BWW Review: Yale Edges Out Harvard 32-31 in the Wildly Entertaining Second Annual HARVARD-YALE CANTATA at Feinstein's/54 Below
by Victoria Ordin
- Sep 23, 2016
The first annual HARVARD-YALE CANTATA at Feinstein's/54 Below, a musical competition modeled on the legendary boat race, was nothing short of electrifying. The sold-out show directed and produced by Tom Toce (Yale '78) was one of those evenings that make you grateful and happy to live in New York among so many brilliant and passionate artists. And if you happened to attend either school, it produced a particular pride in all that is wonderful about institutions fashionable to bash in an age of reverse snobbery. (Full disclosure: I graduated from Yale in 1995.)
While the second CANTATA played to a slightly smaller crowd, the show featured songs by lyricists who have made lasting contributions to popular music in the 20th Century: Alan Lerner (H '40), Tom Lehrer (H '46 and MA '47), and John Forster (H '69). In more recent years, Cambridge and New Haven have produced Broadway composers such as Larry O'Keefe (H '91 HEATHERS, LEGALLY BLONDE) and Bobby Lopez (Y '97, BOOK OF MORMON, AVENUE Q, and songs from FROZEN), the youngest of only 12 people to win an Emmy, Tony, Grammy, and Oscar.
BWW Interview: Laurence O'Keefe Talks the Future of Harvard's Revised BAT BOY; Will It Fly Back to NYC?
by Nicole Rosky
- Nov 2, 2014
The Office for the Arts at Harvard recently announced that its upcoming undergraduate production of the cult hit Bat Boy: The Musical will debut new scenes and songs by the show's original writers. Composer/lyricist (and Harvard alum) Laurence O'Keefe and bookwriters Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming have been holding writing sessions and workshops at Harvard, working directly with the undergraduate cast and crew to develop the new material.
Bat Boy is the story of a feral half-bat/half-boy, originally invented by the Weekly World News supermarket tabloid. The musical comedy's premiere Off-Broadway in 2001 garnered rave reviews and the show has received hundreds of productions worldwide, but the three writers have nonetheless continued to work on the show.
O'Keefe recently took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld about revisiting the project and his intentions for the show at Harvard and beyond. Check out the full interview below!
Harvard's BAT BOY to Feature New Material by Creators Laurence O'Keefe, Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming
by Tyler Peterson
- Oct 21, 2014
The Office for the Arts at Harvard has announced that its upcoming undergraduate production of the cult hit Bat Boy: The Musical will debut new scenes and songs by the show's original writers. Composer/lyricist (and Harvard alum) Laurence O'Keefe and bookwriters Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming have been holding writing sessions and workshops at Harvard, working directly with the undergraduate cast and crew to develop the new material.
