The Talk

Thank You, Wichita! Christmas Letters Reading Was a Blast

5/27/2016

We had an absolute blast last night in Wichita as Forum Theatre produced the first-ever reading of 'Christmas Letters,' a new musical by me and Laura Bergquist. (That's us with a huge projected show title you can't see!)

The piece is still taking baby steps--we just have about an hour of what will be a much longer show--but it was warmly received by an audience of about 100 who came out to support Forum and its producing artistic director, the fabulous Kathy Hauptmann, who also directed the reading. A talk-back session after gave us valuable input, but mostly it encouraged us that we've really got something worth developing.

Christmas Letters is a series of vignettes--most with original songs--about all the things that drive us crazy about Christmas . . . and why we love it anyway. (Examples? Shopping on Black Friday. Taking the family picture. Assembling toys for the kids . . . late Christmas Eve.)

Many thanks to our cast--Stephen Hitchcock,, Sarah Gale McQuery, Chelsey Moore and Shaun Michael Morse. You normally put up to 29 hours of rehearsal in a reading . . . .they only got 10. And they did an outstanding job.

I'll post music later. For now, that's all, and that's enough.

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The Musicals

Babes At Sea

Set during World War II, Babes at Sea is a throwback musical ‘dramedy’ that knows when to get current . . . and serious.
Babes offers a fresh take on the classic musical setup:
- Boy meets girl.
- Girl hates boy.
- Girl dresses up as sailor and boards a ship to find out
what boy is thinking.
- And hilarity ensues. And so does love. And so does war.
With characters you’ll care about singing songs you’ll hum the next
day, Babes at Sea sets sail on a journey to learn what really
matters . . . and has a great time doing it.

Panther City

Panther City is a new musical that tells the inspiring, true (well, mostly true) story of Fort Worth, Texas' fight back from certain demise when in 1876 a national depression dashed the growing town’s hope of bringing in the railroad. (A Dallas reporter wrote the town was so dead, he saw a panther asleep on Main Street.) Needing to come together, Fort Worth was deeply divided between the town-builders and saloon owners who gave it a well-deserved rowdy reputation serving Chisholm Trail cattle drovers. About the only thing they agreed on was they all hated Dallas! But somehow this town on the Trinity River, teetering on the brink of extinction, would have to find a way . .
Listen to the music of Panther City

Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl

It's "Cyrano de Bergerac Goes to High School" . . . twice
in Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl a new musical about which Show Business Weekly says:
Cozby’s comedic music seamlessly advances the plot with catchy melodies and lyrics that astonishingly generate nostalgia for high school.
The students of Herbert Hoover High prepare to perform an absolutely terrible musical version of Cyrano de Bergerac (Cyranose!), written by the president of the school board. At the same time the students are a Cyrano story, with inarticulate jock Johnny Rocket pining for the unattainable cheerleader Margo Major and imploring drama nerd Marty McCoy (also pining for Margo) to help him woo the girl they both want!

Add in a drama teacher and football coach battling for their programs, a conniving principal pitting them against each other, the tough (and hilarious) kids from the Alternative School bent on mischief and you have a bright, original musical with songs and situations that will alternately tug at your heart strings . . . and your funny bone.

The Dancing Princess

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Based on the delightful children's book The Mask of the Dancing Princess by Judith Gwyn Brown, this musical will engage and entertain every member of the family. With music by Bert Draesel, lyrics by Nancy Leeds and book and additional lyrics by Paul Cozby, Rosamond's journey from princess to pauper and back again will have you singing, laughing . . . and learning that people are seldom just as they seem.

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