2021: New World, New Ways, New Works
It's our 15th anniversary. As the world completely changes, we remember how we got here.
We wanted a bonanza for our fifteenth anniversary season. But, in truth, we've never been a bonanza-type company. We're an intimate organization, never afraid to do a musical in a coffee shop, community center, park, or nightclub if it suits the story. Flashy has never been our style.
So for 2021 we're getting to the heart of our purpose: Amplifying new voices and ideas that aren't often seen in musical theatre, and sharing the power of musical theatre with a wider variety and breadth of humanity. The changes in the world have pushed us to take a big step and a big risk: Our first season of 100% new work.
When I started this company in my early '20s, I could never have imagined...well, a lot of things. But most of all, I had no concept of how much incredible talent lies within this area of Wisconsin from people of all backgrounds and identities. I can't wait to continue meeting new people, forging new relationships, and celebrating the arts community that we live in.
You'll note that some shows don't have specific dates yet. We're waiting to see where the unprecedented changes in our society take us as we move forward. The one thing you can count on is that we'll present work that is locally-created.
See you, somehow, in 2021!
-Executive Director Meghan Randolph and the MTM Team
A professionally recorded album
Co-directed by Adam Qutaishat and Nathan Fosbinder
Written by BBIPOC writers across Wisconsin
Release date: May 15, 2021
Myths are traditional stories explaining histories, beliefs, or lessons. Myth is also a fallacy. In America, who are the mythological characters? The characters we so often hear of as good or evil? The people who set our sometimes false belief systems? BBIPOC composers from all over Wisconsin explore this idea through stories from their own cultures and points of view. As is true with all myths, there is more than meets the eye.
Written by Erin McConnell and Evan Lange
Directed by Janine and Trinity Gardner
Featuring Meghan Randolph
August 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and August 15 at 2:00 p.m.
Play Circle Theater, Memorial Union.
In the late 1800s, a woman is brought by her husband to a country home to recover from an unspecified mental illness. Confined to a room with hideous yellow wallpaper, and repeatedly told she is not well enough to leave, the woman descends into madness and finds a disturbing secret beneath the paper’s seams. Based on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s terrifying novella, The Yellow Wallpaper is sure to give you chills, even on a hot summer night!
WISCONSIN NEW MUSICALS CYCLE: Reading
Written by Heidi Joosten and Adam Qutaishat
Directed by Gina Gómez
December 8, 2021
Lakeside Street Coffeehouse, 402 W. Lakeside Street
A microbiology graduate student, at wit’s end due to the constant pressures and abuses she faces working in academia, turns to music as her refuge. This unexpectedly leads to an incredible scientific discovery about microaggressions. After forging a bond with a music student, the two face infuriating biases that stall any attempts they make at progress. Can they overcome a system designed to hold them back and create something that will change the world? A thoughtful comedy/drama from two Wisconsin writers, featuring a cast of five, this show will be developed through the help of audiences in 2021 and 2022, with a full production in 2023.
A print, online, and read-aloud video of a children's book
Release Date TBD
Learn more
In MTM's biggest project to date, the company will create a musical children's book, aimed at grades two through four, featuring songs that move the narrative forward, as in a musical. The theme? Loving who you are, accepting differences, and believing in yourself. This unique project will feature extensive participation activities, numerous accessibility options, and a unique arts experience that illustrates the power of music and imagination for empathy and understanding.