University of Michigan Hosts Inaugural NYC Event to Launch Musical Theatre Composition Program

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD) will host a showcase to formally launch a new program that broadens the school's offerings: the Carole Caplan Lonner Musical Theatre Writing Program.

The showcase will feature songs written by students in the program, performed by recent graduates and by Michigan alumni working on Broadway. Scheduled to take place in New York City on May 15, 2022, the showcase will be hosted by Michael McElroy, an accomplished musical theatre performer and educator who serves as chair and Arthur E. and Martha S. Hearron Endowed Professor of Musical Theatre at SMTD. Also hosting will be Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, SMTD musical theatre graduates who went on to become Oscar, Grammy, Tony, and Golden Globe Award-winning songwriters (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land, and The Greatest Showman).

Alumni performances will include songs by Olivia Hernandez, who has appeared on Broadway in Plaza Suite; Britney Coleman, who has been seen on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard, Beautiful, Tootsie, and Company; and Carlos Valdes, who appeared in Once on Broadway and in television shows The Flash, Arrow, and Gaslit – among a number of other talented performers. Attendees will include agents, managers, representatives of nonprofit theaters, producers, and other industry notables.

"I'm thrilled that SMTD is breaking new ground by offering an undergraduate musical theatre writing program," noted David Gier, dean of SMTD and Paul Boylan Collegiate Professor of Music. "This program allows SMTD to remain at the forefront of performing arts institutions and provides our gifted students with a clear path to success in writing and composing for musical theatre."

Academic programs focusing on musical theatre composition are uncommon, especially for undergraduates. SMTD's Carole Caplan Lonner Musical Theatre Writing Program gives undergraduates a unique opportunity to dive deeply into the art form, learning about song structure, dramatic structure, and the elements that make a song work in terms of its music, lyrics, and dramatic narrative.

Lynne Shankel, SMTD assistant professor of music and a composer, lyricist, arranger, and orchestrator, oversees the coursework and projects the students must complete to earn the minor in musical theatre writing. She noted that, prior to the establishment of this program, a number of SMTD alumni – including Pasek and Paul, Andrew Lippa (The Wild Party, The Addams Family, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown), and Jeff Marx (Avenue Q) – have enjoyed major award-winning success as composers and lyricists for musical theatre and film. “This minor was created,” Shankel stated, “to give students who want to be writers an opportunity to funnel that creative energy and learn the craft.”

McElroy noted the significance of the writing program: "The musical theatre department at the University of Michigan is engaged in a level of excellence through many different lenses. With this program," he shared, "we can be part of changing the conversation through training artists to be able to write from their perspectives."

The musical theatre writing program is named in tribute to Carole Caplan Lonner by her daughters, Nancy Bernstein and Jane Och. A U-M alumna, Lonner had a passionate connection to the performing arts and wrote the book, music, and lyrics for The Kids Left. The Dog Died. Now What?, a musical that was performed at U-M in 2019. The gift to establish the Carole Caplan Lonner Musical Theatre Writing Program includes an endowed professorship as well as a visiting artists fund and was made possible by the Jane and Daniel Och Family Foundation and the David and Carole Caplan Charitable Foundation.

Pasek and Paul expressed their enthusiasm for the program: "As graduates of SMTD who have now made our careers in musical theatre writing, we couldn't be more excited for the creation of this one-of-a-kind musical theatre writing program. We have so much appreciation for all we learned at Michigan and cannot wait to see what the next generation of writers is able to create."

For more information on the program or to reserve attendance at the Musical Theatre Composition Showcase in New York City, please contact SMTD Communications Director Beth Miller at ealm@umich.edu.