Benjamin Velez News

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop will present its top works at this year's showcase on Monday, April 1st at 3 PM and 6 PM. The shows will be held at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater in New York City (10 West 64th Street) and will premiere performances of the best of songs written and composed by recent members of this Drama League, Drama Desk and Tony honored workshop.   

 La Jolla Playhouse has announcesd four productions for its 2019/2020 season, including the world premieres of Put Your House in Order by Ike Holter, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, and The Luckiest, byMelissa Ross, directed by former Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Jaime Castañeda, developed as part of the Playhouse's 2018 DNA New Work Series.

Last night, the 2017-2018 class of Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows presented excerpts of full length works at Playwrights Horizons at 7:00 PM. This presentation caps off a year spent working under the tutelage of Michael Korie (War Paint), Laurence O'Keefe (Heathers), Diana Son (Stop Kiss), and Sheri Wilner (Kingdom City).

Dramatists Guild Foundation would like to formally announce the 2018-2019 class of DGF Fellows. The new Fellows class includes Rae Binstock, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Mathilde Dratwa, Benjamin Velez and Aryanna Garber, Melissa Li and Kit Yan, Charles Gershman, Nambi E. Kelley, and Zack Zadek.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced that Kiss My Aztec!, a world premiere musical written by John Leguizamo and Tony Taccone, will fill the final slot of the previously announced 2018-19 subscription season. The musical, directed by Taccone, will be the final production of his tenure as Michael Leibert Artistic Director and cap his storied 33-year career at Berkeley Rep.

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop will present its winter "Smoker" on Thursday, March 8th 2018 at 5:00 PM EST. The event, held at BMI's headquarters in New York City (7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St. 30th Floor), will showcase new works written and performed by recent members of this Drama League, Drama Desk and Tony® Award-winning workshop. 

The Writing/Composing team of Aryanna Garber and Benjamin Velez are the winners of the Weston Playhouse Theatre's 12th Annual New Musical Award for their musical BORDERLINE. The only award of its kind in the country, the Weston New Musical Award brings the creator or creators of a promising new project together with a small ensemble of actors to rehearse and record selections from the winning score with Grammy winner Kurt Deutsch of Sh-K-Boom Records.

National Alliance for Musical Theatre (Betsy King Militello, Executive Director) is thrilled to announce this year's line-up for the MIDDAY CABARETS and SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE hosted byCome From Away's Caesar Samayoa, which are part of the 29th annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS. The Festival will take place on Thursday, October 19 and Friday, October 20, 2017 at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues).

This week The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop presented its top works in this year's showcase. The event was held at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater in New York City and premiered performances of the best of songs written and composed by recent members of this Drama League, Drama Desk and Tony honored workshop. BroadwayWorld has photos from the showcase below!

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop will present its top works in this year's showcase on Monday, May 1st at 4:30 PM. The event will be held at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater in New York City (10 West 64th Street) and will premiere performances of the best of songs written and composed by recent members of this Drama League-, Drama Desk- and Tony-honored workshop.

Six theatre artists will be the focus of the 18th annual Sundance Institute Retreat at Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, taking place January 23 - February 10.

? 4@15: Four New Fifteen-Minute Musicals, performed in conjunction with University of California, Irvine, will commence performances Saturday, April 16, Sunday, April 17, and Monday, April 18, for four performances only at the Royal Family Arts Centre.  Kristen Lee Rosenfeld serves as Music Director; Brian Blythe directs. 

The Civilians, the award-winning New York-based theater company, presents LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU: ANARCHY! on April 7, 2016, at Joe's Pub.

The Civilians, the award-winning New York-based theater company, presents LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU: ANARCHY! on April 7, 2016, at Joe's Pub.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Interim Executive Director) and its acclaimed NEO Developmental Reading Series presents the new musical Afterland, with music and lyrics by Benjamin Velezand book and lyrics by Kathryn Hathaway for one performance only, Thursday, February 11, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (619 Lexington Avenue, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).  The readings are open to the public with a suggested donation of $5.00. 

The York Theatre Company presented a one-night only benefit concert celebrating up and coming musical theatre writers, with NEO 11 last night, June 15, 2015 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's. Scroll down for photos from the concert!

The York Theatre Company presents a one-night only benefit concert celebrating up and coming musical theatre writers, with  NEO 11 on Monday, June 15, 2015 The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).  Festivities begin at 7:30 p.m. followed by a champagne and dessert reception to toast the evening.

The York Theatre Company presents a one-night only benefit concert celebrating up and coming musical theatre writers, with  NEO 11 on Monday, June 15, 2015 The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).  Festivities begin at 7:30 p.m. followed by a champagne and dessert reception to toast the evening.

The York Theatre Company and producers Amy Engelhardt and Heather Shields, will present the May installment of the new game show for musical theater lovers called Tune in Time, hosted by Emily McNamara.  Musical Director Nate Buccieri  and annoyingly insistent timekeeper Sheila Head rejoin the company on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peters (Citicorp Building, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). 

The York Theatre Company and its Artistic Director James Morgan and producers Amy Engelhardt and Heather Shields, will be presenting the 8th edition of the quirky and popular musical theater game show Tune in Time, on Tuesday May 5 at 7:30 pm with a new cast of contestants and celebrity judges. Joining the songwriting fray for this round are Alan Gordon (Kleban Award for The Usual), Kathryn Hathaway (Afterland), Bill Nelson (Harmony, Kansas), Rachel Peters (curator of Cornelia Street Cafe's Otherwise Unsung series), Brad Simmons (musical director of Broadway's Lysistrata Jones), and Benjamin Velez (Pain in the Aztec). Among the celebrity judges for the next show will be Broadway Producer Ken Davenport (Altar Boyz), casting director Michael Cassara (NYMF, A Time for Singing at the York) and performer Rachel Rhodes-Devey (Merrily We Roll Along at APAC).