97 stories from Make Musicals
Happy 2012! This year, consider making it your New Year's resolution to submit the new musical in your life to a new works festival or development opportunity. I've listed below a handful of…
At Sardi's last week I ran across a much maligned theater columnist who, though quick to skewer the latest Broadway offerings, also knows more about about theater than just about anyone I've…
As the presidential primaries heat up, I can't help but see similarities between a president's path to the White House and a musical's path to Broadway. In presidential politics, it's not en…
It's always nice when wonderfully talented artists also turn out to be wonderful people. That's the case with uber-talented hip-hop Broadway writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who joined me for lun…
I love talking with my good friend, lyricist Don Black, because like anyone who makes a living with words, he's full of fabulous quotes and anecdotes. One of his favorites, and now mine, is:…
One of the most delicate things about mounting a new musical is who gets a say in the development of the show. Whether spoken or unspoken there are rules about who gets to speak and you had …
For some of you, this may be a no brainer but I thought it was worth mentioning… Have you ever produced a musical, a workshop or a reading and said, "wow, we have no money!"? While mos…
Say you've written a musical. You have a solid draft and you're ready to take it to the world… A FILM PRODUCER approaches you and offers to BUY your musical script. You get a nice chun…
I had the great pleasure of having dinner recently with the legendary British lyricist, Don Black. Besides being known for some of musical theater's most eloquent and memorable lyrics in sho…
Today I’d like to share a few simple tips to ensure that when you pack in the producers at your next new musical reading, you maximize the opportunity! Without further ado, 3 tips for …
I've seen several new musicals in development this week and, as is to be expected, the quality of the shows was all over the board. However, what was consistently excellent at each and every…
I've had a thrilling few weeks! Those of you who follow me on social media already know but for the rest of you…I've come on board as an above the title producer of the new Broadway mu…
I have a pet peeve and I need to vent! If you've ever been to a reading of a new musical, you'll know what I'm talking about. Here's the scenario: As people arrive for the musical reading, h…
Several readers have asked about artist MANAGERS…what they do, how they differ from an agent, why you need one, and how you get one. Manager extraordinaire, Bruce Miller, with an impre…
In this business of musical theater where talent is hard to definitively quantify and people wear a variety of hats, I have no doubt that at some point you've looked across the table at some…
I've had a really good month. The festival I was producing went off without a hitch, I signed on as a major producer for a new Broadway show, and am in option talks for another new musical.�…
I'm optioning a new musical right now and I'm learning quickly that there are some unfortunate realities about the option process that every new musical must overcome. Just so everyone's on …
The festival of new musicals wrapped up last weekend at Village Theatre and I'm pleased to report it was a huge success! Village’s Executive Producer, Robb Hunt, and I took a moment to…
It’s less than a week before the New Musicals Festival I’m producing at Village Theatre. Producing a festival with 6 new musicals, 14 writers, 126 cast members and a few dozen of…
As the producer of Village Theater’s Festival of New Musicals it is my goal to not only provide a useful, fun and supportive opportunity for 6 new shows and their creators, but also to…
It's 19 days until Village Theatre's Festival of New Musicals and if YOUR show was part of this year's festival, you'd likely be doing several things in the next few days: - Staying in close…
Welcome to Part 2 in the Sneak Peek Inside a Musical Theatre Festival series. If you’re just tuning in, I’m producing Village Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals and am blog…
Starting today, I'll be spending a month in Seattle and though we all know that the Northwest is the ideal place to enjoy the summer, I'll be there on official Make Musicals business. I'm pr…
The controversial subject of Broadway jukebox musicals came under hot debate at dinner with some musical theater colleagues in Washington, DC last week. Personally, I enjoy a well made jukeb…
Today we’ll be talking about new musicals from the actor’s perspective! You’ll need many talented, thoughtful, risk-taking and patient performers along the way to share in …
