Summer 2004 - BMI.com

Vol. 5, No. 23 Summer, 2004
AVENUE Q SWEEPS
THE TONYS!
by Frank Evans
In 2002, Jean Banks, Senior Director
of Musical Theatre at BMI was
asked about new talent in the
Workshop. “I’m very enthusiastic
about Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx.
I’d advise the theatrical community
to keep an eye on these young,
gifted writers,” she said.
Indeed, two years later, their
irreverent and sassy musical comedy
Avenue Q, won three of the top
musical theatre awards at the 58th
Annual Tony Awards held June 6
at Radio City Music Hall. The
breakthrough show, nominated for
six of Broadway’s highest honors,
won Best New Musical, Best Original
Score for BMI writers Robert
Lopez and Jeff Marx, and Best
Book of a Musical for Jeff Whitty.
The adult-themed show with people
and puppets took home the
coveted Best Musical Tony in a
surprise win over the presumed
front-runner, Wicked.
Avenue Q was developed in the
BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre
Workshop where Lopez and
Marx first met and collaborated in
1998.
As part of the live CBS Award
broadcast, the Avenue Q ensemble
sang the song that establishes most
of the main characters, the ironically
jolly and up-tempo “It Sucks
to be Me.”
During his acceptance speech
for Best Score, Lopez told viewers,
“When we started writing Avenue
Q, Jeff was an intern and I was a
temp. Our lives kinda sucked so
we came up with an idea for a
show about people like us whose
(Continued on page 20)

Master Class #4:
Meehan & Howard
and But I’m a Cheerleader, book
and lyrics by Bill Augustin, music
by Andrew Abrams, based on the
2000 film, screenplay by Brian
Wayne Peterson, story by its
director Jamie Babbit (a comedy
about a young girl whose misadventures
in a “sexual orientation
camp” lead her to discover and
embrace her true self).
On Thursday, April 14, The BMI-
Lehman Engel Musical Theatre
Workshop offered its fourth Master
Class (the second of the season) in
the third floor Media Room. Librettist
Thomas Meehan (Annie, Annie
Warbucks, The Producers, Hairspray,
Bombay Dreams) and musical director/dance
arranger/vocal arranger
Peter Howard (Hello Dolly!, 1776,
The Grand Tour, Chicago, The Tap
Dance Kid, Crazy for You, among others)
comprised the panel invited to
comment on the work of two selected
Advance class writing units. As
usual, committee member David
Spencer served as moderator.
The two shows represented by 25
minute excerpts were Wanda’s
World, music and lyrics by Beth
Falcone, book by visiting collaborator
Erich Weinberger (an original
for family audiences, currently in
development for a full production);
Table of Contents
Master Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Works
In Production . . . . . . . . . . .3
In Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
In Cabaret & Concert . . . . .11
In Publication . . . . . . . . . .13
Personals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Non-writing Gigs . . . . . . . . .29
The Rules We Live By . . . . . .15
by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx
In Memoriam . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Charles Kelman
Enter the Messenger . . . . . . .25
by Kate Hancock
Richard’s Almanac
by Richard Engquist . . . . . .30
2

Works
In Production
THE BOURGEOIS GENTLE-
MAN
by Molière, in a new translation
by Rod McLucas (who also directed),
played an April-June engagement
at the Jean Cocteau Repertory.
The production featured original
music and lyrics, plus musical
direction, by Raphael Crystal
(emeritus).
BREATHE
by Dan Martin and Michael
Biello (alumni), an award-winning
collection of seven short musical
stories about Gay and Lesbian
Life, was produced at the
Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Theatre
Festival, June 10–20, 2004.
More info at www.philagaylesbiantheatrefest.org.
Breathe was also one of three
musicals presented at the ASCAP
Foundation/Disney Music Theatre
Workshop in Chicago, April
21-29, 2004. The three shows were
selected from more than 150 submissions.
The workshop is directed
by Academy and Grammy winning
composer/lyricist Stephen
Schwartz and theatre
composer/lyricist Craig Carnelia.
Cast of Children’s Letters to God
CHILDREN’S LETTERS TO
GOD
a new musical based on the bestselling
book has been adapted by
its creator, Stuart Hample (libretto)
and features a score with lyrics
by workshop alumnus Douglas
Cohen, music by David Evans and
direction by Stafford Arima. It is
currently playing an open ended
engagement, produced by Carolyn
Rossi Copeland, at the Lamb’s
Theatre (130 West 44th Street,
between Broadway and 6th
Avenue). Evening performances
are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
and Saturday at 7:00 pm (note the
early curtain time for family audiences).
Matineees are Wednesday
and Thursday at 2:00 pm, Saturday
at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, and
Sunday at 3:00 pm. For more
information: www.ChildrensLetterstoGod.com.
COUPLES COUNSELING
a play by Carey Lovelace
(Librettists) debuted in June at the
Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts
Theater (a.k.a REDCAT) in Los
Angeles, as a production of The
California Institute of the Arts
School of Theater. The director
was Nataki Garrett, and the cast
Hugo Armstrong, Tony Forkush
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and Andrea LeBlanc. As
described: “One therapist…One
couple…What cannot be
said...Satirical, formally daring,
and touchingly funny, Couples
Counseling trace the sexual interplay
between a therapist in crisis
and his patients whose marriage is
unraveling.”
CUPID AND PSYCHE
the lighthearted mythology
musical that played a limited off-
Broadway engagement earlier this
season, received a Drama Desk
nomination in the category of Best
Lyrics, for Advanced writer Sean
Hartley. The composer is
Advanced writer Jihwan Kim.
GREETINGS FROM YORKVILLE
by composer Robert Grusecki
(Advanced) and lyricist-librettist
Anya Turner (Participating Collaborator)
will premiere September 3,
4, and 5 at the 2004 Woodstock
Fringe (www.woodstockfringe.
org).
INSOMNIA
book, music and lyrics by
Charles Bloom (Advanced), based
on an idea developed with Lee
Lucas, was presented in July (and
in repertory) as part of The 5th
Annual Midtown International
Theatre Festival (John Chatterton,
Executive Producer), at The Work-
Shop Theatre (Mainstage), 312
West 36th Street (4th Floor). The
director is Allison Bergman and
the musical director David
Snyder.
As described: “Insomnia is about
a gay screenwriter who confronts
his many and varied nocturnal
demons on a kaliedoscope journey
toward love, family and the dawn
of self-discovery over the course of
a sleepless night.”
LAST LIGHT and STEP
two one-acts by Carey Lovelace
(Librettists), played May 20-21 at
the Ensemble Studio Theatre.
LINGOLAND
a new revue spotlighting the
words of librettist, lyricist and
poet by Kenward Elmslie will
play at the York Theatre, February
1 through March 13, 2005. The
production will be staged by the
York’s artistic director James Morgan,
and its musical direction provided
by Andrew Gerle (Participating
Collaborator), who is also
one of the featured composers.
Other composers represented will
be Claibe Richardson, Ned
Rorem, Jack Beeson, Steven Taylor
and Advanced class writer
Richard Evans.
L-O-V-E
a one-act play by Joan Ross
Sorkin (Librettists) was presented
on June 11 in the Samuel French
Annual Off-Off-Broadway Original
One-Act Play Festival. The
play was previously produced last
November in NYC by the Emerging
Artists Theatre Company and
read in Alaska at the Last Frontier
Theatre Conference with Edward
Albee last June.
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LOVE, MOM
A short musical film, screenplay
and lyrics by Maryrose Wood
(Advanced), music by Andrew
Gerle (Participating Collaborator),
directed by Ted Sperling and starring
Tonya (Caroline or Change)
Pinkins, was featured as one of six
short musical films in the first
Raw Impressions Film Festival,
an anthology exploring the theme
of “Broken Promises.” Each of the
six short musicals was made in 16
days, under the stewardship of
Raw Impressions producer David
Rodwin. The films debuted in
mid-May at the Anthology Film
Archives in NYC.
LOVERS AND OTHER STRAN-
GLERS
Short Stories by Clay Mcleod
Chapman, Musical Score by Pat
Rasile, (Advanced), Directed by
Charles Loffredo, played a June
engagement at the Gene Frankel
Theatre. (“Compelling and
bizarre…Chapman’s hauntingly
poetic tales display traces of Roald
Dahl’s freakish perversity”—Jessica
Branch, Time Out NY.)
THE MAKING OF THE MACY’S
JULY 4th FIREWORKS
aired on local NBC affilliates
July 3rd, featuring the music of
Doug Katsaros (emeritus). In the
composer’s words, from an email
to promote the event prior to
broadcast: “…since I wrote or
arranged all of the music for the
fireworks, apparently I am being
put prominently on display. The
result of all of this, of course, is
that TOMORROW night (July 4th)
all across the country, the Macy’s
Fireworks Spectacular will be presented,
and I STILL wrote all the
music!
“Do you dare miss Deborah
Voight singing an 18 second long
high ‘A’ (bouncing to a ‘C#]) at the
end of a ferocious arrangement of
‘America The Beautiful’ Or
TONY winner Idina Menzel belting
out a brand new song Or
Michael Feinstein and Ann
Hampton Calloway performing a
duet of the ‘Independence Day
Swing’ Or that hunky Adam Pascal
(from Rent and Aida) rocking
out to another new tune Or the
USAF Concert Band performing
an orchestral suite for brass.
winds. percussion and fireworks I
think not!”
THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS
by alumni lyricist-librettist
Joanne Bogart and composer Eric
Rockwell returned to the York
Theatre where it debuted earlier
this season for an extended run
that will play through the summer.
The show is an affectionate yet
merciless parody of musical theatre
styles (which tells the same
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Bogart & Bacall
purposefully trite story four times,
as if written by Rodgers & Hammerstein,
Stephen Sondheim,
Jerry Herman and Kander &
Ebb). The cast album, featuring
the authors and BMI Librettist
workshop member Craig Fols was
recently released on the JAY label,
and composer Rockwell received a
Drama Desk nomination for his
score.
THE PHANTOM OF THE
OPERA
The award-winning retelling of
the story for young and family
audiences, music and lyrics by
David Spencer (Committee, Second
Year co-moderator), book and
direction by Rob Barron, has been
remounted for a new cross-country
tour in the 2004-2005 season.
Produced by Theatreworks/USA,
Phantom is among the most popular
musicals in their catalog, and
(very) freely adapts the Gaston Leroux
novel to create a touching
parable about how society treats
people who are “different.” The
show’s previous tour played from
Fall 1996 through Fall 1998. A cast
album was released by Playbill
records.
THE PSYCHIC HOUR
an original musical comedy by
advanced writers Martin Fernandi
(music) and Susan Murray (book
and lyrics), has been selected for
inclusion in the FringeNYC Festival
this August. Ms. Murray also
stars in the musical, directed by
Scott Collishaw. As described:
“Myrna is a psychic (but she’s not
very good at it). Kevin is a skeptic
(though he’s actually psychic). A
comedy musical about what happens
when the two meet…and
Reality TV wants a piece of the
action.” At press time, performance
dates and times were still
TBA, but keep checking the website
www.psychichour.tv for further
details.
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JUNIE B. JONES
by alumnus writers Marcy
Heisler (lyrics, book) and Zina
Goldrich (music, book) is Theatreworks/USA’s
free family theatre
offering this summer at the Lucille
Lortel Theatre. Based on Barbara
Park’s bestselling series for kids,
the musical tells the story of a year
in the life of a first-grader. Featured
in the cast are Jill Abramovitz (Second
Year) and Adam Overett
(Advanced) along with Mary
Faber, Keara Hailey, Michael
McCoy and Darius Nichols. More
info is available at: www.theatreworksusa.org/free_summer.cfm
THE PASSION OF GEORGE W.
BUSH
is a new musical satire with
music by Alden Terry and book
and lyrics by John Herin and
Adam B. Mathias (Advanced).
The director is Simon Hammerstein.
It is being produced, as a
part of the 2004 New York International
Fringe Festival, by Christine
Hale, at The Michael Schimmel
Center for the Arts at Pace
University. As described:
He rose from obscurity to lead a
nation and spread his father’s
gospel across the land. He elevated
the downtrodden and smote
the evildoers.
His enemies called him dangerous,
radical, defiant. His friends
called him Dubya.
Behold the Courage...
the Honesty...
the Passion of George W. Bush!
http://www.passionofgwb.com/su
pport
In Progress
A BROOKLYN TALE
a full-length play by Joan Ross
Sorkin (Librettists), was presented
in a staged reading in the Emerging
Artists Theatre Company’s
Double Decker series on June 22
and 29 in NYC. The play was previously
workshopped at Fleetwood
Stage in New Rochelle, NY
in January.
DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY
Reported in Playbill On-Line by
Ken Jones:
Death Takes a Holiday, the final
musical work of the late master
librettist Peter Stone, in a collaboration
with Maury Yeston [returning
Advanced moderator], may
bow on Broadway as early as the
end of the 2004-05 season under
the direction of David Leveaux,
Playbill On-Line has learned. Antonio
Banderas has been courted to
play the lead role of the charming
Grim Reaper, who doesn’t understand
why people cling to life.
Director Leveaux staged the 2003
Tony Award-winning revival of
Nine—by the Tony Award-winning
composer-lyricist Yeston [and
librettist Arthur Kopit]—starring
Banderas in his Broadway debut
(he was Tony-nommed playing
Nine’s amorous lead).
Yeston and Leveaux both like to
keep mum about developing projects,
but their collaboration on
Death Takes a Holiday, based on the
1928 Alberto Cassella play of the
same name, has been known about
7

8
since late last season. Producers are
now circling.
The musical itself has been developing
from the pens of Stone (1776,
Woman of the Year, My One and Only)
and Yeston for four years. The pair
wrote the Tony Award-winning musical
Titanic, and both contributed to the
musical Grand Hotel. Playbill On-Line
first reported about the Death project
in 2001. Stone died April 26, 2003, at
the age of 73. He won Tony Awards
for his books for Titanic, Woman of the
Year and 1776.
Death Takes a Holiday appeared on
Broadway in 1929, adapted from the
original Italian by Walter Ferris. Death
tells of the Grim Reaper visiting earth
to discover why people are so fearful
of him. Or, as Stone said in a Playbill
On-Line interview, “What can life be
that they cling to it so”
Death then becomes a houseguest at
a swanky nobleman’s home where an
engagement is being celebrated. And
that’s where he falls in love.
“It’s very lush and romantic and
amusing in many aspects, even
though it deals with a somewhat serious
subject,” Stone previously told
Playbill On-Line.
“Each time they remake it,” Stone
said of the film versions, “it’s farther
from the original. We’re keeping the
locale: Italy, just after the first World
War. It’s a small musical: 10 principals,
all of them important, no chorus.”
Playbill On-Line learned a July 2004
workshop is likely for the project.
British Leveaux is hot in the current
Broadway season: He staged the
Broadway revivals of Fiddler on the
Roof and Tom Stoppard’s Jumpers.
Yeston has been quoted as describing
the piece as “an intensely romantic
love story, deeply moving and life
affirming.”
At the opening night of Broadway’s
Assassins April 22, Yeston told Playbill
On-Line columnist Harry Haun,
“We’re going to do it on Broadway
next year. I’ve done the score, and the
book was written by Peter Stone. He
finished it completely and polished it,
right before he died. This will be
Peter’s 19th musical.”
HIGH FIDELITY
As reported by Ernio Hernandez in
Playbill Online:
Avenue Q producers Robyn Goodman,
Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey
Seller are attached to the developing
David Lindsay-Abaire, Tom Kitt
[Advanced] and Amanda Green
[Advanced] musical version of the
book-turned-film High Fidelity. The
producing trio have acquired the
rights from Disney to the Nick Hornby
novel as well as the Stephen
Frears-directed film which starred
John Cusack, according to Variety.
High Fidelity follows the story of a
record store owner who—when
things in his current relationship go
sour—revists his former relationships
to find where he went wrong. The
2000 film, which also starred Joan
Cusack, Jack Black, Tim Robbins,
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lisa Bonet and
Lili Taylor, reset the Hornby story in
Chicago. The musical will center the
story in New York.
Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire
(Kimberly Akimbo, Fuddy Meers) will
pen the book with music by composer
Tom Kitt (Debbie Does Dallas) and lyricist
Amanda Green (For the Love of
Tiffany).

Kitt and Green recently performed
some songs from High
Fidelity at a July 12 concert in New
York. Green, daughter theatre legend
Adolph Green, had worked
with the Avenue Q producers in an
early workshop of the Tony
Award-winning musical as the
Gary Coleman character. Lindsay-
Abaire is also developing a musical
based on the cartoon Betty
Boop.
Goodman told Variety the new
musical is expected to workshop
in the summer of 2005.
NOT WANTED ON THE VOY-
AGE
a musical based on the novel by
Timothy Findlay, with music and
lyrics by Neil Bartram (Second
Year) and book by Brian Hill had
a late May workshop at Toronto’s
CanStage, directed by Susan H.
Schulman (Librettists moderator,
ex officio). Musical direction was by
Rick Fox.
The “irreverent recounting of the
story of the great flood, the ark
and the dysfunctional family at the
center of it all” featured Barbara
Barsky, Tom Rooney (Toronto’s
Hairspray), Michael Therriault
(Leo Bloom of The Producers in
Toronto), Steve Ross (The Producers),
Blythe Wilson (The Last 5
Years), Juan Chioran (Roger
DeBris, The Producers), Jennifer
Stewart (Penny Pingleton of Hairspray),
Jason Knight and Nicola
Lipman. Also in the cast were
Eliza Jane Scott, Divine Earth
Essence, Saidah Baba Talibah,
Robin Hutton, Christina Gordon,
Alon Nashman, Darcy Evans and
James Kall.
The piece is billed as “a cross
between The Skin of Our Teeth and
Watership Down” that “turns the
familiar story of the ark on its ear
by looking at it through the eyes of
Noah’s wife.”
“You’ve read the story,” she
says. “Well this isn’t that story.
This is the gospel according to me.”
CanStage is Canada’s largest resident
theatre company devoted to
contemporary theatre. Visit www.
canstage.ca.
STRANGE FRUIT
an opera by Joan Ross Sorkin
(Librettists) and Chandler Carter
has been granted a commission by
the Long Leaf Opera Company in
Durham, NC. The opera has previously
been showcased at New
York City Opera in 2003. If all
goes as planned, the opera will be
presented at Memorial Hall in
Chapel Hill, NC in October, 2007.
STORYVILLE
by Lisa DeSpain (Advanced
composer) Kristen Anderson-
Lopez, (Advanced lyricist) and
Shawn Churchman (book) was
selected as one of the “residency”
projects for the Summer 2004
O’Neill Music Theatre Conference.
Concurrent with the full
workshop productions, residencies
are provided to selected projects
that are still in an early stage of
development. Their authors are
provided with room, board and
facilities; and near the end of their
stay, they present excerpts from
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their work-in-progress at a cabaret
for participating O’Neill theatre
artists.
Storyville is an original story set
in the final days of New Orleans’
notorious legalized red-light district.
Drawing on the rich musical
landscape at the dawning of the
Jazz Age, plus historical facts, personalities,
and urban myths, Storyville
is a journey of love and
redemption involving a powerful
and charismatic madam, her
young protegee, and the young
sailor whom they both love.
THEORY OF THE LEISURE
CLASS
An Irreverent Vaudeville Musical
Comedy, Book and Lyrics by
Charles Leipart, Music by Richard
B. Evans (Advanced) had a “table
reading with songs” presented by
the Abingdon Theatre on June 10,
2004. The cast featured Nick
Wyman (currently on Broadway in
Sly Fox) as Thorstein Veblen, with
Ian August, Jonathan Ball, J.
Claude Deering, Susan Derry
(Wonderful Town), Louisa
Flaningam, Amy Goldberger,
Nancy McGraw and Randy Redd.
VOICE OF THE CITY
As reported by Ernio Hernandez
in Playbill On-Line:
Voice of the City, a new romantic
musical comedy set in O. Henry’s
New York City, [had] its first public
reading May 13 as part of the
York Theatre Company’s Developmental
Reading Series.
Karen Azenberg direct[ed] the
15-actor show by lyricist-librettist
Kenneth Jones and composer
Elaine Chelton [both alumni].
Music direction [was] by Mary-
Mitchell Campbell.
Pieces of the show have been
heard in recent years in The BMI-
Lehman Engel Musical Theatre
Workshop, where Jones and Chelton
met. Chelton is a principal solo
pianist at New York City Ballet.
Jones is an editor at Playbill On-
Line.
“It’s a musical fable about a
woman who comes of age in Manhattan—a
city she never really got
to know until circumstances forced
her to face the world,” composer
Chelton said. “Since it’s set in
1906, and the characters vary so
widely in background, there’s a
variety of musical sounds in the
score, from rag to polka to Yiddish
lullaby to march, and more.”
Voice of the City is described as a
book musical with the kind of plot
twists expected of stories by turnof
the-century fiction writer O.
Henry (The Gift of the Magi). The
show is inspired by an O. Henry
short story called Springtime a la
Carte, about a typing girl named
Sarah who is torn between the
country and the city.
“In O. Henry’s Greenwich Village
of 1906, a typing girl expects a
farmer from Connecticut to whisk
her away from urban life, but
twists of fate and a community of
new friends show her the country
isn’t the only place where things
blossom,” according to the York
website. It’s “a romantic musical
comedy fable about reaching for
life instead of waiting around for
it.”
The reading cast includ[ed] Kate
10

Baldwin, David Bondrow,
Michael Brian Dunn, Marnee
Hollis, Sarah Hyland, Robert
Anthony Jones, Peter Marx,
Michele McConnell, Heather
Mieko, Perry Ojeda, Danny Rothman,
Graham Rowat, Eadie Scott,
Tia Speros and Melanie Vaughan.
In Cabaret and
Concert
AHRENS & FLAHERTY
The 2005 Broadway Close Up
season kicks off its three-concert
series on April 4, 2005, with Make
Them Hear You!, an evening devoted
to the works of the emeritus
songwriting team of lyricist Lynn
Ahrens and composer Stephen
Flaherty. Hosted by their collaborator
on Ragtime and A Man of No
Importance, Tony-winning playwright-librettist
(and recent Master
Class panelist) Terrence McNally,
the concert will have its subjects
on hand. The duo’s other scores
also include Once On This Island,
My Favorite Year, Seussical, Lucky
Stiff and the animated film musical
Anastasia.
AMANDA GREEN and TOM
KITT
as ever, continue to perform in
cabaret venues and perform songs
from their musical-in-progress
High Fidelity (based on the film of
the same name). The Advanced
Workshop writers performed some
early May sets at The Cutting
Room on West 24th Street, followed
by another in July at Birdland.
AUDRA McDONALD’s “SEVEN
DEADLY SINS”
Four-time Tony Award winner
Audra McDonald, honored again
this season for her work in the
revival of A Raisin in the Sun, premiered
a new song cycle in June at
Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall.
Commissioned by the Carnegie
Hall Corporation, the cycle is entitled
The Seven Deadly Sins and
comprises seven works for the
soprano and her musicians. Each
of the pieces concerns one of the
“seven deadly sins”: envy, gluttony,
pride, greed, sloth, anger and
lust. Ted Sperling was musical
director and pianist with Rick
Heckman on reeds, Peter Sachon
on cello, Brian Koonin on guitar,
Dave Phillips on bass and Dave
Ratajczak on drums. The June 8
and 10 performances were recorded
for future broadcast on National
Public Radio.
Anger was represented by alumnus
Michael John LaChiusa’s
“The Christian Thing to Do”;
envy by alumnus Ricky Ian Gordon’s
“Can You Look Me in the
Eyes”; gluttony by alumni
Stephen Flaherty and Lynn
Ahrens’s “I Eat”; greed by John
Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey’s
“The Greedy Tadpole”; lust by
Steve Marzullo and Mark Campbell’s
“Burning the Sauce”; sloth
by Advanced writer Jeff Blumenkrantz’s
“My Book”; and vanity
by Jake Heggie’s “Blah, Blah,
Me.” The concerts also included
additional tunes from the Great
11

Gayla Morgan
American Songbook as well as a
piece from Adam Guettel’s new
musical, The Light in the Piazza.
GAYLA MORGAN
On May 14th, composer-lyricist
Gayla Morgan (Advanced) presented
two vocal arrangements
and an original composition in
concert with the six-voice Grammy-nominated
a cappella group,
The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble,
of which she is also currently a
member. Her original composition,
“More Than Words,” concluded a
three-song set of sacred music
early in the program. Her ten-voice
(SSATTB/SATB) arrangement of
“America/Route 66” was performed
in collaboration with the
NYC all-male quartet, Consensus,
to conclude the first half of the program.
And her humorous arrangement
of “Harvest Moon”—including
the verse, of course!—was performed
as an encore that featured
the pseudo-tap-dancing skills of
Western Wind tenor Todd Frizzell.
LISA DeSPAIN
(Advanced composer), in collaboration
with legendary Graham
dancer/choreographer Donlin
Forman, premiered the final
installment of their jazz triptych
ballet in February at the Joyce Theater.
Song, an a cappella work drawing
from early American gospel,
blues and folk song, was performed
by the New York Choral
Society live on-stage with Ms.
DeSpain conducting. Also programmed
was Lisa D. (Mr. Foreman’s
tribute to Ms. DeSpain) set
to Ms. DeSpain’s String Quartet
#1, Rise & Fall (played live by the
Cassatt String Quartet), and Mean
Old World, performed by the blues
band Catfish Corner. The New York
Times has called Ms. DeSpain’s
work “rousing” and “witty” while
Backstage has heralded her as one
of the “tasty new ingredients” in
the dance music world. The
DeSpain-Foreman collaboration
was a main feature at Jacob’s Pillow,
summer 2003.
Lisa DeSpain
12

MICHAEL OGBORN
presented an evening of his
songs at Don’t Tell Mama on May
3rd. The winner of Philadelphia’s
Barrymore Award (for his musical
Baby Case) performed songs from
his latest musical Cafe Puttanesca
and others. The evening was directed
by Kelly Briggs and also featured
performers Jerry Christakos,
Dori Legg and Lorinda Lisitza.
SUGAR AND SPRING
a song Brad Alexander
(Advanced) has written with the
band Edible Red, has been chosen
to appear in the third episode of
The Oxygen Network’s new show
“Good Girl’s Don’t.” The series
premiere is June 4th. Airdate TBA.
To hear the song via Internet, go to
http://www.ediblered.com—it
plays instantly.
“THERE’S A MONSTER IN MY
CLOSET”
a song by First Year lyricist auditor
Arianna Rose and First Year
composer Johannes Gluck was
selected by the TADA Theatre
Company’s 2004 summer revue A
Day in the Life…Almost.
13
In Print
YOU ARE WHAT YOU SUBMIT
an article about proper
playscript formatting by David
Spencer (Committee, Second Year
co-moderator), appeared in the
March-April 2004 issue ofThe
Dramatist (Volume 6 Number 4),
published by The Dramatist
Guild. An oft-requested—and
seemingly the only published—
comprehensive guide to professional
script protocols that are frequently
misapplied or misunderstood,
the article originally
appeared as a Xeroxed broadside
for Workshop members, and later
as an article for the Workshop
Newsletter. It will make a final (),
more permanent appearance as a
chapter in Spencer’s forthcoming
book, The Musical Theatre
Writer’s Survival Guide (which
features revised and expanded
versions of the Newsletter articles
which gave birth to the volume,
and more) to be published by
Heinemann in Spring 2005.
THE JESTER AND THE THIEVES
a short story by Alan Gordon
(Second Year lyricist) is in the
October issue of Alfred Hitchcock
Mystery Magazine—on newstands
in August (and he doesn’t
understand it, either).
The story features his regular
series character, Theophilos the
Fool, in Constantinople at the
beginning of the 13th Century.
Alan notes that the story was
rejected by another magazine
because of its “dubious morality,”
but does not wish anyone to read
it for the mere titillation.

Personals
SEEKING LIBRETTIST I
A lyricist and a composer are
seeking a book writer to collaborate
on an established idea for a
historically accurate musical project
based on a Biblical theme. If
interested, please contact Paul
Colwell at (970) 376-0974 or at
paulkath@vail.net.
SEEKING LIBRETTIST II
Librettist needed to join our creative
team. We’re currently developing
a musical based on a true
love story that takes place during
World War II. It is dramatic and
moving with equally matching
music. Cash incentive for the person
chosen. For more information
please contact Scott Allen at (201)
390-6230.
SEEKING COMPOSER I
…for a new musical play. The
lyricist has completed lyrics for 20
songs and is looking for a composer/collaborator
to bring this project
to life. Contact Wendy Federman
by email at
Wendeliz@aol.com or by phone at
(201) 321-9965.
SEEKING COMPOSER II
A former member of the BMI
Workshop is looking for a composer
to collaborate on a libretto he
has drafted. John Kroll, who now
lives in San Diego, describes the
project in this way:
“The title of the work is Local
Color. It is inspired by some incidents
in the lives of the writers
Paul and Jane Bowles—particularly
the love affair between Jane
Bowles and a Moroccan woman
she met in Tangier in 1950. The
work’s larger theme is the impact
on expatriates of life in a foreign
country and culture they cannot
really understand. A one-sentence
synopsis might read ‘Love, insanity,
and death come to expatriates
who fall under the spell of Morocco
and Moroccans.’
“I call it an opera because of its
serious subject matter and the
abundance of music it requires.
However, in form the work consists
of a series of interlocking
songs and some dialogue. It is
probably more accurate to say that
it bridges music theater and opera
in the same way as Sweeney Todd.
“As I envision it, the music
would draw on three styles. The
major characters would sing in the
idiom of the composer’s choice.
Music for the Moroccan characters
would draw on the style and
instrumentation of Moroccan
music. A quartet of expatriates
would sing in the jazz vocalise tradition
popularized by Lambert,
Hendrix and Ross in the 1950s.”
John Kroll wrote the lyrics for a
(Continued on page 28)
14

The Rules We Live By
by Bobby Lopez & Jeff Marx
[Editor’s Note: Shortly before their
incredible Tony triumph, Jeff and
Bobby were invited by Richard
Engquist to give a lecture in his “Year
of the Tune” series on melody. When it
came time to prepare their segment for
the Newsletter’s follow-up series of
transcripts, they determined that what
they’d presented was less a lecture
than a free-wheeling talk that wouldn’t
particularly translate into print.
Happily, though, as an aid to their
talk, they had written and distributed
a handout. It pretty much covers the
salient points, it preserves their
charming and irreverent tone, and
with their permission it is reproduced
below. ]
DISCLAIMER: We’ve written one
Broadway show. We have an enormous
fear of coming in here and
coming off as know-it-alls. Because
we don’t claim to know it all.
But one thing we wished we had
more of while we were in BMI was
people who were where we wanted
to be actually telling us the nuts
and bolts of how they work.
So, in that spirit, here are some
rules/tests/principles we usually
adhere to. Stuff you probably
know already...But we thought it
might interest or amuse you to
know the kind of stuff we find
important enough to share. And
even though you probably know
all this already, we thought it was
worth reiterating.
None of these rules are written
in stone. But we like them.
THE “WHO CARES” TEST:
People have to WANT to see what
you write. Furthermore, people
have to want to see it so badly that
they’re willing to pay $100 to see
it, and then like it enough to recommend
it to their friends. We all
know of shows that we imagine
are probably good, but miss
because we have no innate interest
in their subject matter. Your time
and efforts could just as well be
spent writing something that you
think will appeal not just to you,
but to the general ticket-buying
audiences too.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE WHAT
YOU WRITE, NEITHER WILL
ANYONE ELSE. Never write
something that doesn’t ring true
for you, thinking “well, I don’t like
it but PEOPLE will like it.” Trying
to write strictly for “other people”
usually results in phony sounding
work, because the author lacks
passion and commitment. Everything
with which you’re hoping to
“hit home” with an audience must
first hit home with you. But writing
just for yourself without regard
to the audience doesn’t work
either. You have to do both.
15

EVERY RHYME MUST BE PER-
FECT: It’s part of the game of
musical theater lyric writing. Be
anal about it. Fix bad rhymes
while you’re writing, because once
you hear your work again and
again, it will become harder to go
back and change things. Don’t settle
on anything you’ll wish you
had taken the time to fix. Fix it
while you’re doing it so you can
look back and be 100% proud of it.
BUT SOMETIMES A FALSE
RHYME IS OKAY. As long as
you’re not making a habit of it, one
false rhyme doesn’t kill a show. It’s
important to keep your priorities
straight and remember that most
people won’t notice a bad rhyme
because (1) they’re not trained to
spot it, and (2) they’re used to offrhymes
from pop music. People in
the craft know, but if you have to
let one pass, as long as it’s discreet
and extremely seldom, we say “so
what.” And some false rhymes are
worse than others…
LYRICS HAVE TO WORK IN
REAL TIME. we constantly find
ourselves changing lines we like
just to make sure that when they’re
sung, live, they won’t “sound like”
something else...Bad example: if
there’s no way to set “your analysis”
so the audience won’t perhaps
hear it as “urinalysis,” change it!
Point is we’re constantly saying,
“no, it sounds like...” and changing
otherwise perfectly good lyrics
for that reason.
“KICK SOME SAND OVER IT”:
Every work of art is influenced by
other works of art. Whether you’re
profoundly inspired or horribly
blocked, your song will end up
having roots in another song you
wrote before or heard somewhere
along the line. Sometimes even
very direct roots, especially when
you want to do a gloss on a familiar
style or a comment on a particular
type of song. It doesn’t take
too many alterations to remove the
obvious similarities and end up
with something original. But it’s
always worth doing. When we
change notes or rhythms to
remove the similarities, we say
we’re “kicking some sand” over
them.
DON’T CALL IT DONE UNTIL
IT’S DONE. Anyone can write a
first draft and say “pretty good.”
The craft comes in the ability to
stick in there and keep editing it
for weeks on end until you’re really
happy with every little crevice
of the song. This means doing a lot
of:
THE MORNING AFTER TEST:
When we’ve finished working for
the night, no matter how close
something is to perfect, we never
say “It’s done’; instead, we say “If
it passes the morning after test, it’s
done.” That’s just “Do we still like
it in the morning” or “Do we find
anything new to dislike with fresh
eyes” By the way, it’s usually better
to hear a demo you’ve made on
a little tape recorder instead of
playing/performing the song to
16

eview it. That way, you can just sit
back and listen.
THE BMI WORKSHOP IS YOUR
FRIEND: Only by hearing things
in front of people do you discover
things you may need to fix. One
thing we learned while doing
“Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist” in
BMI (which bombed the first time
we brought it in, by the way) was
how necessary it was to make the
whole piece lighter in tone. That’s
why we changed the line “everyone
makes judgments based on
race” to “everyone makes [do-dodo-do-do]
based on race.”
IGNORE PEOPLE WHO WANT
YOU TO WRITE THEIR
“BEAST”: Apparently, many years
ago, there was a first-year BMI
assignment to write a scene from
Beauty and the Beast. Everyone had
their own interpretation of the
characters, the story, etc. When
somebody presented their song,
somebody else criticized it from
the perspective of how s/he would
have preferred it. The writer’s
comment was, “That’s not MY
Beast, that’s YOUR Beast.” And so
that comment got repeated over
and over until we all thought we’d
barf if we ever heard it again. But
perhaps it’s not drummed in
enough anymore, though, that
your classmates should be helping
you write the piece that’s in YOUR
head, not the piece that they would
write. When comments in class fall
into that category of “that’s your
Beast,” you need to smile and nod
and ignore them.*
ON THE OTHER HAND, DON’T
BE MARRIED TO WHAT YOU
WRITE. Always be willing to cut
lines, sections, even whole songs.
Sometimes it actually makes you
feel powerful to be able to say
“despite all the time & energy I
spent on that, it is not helping the
piece anymore.” We learned from
watching some of our friends
pointedly ignore good feedback
that if you hear a comment from a
lot of people, it’s probably a good
one to really consider.
*Editor’s Note: Since I was actually there to witness the incident described—which has
been somewhat distorted in its absorption into BMI lore—the boys gave me permission
to report what actually happened, because the real version tickled them so much. In fact,
there was never a Beauty and the Beast assignment; this particular project was being
developed by a young woman who was in the Workshop briefly during the years right
after Lehman’s death. After she presented a song for the Beast, a fairly astute young
classmate raised his hand and offered the observation that the psychology of the character
seemed skewed, that in fact the Beast would be driven by something other than what the
lyric claimed. The famous response to his comment was not uttered by the young woman
writer in front of the room, but rather by lyricist Ellen Fitzhugh, who was also in attendance.
With warmth and humor, she chided, “Oh, David—that’s your beast.” It got a
nice laugh from the class, I had enough sense not to press my point and the discussion
continued. And for the record, my Beast would have been better…
17

AIM FOR THE HIGHEST COM-
MON DENOMINATOR WITH
YOUR COLLABORATOR . We
decided early on that we would
only keep things that we both like.
That way, neither of us ever has to
feel “I hate that part, but he liked
it, ugh, I still hate it.” We both trust
that if one of us doesn’t like something,
it’s probably not as strong as
something that both of us do like.
It also ensures that we’re both
100% pleased with the result.
Instead of being upset that we had
to cut something because the other
guy didn’t like it, we actually are
glad there are two of us to edit. It
makes what we write together better
than what either of us could
write alone.
HOW WE SPLIT THINGS UP.
We don’t. We don’t do any work
unless we’re together in the same
room, at the same time. That way
neither of us has the inevitable
emotional disappointment that
comes from working on something
for six hours and having the other
guy hear it once and go, “Eh, I
don’t love it.” If one of us doesn’t
like the direction something is
going in, we can cut it off at the
pass, and go down another road
together. Then we both feel ownership
over the whole thing and
there are no hurt feelings from
someone having his work jettisoned.
BE FLEXIBLE: We’d never have
made it to Broadway if we hadn’t
been flexible and open to the random
events that occur during the
development of a project:
We started out wanting to write
musical theatre that would solidly
connect with a mainstream audience
—not just people who already
appreciate musicals. We decided
that the way we would accomplish
that was to (1) be funny, and (2)
have puppets sing (instead of
humans breaking out into song
and spooking “normal” people
out). So we started writing a Muppet
Movie on spec. When we were
invited to perform one of the
songs in the BMI Showcase/Smoker,
we decided it might be a good
time to try and get a real Muppeteer
to perform the song.
Through friends, we found Rick
Lyon, who came in and blew
everyone away, performing with a
Kermit the Frog puppet. Meeting
Rick and witnessing his amazing
talents, we became determined to
work with him again. So after
much brainstorming, we came up
with the idea of Avenue Q, but as a
TV show. When we put up a reading,
asking everyone we knew to
put us in touch with any contacts
they had in television, theater producers
(producers of Rent, and
others) came up to us and asked if
we’d be interested in adapting
what we had into a musical for the
stage instead of TV. Without more
than three second’s delay, we said
sure. We were also co-writing the
book, with a bookwriter who’s no
longer with the project. Saying
goodbye to him and working with
another co-bookwriter required
almost more flexibility than we
had. But we did it. And then when
18

the new co-bookwriter asked for
full credit on the book, we again
had to be flexible and give it to
him. These are just a few examples—we
won’t get into casting
decisions and all that...
Point is, at least as far as our
journey on Avenue Q has demonstrated,
the road is twisted. You
have to be sharp enough to spot
opportunities and flexible enough
to go with them. We never could
have predicted that wanting to
work with Rick again would end
up with us having a hit show on
Broadway with him. We’d encourage
everyone to look closely for
the opportunities that may be lurking
right under your noses...You
never know where they’ll lead.
19

(Continued from page 1)
A Scene from venue Q
lives all kinda suck.”
An exuberant Marx added: “But
we’re here to tell you as living
proof that things get better. L [L
Cool J] and Carol [Channing] just
gave us the Tony Award!”
In his acceptance speech,
Lopez’s list of thanks included,
“especially the BMI Workshop.”
The BMI Workshop demonstrated
support for the writing team
early on in the gestation of their
show and careers. Songs from
Avenue Q were presented by the
Workshop in the “smoker” series
of in-house cabarets as well as the
2002 BMI Showcase at Manhattan
Theatre Club. The Workshop
showcased earlier work by the
team as well: a ten-minute musical,
Borreguita and the Coyote,
based on the folk tale by Verna
Aardema. The short musical was
subsequently produced by Musical
Mondays Theatre Lab and
then on tour by
Theatreworks/USA as part of their
Reading Rainbow series.
The Workshop also showcased
the team’s Kermit, Prince of Denmark,
a spec project intended for
Henson Productions, which was
20

the project for which, in 2000, they
became co-winners of the coveted
Kleban Award (in a four-way tie
that included Workshop veterans
Marion Adler and David
Spencer). The $100,000 prize
(increased that year to $150,000, at
the behest of Kleban chairman
Maury Yeston, to up the ante on
the unprecedented divided pot),
given annually to both a lyricist
and a librettist, was established by
the late Ed Kleban, lyricist for the
Tony Award-and Pulitzer Prizewinning
musical A Chorus Line
and himself an alumnus, teacher
and Committee Member of the
BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre
Workshop.
That same year, Marx and Lopez
were presented with the BMI
Workshop’s Harrington Award.
The Award, established through
the BMI Foundation by Harrington’s
longtime friend and colleague,
BMI Assistant Vice President
and Counsel Evelyn Buckstein,
is given each year in Harrington’s
honor to celebrate the
late attorney’s lifelong love of
musical theater.
Avenue Q originally opened Off-
Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre
(as a co-production with the New
Group) in March 2003. It was
extended four times before moving
to Broadway’s John Golden Theatre
in July, 2003 where it is playing
to sellout crowds. Avenue Q
also won the 2003 Lucille Lortel
Award for Outstanding New
Musical, and earned a nomination
for the 2003 Outer Critics Circle
Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical
Award.
21
BMI, the performing rights organization,
joined forces with
Lehman Engel, dean of the Broadway
Musical, to found the Workshop
in the 1960’s. There is no fee
for the Workshop and admission is
based on merit. It is the first institution
to formalize the teaching of
the craft of writing for the Musical
Theatre. The Workshop continues
to have the most successful track
record for the creation of new
works and writers for the musical
stage.
BMI-Lehman Engel
Musical Theatre Workshop
320 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
212-830-2508
theatreworkshop@bmi.com
Jean Banks – Senior Director
Steering Committee
Patrick Cook
Richard Engquist
Frank Evans
Frederick Freyer
Nancy Golladay
Annette Leisten
Alan Menken
Susan H. Schulman
Jane Smulyan
David Spencer
Maury Yeston

In Memoriam
Charles D. Kelman,
1930-2004
by Jane Smulyan
Charlie Kelman, who had a twinkle
in his eye and mischief in his
smile, always told a story on himself.
A music lover by nature, he
had a dream: to play jazz saxophone
professionally. When he
was 17, however, his father asked
him to assess his abilities honestly,
and Charlie conceded he was no
match for the pros. Quoth Kelman
senior, “You’ll be a doctor.” Charlie
was, and the medical profession—
and all of us who benefit from the
creativity that resides in the best
physicians—have much to be
grateful for.
Charlie was an ophthalmologist.
As corny as it is to say that he was
a “man of vision,” it happens to be
true. What if, he wondered, it were
possible to remove a cataract not
after painful, painstaking surgery
and a 10-day stay in the hospital,
but by means of a tiny incision
administered on an out-patient
basis
(Calculated) trial and a good
deal of (discouraging) error finally
led a persistent and certain Charlie
to the solution. Ophthalmic
surgery was revolutionized
instantly and forever. So, too, was
surgery for brain tumors, pediatric
spinal cord, gall bladder and
lumpectomy—among others.
There is probably no one reading
this who doesn’t know somebody
whose surgical treatment hasn’t
been made easier—less invasive,
less traumatic—by virtue of Charlie’s
stunning innovation. That’s
vision.
The professional accolades
bestowed on Charlie began arriving
in the 1960s—when he first
devised the technique of phacoemulsification—and,
quite simply,
never stopped. Of some fifty
honors and awards, here are some
highlights (note to theatre-types:
think “Pulitzer,” “Oscar,”
“Tony”…):
1970 – American Academy of
Achievement Award
1985 – First Innovators Award in
Ophthalmology
1989 – The Binkhorst Medal
1990 – The Ridley Medal
1992 – Inventor of the Year and The
National Medal of Technology
2003 – Laureate of the American
Academy of Ophthalmology
2004 – Induction into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame
Oh, yeah, and in the early 1990s
he was accepted into the
BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre
Workshop. The same tenacity
22

Charles Kelman
and vision that were the hallmarks
of Charlie’s professional life
fuelled his creative life. Charlie
had fulfilled the dream his father
had for him and now he wanted to
pursue the dream he’d put aside in
late adolescence. Indeed, along the
way he had found time for some
(very impressive) gigs as a jazz
saxophonist, including appearances
on The Tonight Show (with
Johnny Carson), Letterman and
Oprah, and in concert with Lionel
Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie—
and this is the (very) short list! But
the dream had grown.
Now Charlie wanted to write a
musical.
So, like all his BMI colleagues,
Charlie (the guy whose patented
surgical procedure is performed
on some 1.5 million people annually)
wrote a “Blanche” song and he
wrote a musical scene for Willy
Loman and he wrote a ten-minute
musical as well. And once again,
(calculated) trial and a good deal
of (discouraging) error led to some
highly encouraging results. Charlie
could write a tune and turn a
phrase with the best of ’em.
Under the aegis of—and not
infrequently with the direct collaboration
of—former Workshop
Coordinator (and trusted friend)
Skip Kennon, Charlie finished
writing The Right Pair of Shoes,
which was developed in the Workshop
and had several staged readings.
Charlie knew how to listen to
the room and never failed to
rewrite when a song missed the
mark. He had an ear for character
and could be funny and touching
in the same breath.
And (like all of us) he especially
loved the sound of a “hit” in the
Workshop.
He “hit” many times.
Charlie got bit hard by the theatre
bug, and in the process of
developing his own work, became
a producer of others’—notably
Kennon’s Time and Again, and the
recent Broadway productions of
The Triumph of Love and The Sound
of Music. (In the 1980s, he’d been a
producer of the Can-Can revival.)
He not only loved the Workshop
and the many friends he made
there, he had an abiding confidence
in the work of his colleagues
there as well—so much so that he
generously donated the funds that
ensured one of the annual showcases.
But then it was second
nature to Charlie to do what he
could to nurture the work of
developing talent. He’d long ago
established a scholarship at Tufts,
23

his undergraduate alma mater, to
benefit applicants who came up
long on creativity but (ostensibly)
shorter on academics.
The lessons we can take from his
life Like him, to live it to its
fullest. Fearlessly. To dream; to set
goals and work for them. To choose
your battles and let go of the arguments—if
necessary, the people—
that prevent you from keeping a
positive outlook, embracing
opportunity and being creative. To
love. Charlie was blessed with his
devoted, supportive wife, Ann;
their three sons; and two daughters
from his first marriage.
Quoth Kelman senior, “You’ll be
a doctor.” More like, “You’ll be a
doctor, and an inventor, and a husband
and father, and a philanthropist,
and a teaching physician
and lecturer, and a helicopter pilot,
and an author, and a musician,
and a producer, and a composerlyricist,
and…”
Although lung cancer ultimately
took his life (not without a real battle),
Charlie was all of these. And
for that, we here at BMI who knew
him—and strangers alike—have
much to be grateful for.
24

Enter the Messenger
by Kate Hancock
For most elementary school teachers,
finding oneself in a school surrounded
by four hundred small
children on a Saturday morning
would be the equivalent of Hell.
And I admit, I harbored just such
thoughts as I drove through peasoup
fog and drizzle on a Saturday
morning in March. My destination
Scarsdale High School and
the Young Writer’s Conference,
where I knew those four hundred
small children would be waiting.
Months before I had been
approached by a member of our
class at BMI who shall remain
nameless (Jane Smulyan!), who
asked if I would be interested in
teaching a workshop on lyric writing
to elementary school children.
In my typically impulsive
approach to life, I said, “Sure!”
Several days later, I received a
phone call from Ann Starer, cochair
of the Conference. Here was
my chance to gracefully bow out—
but no, I was in for the duration.
Anne explained that I would be
teaching two identical one hour
interactive workshops on lyric
writing to two groups of 15 third,
fourth and fifth graders (that’s
ages 8-11 for those of us who can’t
remember back that far!).
As a fourth grade teacher for fifteen
years, I’ve taught all kinds of
writing to all kinds of kids, from
poetry to playwriting, so I had
some experience to draw on. My
first thought was to have every
child or pair of children write their
own song, but I quickly realized
that was an unrealistic expectation
given the time constraint, so the
model I used was not from my
teaching experience, but from my
learning experience—at BMI. I
went back to my first night at BMI
when Pat Cook and Rick Freyer
lead us in a communal exercise of
writing a song. (An epic which, if I
recall correctly, was entitled “I’ve
Got the Do for You”!)
When the kids arrived in my
classroom, we took a few minutes
to get to know each other and then
we went to work.
“What do you think the job of a
theater lyric is” I asked.
“Tell about the characters,” came
a reply.
“Help us understand what the
story is about,” came another.
Say, these kids were pretty
smart!
“Can you give me an example of
a theater song that tells us about a
character”
“’If I Were a Rich Man’! We’re
doing Fiddler on the Roof at my
temple!”
(Teachers are ever so grateful to
the student who inadvertently
gives them just the opening they
need!)
I explained that If I Were a Rich
Man was an example of an I Am/I
Want song, that every protagonist
25

had to have one in a musical, and
that we were going to write one
for the character of Cinderella.
Next, we completed a character
profile for Cinderella. The character
profile is a device I learned
from Daniel Judah Sklar, who
developed the playwriting program
at 52 nd Street Project. It’s a
quick way for young writers to see
what they know about a character.
It asks for basic information such
as age, habitat, and family. It also
asks what the character wants,
what they fear, and who the most
important being is in the character’s
life. We completed a profile
for Cinderella and then it was time
to write.
With the permission of my collaborator,
Richard B. Evans, I had
brought along a melody from the
show we’re working on. I played it
for them and we had a brief discussion
about the AABA form. We
also talked about hooks, but as
you’ll see, they didn’t find them
quite, although in one case they
came close. We talked about what
Cinderella wanted. “To be loved”
was the universal response. I
asked for a first line and we were
off and running.
On chart paper they wrote, they
crossed out, they used the lyricist’s
two best friends—the thesaurus
and the rhyming dictionary. They
sang what they wrote, GAG!, start
over—gee—just like real life! In
both classes, time ran out before
they got to the last “A”, but it didn’t
matter. These kids were great!
At one point they had three of the
four lines that they really liked for
the “B”, but they couldn’t get the
third line and time was running
out.
“Cinderella’s always dancing
around the house. Can’t she just
dance around and sing la-la-la I
do it all the time when I’m pretending.”
A solution to a problem.
In the same group, they wanted
the “B” to be about going to the
ball, but someone pointed out that
Cinderella didn’t know about it
yet.
“Why can’t you have the messenger
arrive after the second ‘A’”
Why not indeed Insert stage
direction, problem solved.
Here’s what they came up with:
#1.
(CINDERELLA is in the living room
sweeping up. SHE sings)
OH TO BE LOVED
Sweeping the cottage and washing the
dirty pots
Ironing clothes and then making the
tea
I do it all for my two greedy step-sisters
All this for them, they do nothing for
me.
Oh to be loved, how my poor lonely
heart would dance
Living a kind of life I never knew
Oh to be loved, but it’s only a fantasy
Only a dream that will never come
true
(Knock on the door—the MESSEN-
GER arrives with the invitation.)
26

[We didn’t take time to write the dialogue
that might go here.]
Oh to wear pearls and snow-white silk
Feeling the guests all stare
(She dances)
Dance with a prince La, la, la, la
I’ll be the prettiest there!
#2.
(CINDERELLA is seated at the fireplace.
SHE sings)
MY LIFE SHOULD BE
I have a stepmother, she thinks that
I’m a slave
Cooking and cleaning here, day after
day
I have a father, but he doesn’t care for
me
Two snotty step-sisters, nagging away
Why can’t my father or anyone notice
me
I feel as small as a speck in the air
If I could have anything my heart
desires
The thing I would wish for is someone
who’d care
Dressed in a gown all sparkly blue
Ride in a coach of silver
Dance with a prince who’ll smile at
me
That’s what my life should be
Okay, so Stephen Sondheim’s
career is safe, but as our time ran
out and the kids sang the songs
they had written, I could see what
every teacher searches for in the
eyes of every student—that
sparkle that comes from the joy of
learning. I knew these wouldn’t be
the only songs they wrote.
The Young Writer’s Conference
is an amazing event. People facilitating
the workshops ranged from
the Letters Editor of the New York
Times, to children’s book authors,
news reporters, poets, and even
the executive producer of Survivor.
Each offered a unique perspective
on the writerly life and I was
pleased to be a part of it, though in
some cases I probably knew only
slightly more than my students!
Still, as is almost always the case, I
learned a great deal from trying to
teach others what I had been fortunate
enough to learn from my
teachers and classmates at BMI.
Editor:
Newsletter Staff
Associate Editor:
Design and
Layout:
David Spencer
Frank Evans
Patrick Cook
Contributing Editors:
Richard Engquist
Jane Smulyan
27

(Continued from page 14)
musical developed in the Workshop
titled Wild Boy, about the
Wild Boy of Aveyron, which premiered
in January 2003 at the
Carlsen Center for the Performing
Arts in Overland Park,
Kansas. He has also written, with
composer Gary Adams (also a
Workshop alumnus), the book and
lyrics for A Perfect Moment, an
adaptation of the novel Enchanted
April.
Any composer who would like
more information can contact Kroll
directly by e-mail at
goodlead@cox.net or by phone at
(619) 233-5357.
[Editor’s Note: John Kroll goes
back to my First Year class in the
workshop under Lehman Engel. I
remember him to be a good guy and a
very talented fellow. While I won’t
offer a full-out endorsement, I will
suggest that composers looking for
worthwhile projects may find this possibility
well worth exploring.]
CD as a promotional vehicle which
will be sent to studios and producers.
Songs are to be produced on
spec with fees and payment contingent
on the sale of the story. For
details contact Bill Horvath at
(201) 281-4670. Leave a message
or e-mail horvathltd@earthlink.
net.
SEEKING COMPOSERS & LYRI-
CISTS & COMPOSER/LYRI-
CISTS
Ever dream of writing a hit song
for an animated feature film Well
here’s your chance. Screenwriter
seeks singer songwriters/composers
interested in creating music
for an animated feature yet to be
produced. This is a joint promotional
opportunity for the sole purpose
of gaining exposure for the
songwriter as well as the story
treatment. The goal would be to
produce a compilation album /
28

NON-WRITING
GIGS
THE HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY
SENIOR SHOWCASE
was directed by Jerry James
(Librettists) and presented in late
May at St. Luke’s Church (the
home of Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding).
Shire, Richard Strauss and Billy
Joel.
YIDDISH-ENGLISH-YINGLISH
a show which plays various
venues in New York and New Jersey,
had a busy May and June with
Binyumen (a.k.a. Ben) Schaecter
(alumnus) performing solo and
conducting the Yiddish Chorus.
IT’S JUST SEX
a new comedy by Jeff Gould
was given a staged reading in May
at the Westside Arts Theatre
under the direction of Michael
Scheman. The cast included Jason
Bateman (of TV’s Arrested Development),
plus Amy Hohn, Kellie
Overby, Kevin Pariseau, Sherri
Parker Lee and Steve Witting. At
press time, negotiations were
under way for a full off-Broadway
production, also to be directed by
Scheman.
VOICES OF SPRING
a concert at Merkin Hall on June
14, featured musical direction and
piano by Skip (a.k.a. Walter
Edgar) Kennon (First Year Moderator,
ex officio). Singing were Sarah
Rice and Cris Groenendaal,
reunited for the first time in Manhattan
since they appeared together
as Johanna and Anthony in the
original run of Sweeney Todd, along
with husband and wife John Jellison
and Claudine Cassan-
Jellison. Songs were by Stephen
Sondheim, William Finn, Jerome
Kern, Lucy Simon, Maltby &
29

R 1
I 1
A 1
D 2
H 4
N 1
A 1 C 3
C 3
R 1
S 1
M 3
L 1
A 1
A 1
,
by Richard Engquist
If you live long enough, short-term
memory starts to go. That’s the
bad news. The good news is
twofold: What do you expect of someone
my age and Long-term memory
stays. An old friend in my home
town said, dispiritedly, “I can
remember things that happened
ninety-five years ago, but not yesterday.”
Long-term memory really matters
if you love songs. By the time I
started school I had acquired a
large repertoire merely by listening
to my parents, who often sang as
they went about their work. Their
taste in music was eclectic and
spanned centuries, and I soaked it
all up—hymns, pop songs and
show tunes from Eubie Blake to
Harry Warren, silly vaudeville
stuff, sentimental wartime ballads,
you name it. Picture me at age five,
trudging off with lunch bucket in
hand, disturbing the Minnesota
morning with “You go home and
get your scanties, I’ll go home and
get my panties and away we’ll go!
Ohohohoh, off we’re gonna shuffle,
shuffle off to Buffalo!” followed
by my heartrending interpretation
of “Just a Baby’s Prayer
at Twilight.” Anyone care to hear
me channeling my dad channeling
Fanny Brice and Al Jolson Or my
mom’s version of “Doodle-dodo”
There’s a lot of trash rattling
around in my brain along with
treasure!
But back to business…
Late in May, a New York Times
critic wondered in print which of
the Tony-nominated musicals
might point toward theatre songs
of the future. What might prove to
30

e influential What will be popular
fifty years from now as a result
of what’s written today It would
be foolish to predict, but you
young folks make a mental note:
when 2054 comes, see what you’re
still singing from 2004.
I’m forever singing show tunes,
usually without making a sound.
Rodgers and Hart by the hour;
Harold Arlen and Johnny
Mercer; Dietz and Schwartz.
Maury Yeston’s “New Words”
starts looping through my mind
and I have a hell of a time replacing
it. Today I’ve been obsessing
on two great standards by Sammy
Fain and Irving Kahal, and I can’t
even name the shows they’re from.
(Okay, I’ll look it up: “I
Can Dream, Can’t I” and “I’ll Be
Seeing You,” from Right This
Way—1937.)
Yes, there are literally thousands
of songs I’ll happily take with me
to my grave, but how many shows
in their entirety would I listen to
without growing restive I’ve
made a list, starting with my earliest
recollections.
Blitzstein version.)
The Most Happy Fella
West Side Story (Though I could
now do without the dialogue.)
The Music Man
She Loves Me
A Little Night Music
Sweeney Todd
And one operetta—The Merry
Widow—which has never failed to
delight me in any of its incarnations.
What do these pieces have in
common, besides the high quality
of the songwriting Each has a
compelling story.
My guess is that what will
endure and perhaps be trend setting
are those theatre pieces which
have strength in all three elements:
book, music, lyrics. I’ll bet that
some—perhaps most—of the masterpieces
listed above will still be
performed a hundred years
from now. What do you think
.
Show Boat (Even in its longest
version.)
Porgy and Bess. (I prefer the
Broadway version to the full
opera.)
The Wizard of Oz (The film, of
course.)
Carousel
Annie Get Your Gun
Kiss Me, Kate (Without the recent
interpolations.)
Guys and Dolls
The Threepenny Opera (The
31