97 stories from Make Musicals
Today, in response to a reader’s question, we’re going to talk about marketing and advertising costs for a Broadway musical! Just having the Broadway brand and a great new Broadw…
Dear Make Musicals, Say you have a connection to a producer, literary manager or theater company and have been invited to send along some of your new musical’s material. Is there any a…
I had the great pleasure of visiting San Francisco recently to see the brand new musical, Tales of the City based on Armistead Maupin's famous serial novels. I'm a huge fan of the books and …
The subject of today’s interview, Jason Robert Brown, requires no introduction. In fact, as a Make Musicals reader, I would be shocked if a quick scan of your ipod playlists didn’…
Just a quick public service announcement today. If you are a musical theater junkie and haven't seen the trailer for the newly picked up NBC TV drama SMASH, you need to see it NOW! Just pres…
You may be a brilliant musical composer, lyricist, or writer but my real question today is CAN YOU SING? This is an important question because you will be in the spotlight time and time agai…
We're going to talk about your new musical’s sales pitch again today. If you think this isn't hugely important, I implore you to think again. The words you use to describe your new mus…
Whether or not you live in NYC you probably dream of getting your musical on its feet in the city that never sleeps. However, when your musical is still in its infancy, don't discount th…
Some of the highest praise producers and creators in musical theater receive is that they are visionary. And they have to be, right? Like all artistic endeavors, this is a business of creati…
In part two of our interview with Larry O’Keefe he talks about working with his wife, writer/lyricist, Nell Benjamin, his words of wisdom for writers and an update on what’s next…
If you are like a lot of musical writers and producers I know, you're desperate to avoid having people say that your original musical is actually a dreaded "derivative."Â You wake up nigh…
Now that summer is approaching, I'm starting my annual get-in-shape-for-summer workout routine. Here's how it works. I plan out some sort of exercise that I'll do for an hour every day for 3…
Today, I just have just one very important question for you: DO YOU OWN YOUR SHOW'S DOMAIN NAME? As in, www.insertyourmusicalstitlehere.com? If your answer is no, do it now. RIGHT NOW. It's …
I had the pleasure this week of talking with Willard Beckham, the writer, director and producer of the new Off-Broadway musical comedy, Lucky Guy. He's proof that if you follow your dream an…
If you've ever seen the musical Chicago (and if you're reading this blog, you better have!) you'll remember Billy Flynn's famous number, Razzle Dazzle. It's one of my favorite show tunes and…
People in this business often talk about getting “lucky.” As any gambler can tell you, if you want “luck to be a lady” you have to know the odds. Personally, I didn't…
There are times when the mountain you need to climb to reach your dream of making musicals can seem impossible. When you begin to focus on all of the things that are not within your control …
Next week I'll be attending The Broadway League's Annual Spring Road Conference. That's where Broadway producers and road presenters (i.e. the folks in the various cities around the country …
I don't know about you, but as I read the crazy things going on in the news these days or in days gone by, I frequently think, "wow, this would make a great musical." For better or worse, th…
Recently, my friend Larry O'Keefe, a successful Broadway composer and lyricist for shows including Legally Blonde and Bat Boy, took a few minutes out of his busy writing schedule to talk wit…
You are going to fail. I hate to be the one who has to tell you but there it is. It happens to everyone at one time or another. In this risky business of musicals, odds are there are going &…
A writer friend called me excitedly last week to share the news that a producer was interested in his new musical. He and his writing partner were thrilled! What writing team isn't anxious f…
Though everyone agrees long distance romantic relationships seldom work, the same is not true for musical theater collaborations. In fact, though you may think you can’t write, pro…
I hear from a lot of musical theater writers who are interested in participating in one of my new works programs. This is great news, since I'm always interested in knowing about new musical…
Every Monday, my friends at the Broadway League publish the weekly Broadway grosses. Since this can feel a bit like a interpreting a foreign language to those that don’t speak finance,…
