Richard C. Walter to Present PIECES: NEW MUSICAL SELECTIONS at 54 Below

54 BELOW will present the debut of the rising musical theater composer and lyricist Richard C. Walter in the special evening “Pieces: New Musical Selections” on Thursday, January 18 at 9:30 PM. Walter is bringing together an ensemble of incredible musical theater artists to showcase exciting new songs from shows currently in development. This sampling of new musical theater penned by Richard and his collaborators includes songs from the recently released studio cast recording of Madame Clicquot: A Revolutionary Musical. Pieces: New Musical Selections is an evening of laughs, tears, and powerhouse performances, with a cast including Joanna Carpenter, Kai An Chee (Miss Saigon, national tour), Jonathan Christopher (Octet, Signature Theatre), Victoria Frings (An Enemy of the People), Lisette Glodowski, Nick Laughlin, Kevin Massey (Broadway's Gentleman's Guide), Tim Rogan (“Blue Bloods” on CBS), Santina Umbach (Broadway's Mamma Mia!), and Rachael Worthington. The evening features music direction by Kenneth Gartman. Tickets are $25-60. 54 BELOW is located at 254 West 54th Street and tickets are available HERE.

“I am thrilled to have this exceptional group of artists joining my debut at 54 Below,” says Richard. “In addition to the new musical Madame Clicquot, I'm currently developing Retrograde with Nick Laughlin, a musical inspired by astrology. The story and pop music foundation of this show have been so much fun to explore, so working with Nick to create this piece has really been an exciting experience. I'm also looking forward to revisiting some of the music from Tambora: The Lost Kingdom, the first full-length musical that I wrote with Lisette Glodowski, my collaborator on Madame Clicquot. It's inspired by the actual eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1815 which wiped out the entire kingdom. I'll also be showcasing a few songs from This Is Hard to Say, a song cycle made up of vignettes of people in situations that lead to tough conversations. These songs vary so much in style: some are funny, some are heartbreaking, but all are so meaningful to me. I'm really looking forward to getting some of them out in the world!”

Richard C. Walter is a composer-lyricist who has studied and worked in genres including musical theatre, choral, a cappella, pop, jazz, and film scoring. Richard has been a guest composer at Columbia University, and was commissioned by NYU to team up with his Madame Clicquot collaborator, Lisette Glodowski, to write the song “Go Ahead” for the Tisch School of the Arts 2020 graduation ceremony. Richard has been honored to volunteer as a composer with the 52ndStreet Project in NYC, writing new songs and plays with kids. Richard received his B.A. in music from University of Chapel Hill and his MFA in Musical Theatre Writing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. www.richardcwalter.com