beatty, Alison Harris Assistant House Managers

Bob Bennett, Joe Kaminski, Paula Moriarty, Kathleen Sedgwick ................................. Bartenders

Judy O’Mara Gift Shop Supervisor

MARKETING

Dan McMahon Director of Marketing

Katherine Desjardins .............................. Creative Content Manager

Ian Galligan Marketing Associate

Diane Sobolewski Official Photographer

TECHNOLOGY

Jeffrey Mays Systems Administrator

TICKETING

Roger-Paul Snell Ticket Sales Manager

Shanna Lisitano Assistant Box Office Manager

Kailee A. Goodine, Emily Squatrito, Barbara Wilkinson Box Office Reps

PRODUCTION

Erica Gilroy Production Manager

COSTUME RENTALS

Stephanie Wooley................................... Costume Rentals Assistant

COSTUMES

Mary Readinger ........................................... Costume Shop Manager

Anastasia Lillpopp Assistant Costume Shop Manager

John Riccucci Wardrobe Supervisor

LIGHTING

Will Johnson Lighting Supervisor

Jordan Bliese ............................................................ Head Electrician

PROPS

Ryann D. Lee .............................................................. Props Manager

Troy A. Junker Lead Props Artisan Bee Decker, Lora McIntosh Props Artisans

SCENERY

Russell Arnett ........................................................ Technical Director

Mike Cummings Lead Carpenter/Shop Foreman

Brendon Figueras Staff Carpenter

SCENIC ARTISTS

Carla Tiezzi Charge Scenic Artist

Miranda Casler Lead Scenic Artist April Chateauneuf Staff Scenic Artist

SOUND

Jay Hilton Audio Supervisor Katie Paris .................................................................. Audio Engineer

FOR THE FESTIVAL

Brad Spachman Festival Coordinator

Naomi Anhorn Assistant Festival Coordinator

Jonathan Tison ........................................ Hartt Production Assistant

Taylor Bartoski Audio Apprentice James Carter Pianos Piano Tuner

Special Thanks to Falcetti Music

Lead Sponsors:

With Support from:

Presented with funding from The Jessica Waldman Thompson Endowment in Support of The Festival of New Musicals

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL

Shawn Amdur & Dale Woods

Lee Anderson & Russell Tait

Denise Bernardo & Eddie Muentes

Anne Sullivan Calanquin

Frank & Amy Campbell

Kevin & Bonnie Condrin

Don & Terri Coustan

Pam Foarde: Team AFA/Wm Raveis

Susan Gonsalves

William Gratz & James Bruno

Chris Joy & Cathy Velenchik

Stu & Ellen Kazin

Nancy Kline & James Trail

Jon Lukomnik & Lynn Davidson

Dave & Judith Macri

Ed & Sonya Morton Mangan

Roy O’Neil

Mark Planner

Jeff & Mary Riley

Hila & Saul Rosen

Margaret Saxe & George Vinick

Allyn & Karen Seymour

Bert Silverberg

Carl Thompson

Tracy Weed

E. Marie Wilson & Colette Trohan

Carlson’s Landing [Restaurant]

63 Main Street, Essex 860.767.2727 | www.carlsonslanding.com

Gelston House [Restaurant]

Located next door to The Goodspeed 8 Main Street, East Haddam 860.873.1411 | www.gelstonhouse.com

Griswold Inn [Restaurant and Inn] 36 Main Street, Essex 860.767.1776 | www.griswoldinn.com

Haddam Pizza [Restaurant] 1617 Saybrook Road, Haddam 860.345.4472 | www.haddampizza.com

Higher Grounds [Coffee/Sandwiches]

32 Main Street, East Haddam www.facebook.com/dailygrindonmain

La Vita [Restaurant]

Located across the street from The Goodspeed 9 Main Street, East Haddam 860.873.8999 | www.lavitagustosa.com

Pattaconk 1850 Bar & Grille [Restaurant] 33 Main Street, Chester 860.526.8143 | www.pattaconk1850.com

Rustica [Restaurant] 189 Middlesex Ave, Chester 860.526.9021 | www.rusticact.com

Scotch Plains Tavern [Restaurant] 124 Westbrook Rd, Essex 860.662.4032 | www.scotchplainstavern.com

The Town Tavern [Restaurant] 381 Town Street, East Haddam 860.891.8431 | www.thetowntavernct.com

Two Wrasslin’ Cats [Coffee/Sandwiches] 374 Town Street, East Haddam 860.891.8446 | www.facebook.com/TwoWrasslinCats