"Why would I spend $100 to see a Broadway show, when I can see it on YouTube for free?" "Yes, I have seen WICKED." "Oh " where did you see it?" "On YouTube." These are conversations and comm…
With all of the well-publicized work and study towards a wider representation of women writers and writers of color in the theater (which I fully support), and in light of the recent record-…
The buzz surrounding Lin Manuel-Miranda's Hamilton is deservedly not quieting down anytime soon, yet the spring season of new musicals is upon us " and there aren't any slackers among the…
This final installment of “Finishing the Hat” is personal. I met Rachel Dean a few years ago when we wrote our first song together and have been enamored of her ever since. This …
I often hear the argument that too much new musical theatre sounds the same: the same chord structure – the same lyrics of longing – without a nod to the songwriters who have com…
Of all the discussion about the writing of musicals – the “to-do”s and “to-don’t”s, what IS and what ISN’T musical theatre, what rhymes and what doe…
Georgia Stitt is superwoman. Not only is she among the most honest writers working today, she wears more hats in one year than most of us do in a lifetime. There are two simple reasons. Firs…
Modern musical theatre has become a master class in honest dialogue – and what a welcome and amazing thing that is. When I first heard the songs of Kerrigan-Lowdermilk many years ago, …
Sweeping romantic epics have been a part of the American musical theater pantheon since its inception. Show Boat may have launched that ship (pun very much intended), and since then they've …
All of the great lyricists have said (in one way or another) that lyric writing is about concision and character. When those two things collide, musical moments achieve an organic level that…
Note from David: For Fall 2015, I am launching a new series taking a specific look at the craft of lyric writing. As a librettist and lyricist myself, this is a particular passion for me and…
It’s back to school season and The Green Room is looking out for you. All this month, the NMT Countdown series is bringing you a guide to the best-selling songs on NMT from the last ye…
Over the course of the first three parts of this series, new musical theatre writers have offered advice on everything from finding directors to getting your songs sung and into voices as so…
In the first two parts of this series, writers discussed some first-step-options for your newly completed musical as well as the pros and cons of attaching a solid director to the piece. Thi…
In part one of FIRST STEPS: Things To Consider Once You've Written Your First Musical, some of my great writer friends shared their thoughts on first steps in development of that new musical…
I was once told that in this business, "everyone and their brother has written a musical." I have learned over the years that there is more truth to this that you would imagine. There is no …
Summer tends to be a time when I do A LOT of writing as well as a LOT of reading, listening, and viewing. I am a firm believer that as a writer, I am influenced (whether I like it or not) by…
Anyone who has written for the stage will tell you that finding collaborators is like dating. The writing relationship is a delicate one and requires some back and forth to see if it's a goo…
One of the great thrills of working in this business for me is discovering new writers. It's like listening the future of the art form in a very real way. I've been blessed to work with so m…
Every year I get more and more excited about the new musicals that populate the primary Broadway scene. In a way – for all of us involved in developing and writing new musicals –…
Everyone does an end-of-year list, right? Some "top 10" or "best of"- as part of our obsession with ranking things chronologically. Look " I'm not judging. I like a good top 10 list as much …
There are milestone shows in musical theater that we all mark as definitive. Give or take a show or two, most will tell you that certain shows land on that list. Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Fiddle…
I remember the first time I heard Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner rip through "Who Will Love Me As I Am." When I finally took a breath, I wanted to find out all I could. At the time, I didn't…
Many of us who have come to the piano as a primary instrument did so in a variety of ways. Some have been taking dedicated lessons since age 5; others have never taken a single one. Some wer…
In my past few posts, I've been offering some general tips to making the relationship between new musical theatre writers and regional theatres really strong and useful for everyone involved…