THE GREAT MORTALITY to Receive Staged Reading at Spark Musical Theatre Festival

Pandemics, politics and religion have been inextricably linked throughout history, leading to conflicting explanations for the unknown and calls for divine and scientific intervention. Now, composer Holly Doubet finds similarities between the historical Plague and contemporary issues through her new lyric drama 'The Great Mortality.' Still in development, the satirical musical will be presented as a staged reading on November 12 and 13, 2026, as part of the Spark Musical Theatre Festival in New York, which features works-in-progress.

Though based loosely on real events, 'The Great Mortality' intentionally conflates historical facts, people and timeframes to weave a story of mass hysteria, corruption, cruelty, doomed romance, and timeless beauty. Key characters include the Pope, the composer Antonio Vivaldi, his favorite mezzo-soprano and muse, Anna Girò, and Farinelli, the castrato who was considered one of the world's greatest opera singers.

''The Great Mortality' is about how music and art will survive whatever devastation faces humanity,' Doubet said. 'I was inspired by a trip to Venice, Italy, where there are all these artisan shops that sell replicas of bird masks that were worn by plague doctors. During that same trip, I attended a concert of Vivaldi's music in a beautiful, medieval church. When I got home, I thought wouldn't be interesting to do a musical about Venice, Vivaldi and the plague?'

Doubet describes her show as a 'mashup' of musical styles, ranging from soft-shoe to Baroque and operatic. She manages to find humor amid tragedy with songs such as 'Dead Meat,' performed by the inventor of the bird mask; the opening number, 'What Could Possibly Go Wrong?', sung by complacent townspeople; and an admittedly painful composition about castration titled 'You Don't Know,' which Farinelli sings.

'The song is not meant to make fun of castratos, but to highlight the absurdity and cruelty of mutilating children for the sake of art,' Doubet said.

Balancing out the dark humor are serious songs like the Pope's 'Holier Than Thou,' and a love duet between Vivaldi and Girò, titled 'What If Us Never Happened?' Though the pair were not known to be romantically involved, Doubet's musical imagines them as such.

'The Great Mortality' is Doubet's second musical theater project as a composer and conceptor, coming on the heels of 'This Is Not a Drill,' which dealt with a nuclear missile threat in Hawaii and premiered off-Broadway at The York Theatre in 2025. Doubet is now applying lessons learned from that production, to her new one.

'I learned some things about writing and making changes leading up to the performance,' she said. 'One number was removed from 'This Is Not a Drill' for political reasons which, in hindsight, I think was a mistake. I am not someone who likes to cater to people. I don't write edgy songs for shock value, but to make audiences think.'

Doubet's creative team includes Gabriel Barre, director; David J. Madore, music director; Ashley Wren Collins, associate director; James McCarthy, book cowriter; Music and lyrics co-written by Kathy Babylon and John Vester.

Casting for 'The Great Mortality' is now underway. Staged readings will take place November 12 and 13 at the 28th Street Theatre (TADA!), 15 W. 28th Street, New York, NY 10011, with a Q&A to follow. Tickets are $25 and are available at (for Thursday, November 12) https://www.tickettailor.com/events/sparkmusicaltheatrefestivalnyc/2431010 and (for Friday, November 13) https://www.tickettailor.com/events/sparkmusicaltheatrefestivalnyc/2431028.

Information about the Spark Musical Theatre Festival is available at emergingartiststheatre.org. Information about 'The Great Mortality' is available at hollydoubet.com.

About Holly Doubet

Conceptor / Composer / Lyricist / Cowriter