Ben West News

Writer-performer Ben West offers a sneak peek and discussion of his upcoming documentary musical, SHOW TIME! THE FIRST 100 YEARS OF THE AMERICAN MUSICAL, which premieres Sept. 13 at the Theatre at Saint Peter's. SHOW TIME! tells the story of a uniquely American art form, charting its evolution from the mid-1800s thru 1999, and featuring more than two dozen songs that shaped the canon.

The New York Musical Festival, which nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theatre, celebrated its opening night last night, July 9. 

UnsungMusicalsCo. and The York Theatre Company announced today a partnership for the next three years for UMC's Show Time! Trilogy. UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) focuses on researching and developing prescient projects that explore the vibrancy of the American musical theatre canon, and how past works influence the artists and repertoire of today and tomorrow.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) announced today further selections for 2018 NYMF. The final invited production as well as a series of developmental readings and concerts will join the initially announced Next Link Projects. Now in its fifteenth year, the 2018 Festival will take place July 9th through August 5th at locations on West 42nd St. in New York City. Dan Markley serves as NYMF Executive Director and Rachel Sussman serves as Producing Artistic Director.

UMC will present an exploratory reading of select scenes and songs from the new musical The Bergen Letters on Monday, April 2nd at 6pm at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. The cast will include Traci Bair, Nick Corley (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, You Can't Take It with You), Rachel de Benedet (Catch Me If You Can, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Becky Gulsvig (Beautiful, School of Rock, Legally Blonde), Aaron Ramey (The Visit, Bridges of Madison County), Danny Rutigliano (Holiday Inn, Born Yesterday) and Morgan Weed (American Psycho, First Wives Club). The Bergen Letters is an original musical telling the story of a closeted female college professor in the 1950s, who, though married with a child, finds herself falling for a young female grad student.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts will present a selection of 50 photographs from the archives of The Tennessean and The Nashville Banner that document an important period in Nashville's struggle for racial equality. The black-and-white photographs will be on display from March 30 through October 14, 2018 in the always free Conte Community Arts Gallery.

ACM and CMA Award winning country music star Sara Evans reveals a more vulnerable side with her latest single, the powerful heartbreak anthem All The Love You Left Me. The epic track, written by Hillary Lindsey, Gordon Sampson, and Ben West, features searing lyrics of a love lost.

UnsungMusicals Co. announced today its plans for the 2018 season.

SARA EVANS fans don't have to wait any longer to hear new music from the multi-platinum country star's highly anticipated upcoming album, Words.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announced today its second class of Emerging Artists, recognizing diverse talents, from a visionary filmmaker to world-class musicians to a singer-songwriter currently starring on Broadway.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announced today its second class of Emerging Artists, recognizing diverse talents, from a visionary filmmaker to world-class musicians to a singer-songwriter currently starring on Broadway.

Aziza Miller will bring 'From Brooklyn to Broadway!' to The Iridium (1650 Broadway & 51st Street, NYC 10019) on Today, October 6th at 8 PM.

Aziza Miller will bring 'From Brooklyn to Broadway!' to The Iridium (1650 Broadway & 51st Street, NYC 10019) on Thursday, October 6th at 8 PM.

AMERICAN PSYCHO, the American premiere of a new musical based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis -- which celebrates the 25th anniversary of its publication this March -- began performances on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street) on Thursday, March 24, 2016. Opening night is tonight, April 21, 2016. Scroll down to learn more about the company and watch highlights from the show!

Well-Strung, the popular string quartet that is also a boy band, launched their second album POPssical with a CD Release Concert at Feinstein's/54 Below. The show was a reworked version of their cabaret revue titled POPssical, and included new surprises mixed in with the familiar favorites. As always with the gifted group, the guys played their instruments with virtuosic integrity and provided stirring vocals, especially during melodious harmonies.

The boys of Well-Strung are back with their thrilling sophomore album, POPssical. With a track listing inspired by their acclaimed cabaret show by the same title, this follow-up to their self-titled debut album avoids the treacherous waters of the dreaded sophomore slump and gifts fans and newcomers with a vibrantly bodacious new record that improves on their original and alluring concept.

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) will continue its 2014 Unsung concert series at 54 Below with Unsung Bob Merrill and Unsung Carolyn Leigh, Vol. 2, following its recent sold-out, critically acclaimed Unsung Carolyn Leigh concert for Lincoln Center's American Songbook. The two all-new evenings are created and directed by Ben West (Unsung Carolyn Leigh, The Fig Leaves Are Falling, At Home Abroad) with musical direction and arrangements by Fran Minarik (Unsung Carolyn Leigh, At Home Abroad).

For its fall offering, the New England Regional Theatre Company mounted an ambitious and stirring production of Man of La Mancha at the Orion Performing Arts Center in Topsham, Maine. The sixteen-person cast and twelve-musician ensemble invested this touching revival with passion and intelligence. Directed by John Willey, the 1965 Dale Wasserman-Mitch Leigh-Joe Darrion musical based on Miguel de Cervantes' epic novel, Don Quixote still burns with intensity, idealism, and a much-needed antidote in a chaotic modern world - the courage and hope to 'fight for the right' and follow the quest. Willey strikes the right balance between comedy and drama, and he handles the musical's framing device - that of Cervantes recounting his tale in a prison of the Inquisition - with visual and theatrical aplomb. He keeps the entire cast on stage for the duration and uses the exceptionally wide Orion space inventively, so that the action flows naturally and his musical staging is completely organic. Moreover, he elicits from his actors a fervent luminosity that proves inspiring.

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) will present Unsung Carolyn Leigh, Vol. 2 at 54 Below on Thursday, November 20 at 7 PM and 9:30 PM. The evening, showcasing songs by the Tony- and Grammy-nominated lyricist of Peter Pan, Little Me, and How Now Dow Jones, is created and directed by Ben West (Unsung Carolyn Leigh, The Fig Leaves Are Falling).

UnsungMusicalsCo. (UMC) will present Unsung Bob Merrill hosted by three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch (9 to 5, Assassins, Millie). Created and directed by Ben West (Unsung Carolyn Leigh, The Fig Leaves Are Falling, Make Mine Manhattan), the intimate evening will play 54 Below tonight, August 5 at 9:30 PM.