STAGE TUBE: Behind the Scenes - VOW Workshop at Marymount Manhattan College

VOW: A Made-to-Measure Musical Workshop from Contemporary Musical Theatre on Vimeo.

VOW is an inaugural and extremely ambitious Musical Theatre Workshop being presented by the Marymount Manhattan College Musical Theatre Program (Pat Hoag Simon, Coordinator for Musical Theatre) and The Directory Of Contemporary Musical Theatre Writers (David Sisco, Founder & Curator) that opens wide the creative process of the Broadway musical theatre industry to twenty very fortunate musical theatre students currently enrolled in Marymount Manhattan College's progressive Musical Theatre Program. Click below to watch a behind-the-scenes video about the project!

The twenty students will both perform in the four new musicals that comprise VOW as well as stage-manage, market and design the much talked about workshop. In addition, featured company members have received songs from THE DIRECTORY, which will thread together the 90-minute production of VOW.

During the time-intensive four-week rehearsal period of VOW the twenty students will also enjoy Masterclasses with Broadway's Barry Wyner (Calvin Berger), Jeff Blumenkrantz (URBAN COWBOWY) and Joe Kinosian & Kellen Blair (MURDER FOR TWO) as they develop characters that will eventually arrive on Broadway and on Regional stages across the country.

The project also opens wide a new venue of opportunity for entrepreneurs interested in the next generation of Broadway award-winners and the solid financial investment opportunities that accompany such a lucrative creative situation.

VOW's four award-winning writers, Sara Wordsworth, Russ Kaplan, Will Reynolds and Clay Zambo, have written smart and entertaining musical "shorts" based on articles from the Weddings/Celebrations Sunday Section of THE NEW YORK TIMES.

VOW will be presented to the public on FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 at 8:00pm and SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1 at 7:30pm and 9:30pm at the THERESA LANG THEATRE at MARYMOUNT MANHATTAN COLLEGE (221 East 71 Street). Admission is free. Reservations are required. DIRECT LINK FOR TICKETS: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/vow-made-2-measure-musical-theatre-workshop-tickets-10149560609.

THE MUSICALS:

VOWS
Book by: Russell Kaplan & Sara Wordsworth
Music by: Russell Kaplan
Lyrics by: Sara Wordsworth
A hardnosed New York Times reporter is given a new nightmare job writing for the Weddings and Celebrations section. Can she hack it in her tough new assignment, or will the fluffy material and her peppy young intern drive her insane?

BLUE APRON
Book, Lyrics, & Music by: Clay Zambo
It takes a village (or at least a storeful) in BLUE APRON. The primary "helper" is the market's leprechaun-like manager and his aisles and shelves of tasty treats. The other customers don't directly aid and abet Steve in his pursuit of Laura as much as Steve's doctor does, but they observe and comment-and, perhaps, wish they could do more to help. (The setting of this musical is not imagined; I visited the shop before starting to write it, and gained a pound or two in the process.)

TRANSIT OF VENUS
Book, Lyrics & Music by: Clay Zambo
TRANSIT OF VENUS involves the entire cosmos. Sara and Kenneth meet over an antique telescope, but-as so often happens in life-their attraction is first noticed by others. In this case, that "constellation" represents their friends and colleagues and the spirit of a 250-year-old astronomer. For years, I've read "Vows" with amusement and great interest-and, occasionally, even thought the story of one couple or another might make an interesting musical. Although I've not met Sara and Kenneth or Laura and Steve, the time I've spent with their stories, and in rehearsal with David Sisco, Laura Josepher, and the Marymount Manhattan College student cast has been a delightful way to spend the winter. Happy (early) Valentine's Day!

THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING
Book, Lyrics & Music by: Will Reynolds
THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING takes place on Oct. 1st, 2011 - day 15 of the Occupy Wall Street protests at Zuccotti Park.
In Part One, Jonathan Westin (a very new New Yorker) meets Camille Rivera, a fiery protestor and community leader. Desperate to be a part of something bigger than himself, Jonathan is swept up - alongside Camille - in the march on the Brooklyn Bridge. Part Two finds the unlikely duo in the NYPD Midtown lockup in a holding cell alongside their fellow protestors. After talking until dawn when everyone else falls asleep,Camille and Jonathan find they have more in common than at first glance, and are faced with a choice that might change their lives forever. Or at least get them out of jail.