Lehman Engel News

Amas Musical Theatre will present three free staged readings of 'Bleeding Love, a post-apocalyptic new musical comedy', book by Jason Schafer, music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon, lyrics by Harris Doran, directed by Michael Bush. The readings will take place tonight, October 15th at 3:00pm and 7:00pm, and Wednesday, October 16th at 1pm at The Theatre at the 14th Street Y, 314 East 14th Street.

Walden, a story-theatre style musical adaptation of Thoreau's best seller, featuring his work on the underground railroad and his star-crossed romance will be performed as a stage reading today, Monday, October 7th at The Gym at Judson Memorial Church. Book and Lyrics for Walden are written by Katherine Brann Fredricks and the music is composed by Bert Draesel. Brian Maschka directs a cast of eleven including Drew Aber, Cole Burden, Tyrone Davis, Jr, Susannah Jones, Lisa CM Lamothe, Rob Langeder, Heather Lundstedt, Ronnie Nelson, Doug Shapiro, Thalia St. Hubert and Stephanie Umoh.

Walden, a story-theatre style musical adaptation of Thoreau's best seller, featuring his work on the underground railroad and his star-crossed romance will be performed as a stage reading on Monday October 7th at The Gym at Judson Memorial Church. Book and Lyrics for Walden are written by Katherine Brann Fredricks and the music is composed by Bert Draesel. Brian Maschka directs a cast of eleven including Drew Aber, Cole Burden, Tyrone Davis, Jr, Susannah Jones, Lisa CM Lamothe, Rob Langeder, Heather Lundstedt, Ronnie Nelson, Doug Shapiro, Thalia St. Hubert and Stephanie Umoh.

Amas Musical Theatre will present three free staged readings of 'Bleeding Love, a post-apocalyptic new musical comedy', book by Jason Schafer, music by Arthur Lafrentz Bacon, lyrics by Harris Doran, directed by Michael Bush. The readings will take place on Tuesday, October 15th at 3:00pm and 7:00pm, and Wednesday, October 16th at 1pm at The Theatre at the 14th Street Y, 314 East 14th Street.

Marcus Stevens and Natalie Charle Ellis, recently of Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking, are just two of the Broadway and Off-Broadway luminaries who will appear in Dorks, Drunks, and Dinosaurs: The Songs of Jeff Bienstock on October 21st at the Laurie Beechman Theater. Stevens will also be taking on directorial duties as he and his former co-star take part in an evening of music and lyrics by the multifaceted and award-winning Bienstock.

Cygnet Theatre, in collaboration with Playwrights Project, is proud to present the second annual Playwrights in Process: New Play Festival. Cygnet Theatre has long been committed to celebrating human stories through the medium of live theatre. Playwrights in Process will present four readings of new plays by Rachael VanWormer, Ross Tedford Kendall, Robert John Ford and Todd Goodlett, each of whom is a Southern California playwright or a writer with strong regional connections. The four winners were selected from 54 submissions from across the country.

The late Lehman Engel was a conductor for a number of Broadway shows in the 1940s through the 1960s, in addition to writing several masterful books on the creation and construction of musicals, and founding the musical theater workshop that bears his name and has trained many of the top songwriters and librettists of the past thirty years. He invented the term 'charm song,' referring to a song that isn't a true comedy song or a ballad, but is intended to make the audience smile and like the character singing it. The gold standard for charm songs is My Fair Lady - practically the whole show is charm songs like 'The Rain in Spain,' 'Wouldn't It Be Loverly,' and and 'You Did It.' The only overt love song is handed to a minor character, and the story is resolved via dialogue rather than a big final number. And it's just a great show.

Midwest New Musicals presents NORTH SHORE B & B (BOATS AND BEACHES), the 2013 Mini-Musicals Project today, July 21, 3:00 PM at Light Opera Works Second Stage at McGaw YMCA Children's Center Auditorium, 1420 Maple (at Lake) in Evanston.

Midwest New Musicals presents NORTH SHORE B & B (BOATS AND BEACHES), the 2013 Mini-Musicals Project today, July 21, 3:00 PM at Light Opera Works Second Stage at McGaw YMCA Children's Center Auditorium, 1420 Maple (at Lake) in Evanston

Hey, CEC fans! This week's featured composer is Drew Gasparini. And we have a summer treat for you: two Gasparinis for the price of one! Drew and his sister Kasie perform his song 'Two Little Lines' in the video below. Don't miss Drew's star-studded concert at Joe's Pub on July 29th at 9:30pm to celebrate his album 'I Could Use a Drink,' with Krysta Rodriguez, Jason Gotay and more!

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the global leader in music rights management, has announced that the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is now accepting applications for its first year composer/lyricist class. The August 1, 2013, deadline is quickly approaching and applicants are asked to send in the requested materials as soon as possible. The Workshop begins September 23, 2013, and runs through June 2014. A recipient of the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre Award, the Lehman Engel Musical Workshop consists of approximately 250 composers, lyricists and book writers who are actively writing new works for the musical theatre.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announced on June 28 the nine musicals selected to be part of the 25th Annual Festival of New Musicals on Thursday, October 17 and Friday, October 18 at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

#UntitledPopMusical, the new musical conceived and written by Michael Kimmel (The Last Goodbye), with music and lyrics by Drew Gasparini (Smash) will have it's debut concert at (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, between Thompson and Sullivan), tonight, June 24th 2013 at 7pm. The concert will feature Julia Mattison (Godspell), Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening), Lisa Brescia (Wicked, Mama Mia), Andrew Kober (Hair) and F. Michael Haynie (Wicked, Dogfight). Produced by the Wild Project, tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door or at www.lprnyc.com.

Midwest New Musicals presents NORTH SHORE B & B (BOATS AND BEACHES), the 2013 Mini-Musicals Project on Sunday, July 21, 3:00 PM at Light Opera Works Second Stage at McGaw YMCA Children's Center Auditorium, 1420 Maple (at Lake) in Evanston. Tickets are $10 at the Light Opera Works box office: (847) 920-5360 or at the door.

MARRY HARRY is an official selection of the 2013 New York Musical Theatre and will be presented by the New York Musical Theatre Festival. MARRY HARRY has a book by Jennifer Robbins, music by Dan Martin, lyrics by Michael Biello, music direction by Christopher McGovern, choreography by Wendy Seyb, and is directed by Kent Nicholson. MARRY HARRY will play at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, beginning July 19 - July 28. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by visiting www.nymf.org or www.marryharry.com or by calling (212) 352-3101.

#UntitledPopMusical, the new musical conceived and written by Michael Kimmel (The Last Goodbye), with music and lyrics by Drew Gasparini (Smash) will have it's debut concert at (Le) Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, between Thompson and Sullivan), June 24th 2013 at 7pm. The concert will feature Julia Mattison (Godspell), Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening), Lisa Brescia (Wicked, Mama Mia), Andrew Kober (Hair) and F. Michael Haynie (Wicked, Dogfight). Produced by the Wild Project, tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the door or at www.lprnyc.com.

On Wednesday, June 5, Fundamental Theatre Project will present Benjamin Button - A New Musical, as a part of Mass Rhetoric: A New Works Festival. With music by Natalie Tenenbaum and a book and lyrics by Brett Boles, the project will be directed by Stephen Nachamie and will feature Daniel Reichard, Melissa van der Schyff, Hunter Herdlicka, T.J. Mannix, James Donegan, Mark Willis Borum, Lauren Downie, Isabel Nesti, Lindsay Gallagher, Sena Lee, Alysia Dorhout, Heath Chaney, Chris Withers, Xalvador Tin-Bradbury and Mark DiConzo.

This week's featured composer is Benjamin Velez. Benjamin Velez is a composer/lyricist and recent Columbia University graduate where he studied film and wrote the 114th Annual Varsity Show. He is a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater workshop where he was named the Jerry Harrington award winner for the 2nd year workshop. His work has been featured as part of AWOL's 8 Minute Musicals at NYMF, The Platform concert series, and in last year's NEO concert. He is currently workshopping his original musical Afterland with collaborator Kathryn Hathaway, and recently premiered the title song at Joe's Pub as part of the latest CEC concert. While originally from Miami, he is now happy to call New York home sweet home.

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity presents Walden, a story-theatre style musical adaptation of Thoreau's best seller, featuring his work on the underground railroad and his star-crossed romance. Six performances for Walden will be held at the Robert Moss Theatre, 440 Lafayette Street, NYC from today, May 29-June 15 as part of The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. The Festivity will take place May 29th through June 23rd at Gene Frankel and Robert Moss Theatres in New York City.