BWW TV Exclusive: CUTTING-EDGE COMPOSERS CORNER - Donna Vivino Sings Braverman and Hassler's 'Where is the Man'

We have a new songwriting team to feature this week! Landon Braverman and Derek Hassler presented "Where is the Man" sung by the talented Donna Vivino at our concert at 54 Below.

The writers shared with us their inspiration for writing this song: "This song comes from our new musical Queen of the West, based on the turn-of-the-century novel 'Sister Carrie' by Theodore Dreiser. This was a moment in the show we were really excited to write, as it is where our main character, Carrie, really begins to assert her confidence over her husband, George Hurstwood. Throughout the show she is continually finding her power in new ways, and by this point she is at a crossroads. We feel it's a very universal feeling to fall for someone and eventually realize they are not the same person you fell in love with. It's heartbreaking, but also a really empowering moment of firm decision. We really tried to bring this all out in the music, which blends romantic musical theatre with more contemporary pop sounds."

Landon Braverman (Music) and Derek P. Hassler (Book & Lyrics) are a new musical theatre writing team based in New York. Together they have written Queen of the West, which won the awards for Best Musical and Best Score in the Manhattan Theatre Mission's "New Musicals Showcase." Their musical Choices played an award-winning run off-Broadway as part of the West Village Musical Theatre Festival, was produced by NAAP for their "Disocver" series, was a top 10 Finalist in the Ken Davenport Short Play Competition, and was also presented in concert in Chicago. Their music has been heard in cabaret venues across the city, including Lincoln Centre, 54 Below, and the Laurie Beechman. They recently returned from Vancouver, Canada where they presented a special concert of their work as part of the 2014 Chutzpah International Festival. They are both alums of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at Tisch-NYU, and proud members of the Dramatists Guild.