Interview: Alan Edmunds and Richard Winzeler on Bringing the Mystery of a 1920s Child Prodigy to life in PERFECT WORLD

When psychologist-turned-playwright Alan Edmunds stumbled upon the story of Barbara Newhall Follett—a literary prodigy who wrote her first critically acclaimed novel before the age of twelve, then vanished without a trace at 25—he knew he’d found something extraordinary. 

What began as an academic curiosity soon became a passion project. Now, after several professional read-throughs and nearly a decade of finessing, PERFECT WORLD, A New Musical, is ready to hit the stage. 

The show runs November 1-9 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.

With music and lyrics by Richard Winzeler, the show tells the story of Barbara’s public rise as a child author and her mysterious disappearance. Blending 1920s-era flair with old Broadway-styled song and dance numbers, Perfect World explores creativity, resilience, and the search for meaning in an imperfect world. The show is written by Edmunds, with music by Richard Winzeler. It is directed and choreographed by Broadway’s Kay Cole (A Chorus Line original cast), with a cast including Gabbie Adner, Dia Day, Michael Deni, Adam Hollick, Catherine Last, Elizabeth Last, Sammy Linkowski, Charley Rowan McCain, Guy Noland, Brent Schindele, Erika Schindele, and Michael Wells.

BroadwayWorld spoke with Edmunds and Winzeler about how this remarkable story came to life, the music that drives it, and what audiences can expect when Perfect World takes the stage.

Tell us a little about the true story behind the show—Who is Barbara Follett, and what makes her story so special?

Alan Edmunds: So Perfect World is based on the true life story of Barbara Follett, an amazing young woman—or girl, really—who, before the age of 14, produced two critically acclaimed novels in the 1920s.  

This little girl started writing her first book at the age of five and had it published before she was eleven. She got critical acclaim across the country. Major newspapers carried her story; there were pictures of her everywhere. And then, on December 7th, 1939 [at age 25], with $30 in her pocket, she walked out of her house and disappeared—and was never, ever found. 

How did this story first find you—and what made you think it should be a musical?

Edmunds: I worked as a psychologist at a university for about 25 or 30 years, and my academic expertise was in child writers—precocious prodigy writers. I discovered Barbara accidentally while doing research at Columbia University. I went there for academic reasons, but because I’m a musical theatre nerd, it struck me that this had to be a show. 

Is PERFECT WORLD faithful to the real-life story? 

Edmunds: I went back many, many times to flesh out the story, to find out who she was—not just what she did, which was astounding—but who she was and the life she led. And I was able to put together a very truthful story about her. Richard and I have taken some creative license with certain parts of the show—because you just have to—but we just want to tell the story about this amazing young woman whose story has not really been told. And in my world, musical theater was the best way to do that.

When did this idea first take shape?

Edmunds: A long, long time ago—2010. I remember, I was standing on the platform at Columbia University, getting ready to go down to Times Square to see La Cage aux Folles, and it just struck me again: This had to be a show. So I hastily sketched out on my knee for 35 minutes, the basis of the show.

So it’s been brewing for a while

Edmunds: Yes, but off and on. There were lots of hiccups. Richard and I did not connect until 2017. 

How did you two connect?

Winzeler: He cold-emailed me. I was intrigued by the story when Alan reached out to me, and I sensed his passion for the project—which is infectious. That sparked something within me as well.

Edmunds: It took me a long time to find the sound that I felt matched this show, which takes place in the 1920s and ’30s. I touched base with more than 60 composers over a two-year period. I don’t know how to describe it, except when I heard what Richard was doing—especially after he sent me some pretty lengthy music for a couple of the songs—it resonated with me. 

How would you describe the music style of Perfect World?

Winzeler: It’s jazz-infused in terms of harmonies, but the structure leans toward classic songwriting—actual songs, not just musicalized dialogue. I came from a pop songwriting background, so there’s that aspect that kind of plays into it. We’re covering contemporary mentalities of how we’re trained to listen, but also making sure it accommodates the time period. 

So there’s that jazz element in the harmonies of the time, and we’re just bringing in all that history we grew up listening to—those classic Broadway scores where the original shows were the pop songs of the day.  

Edmunds: I purposely chose for this not to be a sung-through show. I’m a big believer that if you speak, it gives a certain level of emotionality—but if you sing, it really ratchets that up. And if you can combine that with dance, even better.

Will audiences still get those traditional musical-theatre dance numbers?

Edmunds: Absolutely. It still has that.

What about live music—will there be an orchestra for this run?

Edmunds: No, not this time. We’ve got a very small theater, and every square inch seems to be in use. We’re in the small theater at the El Portal, so space is limited—but between the music, visual effects, and sound, it’s going to be pretty spectacular in that small space.

What is the process of bringing a musical to life? Had you done previous workshops or readings before this full production?

Edmunds: Way back in the day, I did readings—once I figured I had a show worth talking about. Then once Richard and I connected, the show became much more fleshed out. We did a table reading in Santa Barbara, where Richard is from, in 2019 . . . We did a staged reading in London, Ontario in June of 2022. And then, in October of 2022, we did a tier-two Actors’ Equity workshop in New York.  

Then, of course, we did a table reading in L.A. in February of this year, and another one in August. We’ve done two of them this year in the lead-up to this production. But this is the first time the show has been presented with sets, props, costumes—all of it.

Alan, what’s it like for you to finally see your vision come to life after all these years?

Edmunds: To be honest, it’s a pinch-me moment; it really is. When we were talking to everybody on the first day of rehearsal, I said, “You hope and you dream that this is going to happen, but in the back of your mind, you’re never really sure.” 

So when it does—and it has—it’s very fulfilling. It’s very fulfilling that I was able to strike a chord with Richard, that the show appealed to him, and that he was able to bring all his professional musical qualities to it. And then, for other people that we have so much respect for to say, “Hey, we think you’ve got something.” 

It’s going to be quite something when we open.

The title—Perfect World—comes from Barbara’s own imagination, right?

Winzeler: Yeah. She had this concept of a world that was called Farksolia. But we decided, rather than use that specific name, to open it up to a more general sense of a “perfect world,” because that’s what Farksolia was for her—a perfect world. 

It was 100 years ago, but she had this vision of a perfect world—one where people were kind to each other, and we honored nature. And to think that here we are, a century later, still struggling with those same things, makes the message of this show even more relevant now than it was then.

Given how mysterious her story is, would you say the show is more uplifting or bittersweet?

Edmunds: So far, our sense is that it’s not a tragedy, but it is drama. It’s not a “happily ever after” show, but we’ve gone to great lengths to make it serious enough to get the message across and light enough for it to be fun.

The show includes children in the cast. Is this something families can bring kids to?

Edmunds: I would say any child over the age of eight or nine would enjoy it. They’d need to be a little older to really get it, though.

This whole story seems made to be a movie. Any plans for that? 

Edmunds: I’ve had two people tell me point-blank: “This has to be a movie.” Whether it’s a movie with music or not, it’s a great story. We believe in it as storytellers. You never know; I try not to get too far ahead.

Winzeler: As a musical movie, it could be amazing—the fact that she creates imaginary worlds lends itself beautifully to film. You could do incredible visual things with that, supported by the score. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but it’s hard not to imagine it.

Perfect World runs November 1-9 at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. It is directed by Kay Cole, with a cast including Gabbie Adner, Darcy Rose Byrnes, Dia Day, Michael Deni, Adam Hollick, Catherine Last, Elizabeth Last, Sammy Linkowski, Charley Rowan McCain, Guy Noland, Brent Schindele, Erika Schindele and Michael Wells.

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