The Wisconsin New Musicals Cycle
Music Theatre of Madison is delighted to be the first organization in the state to dedicate a significant portion of its annual programming to the development of new musicals.
The Goal: The Wisconsin New Musicals Cycle will develop and nurture new musical theatre works by Wisconsin-based authors, providing a three part process: A reading (unstaged, in a casual setting), a workshop (semi-staged, with exhibits of renderings and vision boards as well as educational materials) and a full production (fully staged with orchestration, costumes, sets, and all other elements of a full production.) The process of development will be supported by Music Theatre of Madison's directors, performers, and designers. It will also, most importantly, rely on audience feedback throughout the process to help shape the stories and characters, resulting in truly collaborative Wisconsin originals.
The Process: In the same year as a fully-staged production, MTM will have a reading of a brand new piece, with the composer of the fully-staged production mentoring the new authors. Follow the process on MTM's blog and social media!
Current Production
This reading is made possible by a Writer's Residency Grant from the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and Frank Young Fund For New Musicals.
Micro received a developmental reading at The Lab. Learn more at thelab.blog
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Adam Qutaishat and Heidi Joosten
Directed by Ananda Deacon with Gina Gómez
First reading: December 8, 2021, 7:00 p.m.
Lakeside Street Coffeehouse, 402 W. Lakeside St.
Suggested Donation: $10/person at the door, or whatever you have available.
Talkback to follow. Lend your voice to the creation of a new piece!
Make a reservation here. Virtual option available on reservation form-click link for details.
Click here to read the program!
COVID-19 Precautions:
-
All audience members must wear masks over their nose and mouth.
-
A COVID vaccination card or proof of negative test within the past 48 hours is required for admission. All MTM personnel are fully vaccinated.
-
Drinks will be available but food will not be served. You may remove your mask to drink but please put it back on when not sipping.
-
Tables and chairs will be distanced. If you need to adjust them, please consult an MTM staff member.
-
Cast members will be distanced and more than six feet from the audience. They will not be masked during the performance but will wear masks during the talkback.
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?
Using the feedback and discoveries from this reading, the artists will continue to develop the show for a workshop performance in 2022, then take a year to develop it further for a full production slated for 2023.
Coming Soon
Music and Lyrics by Jennifer Hedstrom Book and Lyrics by Karen Saari
Directed by Meghan Randolph
Workshop: Recorded as a podcast and available here.
Full production premiere: 2022 Season
The first reading of Ten Days In A Madhouse took place December 4, 2019
The true story of 1880s journalist Nellie Bly, a feminist icon and brilliant writer. Determined to expose the atrocities of mental institutions, she got herself committed to one, later chronicling the horrors she experienced. Using a folk and pop-infused score, Ten Days In A Madhouse tells the story of the women Nellie met and the challenges she faced in escaping and speaking for those who couldn't defend themselves.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this production has been postponed to the 2022 season.
Past Production
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Nathan Fosbinder
Workshop (June 17-18, 2018) directed by Catie O'Donnell
World premiere (August 16-25, 2019) directed by Meghan Randolph
Hephaestus (Heh-fes-tus) tells the story of the oft-forgotten outcast of Greek myths. He is an artist, blacksmith, and hopeless romantic, desperate for the love of Aphrodite, yet facing epic hurdles to win her affections. Brutally cast out by his mother, Hera, he embarks on a quest for love, identity, and art, surrounded by humorous and modern versions of Greek mythological characters.
Click here to see cast, photos, video, and press from the 2019 production!
The Writers
Adam Qutaishat (Micro Book, Music, and Lyrics) is MTM's Associate Artistic Director. Adam has written music and lyrics for a variety of genres over his 15 year career as a composer and lyricist. Adam earned a degree in music from UW - Stevens Point. Adam’s commissioned pieces include Incidental Music for Romeo + Juliet, Snowy Owls for SSA Choir and Piano, and Lost in Thought for Cello and Piano. They are also lead composer for the podcasts The All-Arcadians, SHH, and WAIP. They have two musicals currently in development. Adam is also an accomplished arranger, orchestrator, music director, and conductor. Adam has performed with Skylight Music Theatre, Pink Umbrella Theatre, Minnesota Children's Theater, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Next Act Theatre, Rennaissance Theatre Works, All-In Productions, and, at Music Theatre of Madison, Iindecent and Held. Learn more at www.adamqutaishat.com.
Heidi Joosten (Micro Book, Music, and Lyrics) started composing at the age of 18 and fully began her composition training her junior year of college. She earned degrees in composition from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire (BM) and Roosevelt University – Chicago College of Performing Arts (MM). Her previous composition instructors include Stacy Garrop, Kyong Mee Choi, Ethan Wickman, and Chia-Yu Hsu, and J. Michael Roy. With over 150 original compositions to her name, she enjoys writing for a multitude of genres, such as vocal, choral, opera, chamber, musical theatre, solo piano, and wind ensemble. Recent musical theatre compositions include The Bone Harp with Laura Stratford, which premiered with a sold-out first reading at the 2019 Chicago Musical Theatre Festival, and Queer Eye: the Musical Parody with Evan Mills, which had a nearly-sold out workshop run at The Playground in Spring of 2019. Learn more at www.heidijoosten.com.
Nathan Fosbinder (Hephaestus Book, Music, and Lyrics) grew up in Madison and graduated from La Follette High School. At age 14, he appeared in Music Theatre of Madison’s third production, The Sound of Music. Nathan is a recent graduate of the musical theatre program at the Boston Conservatory and is currently in cycle 29 of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at the Tisch School at New York University. Nathan’s regional writing premiere occurred in summer of 2017 with his Theatre for Young Audiences musical The Dancing Princesses, which was presented at Summer Theatre of New Canaan. At Boston Conservatory he wrote a musical adaptation of Holes and a semi-biographical play entitled What About Cal. He has appeared as a performer with Summer Theatre of New Canaan, Children’s Theater of Madison, American Folklore Theatre, and the Boston Conservatory. Recently, his song "Anyone Can Cook" was featured as part of the international sensation Ratatouille: The TikTok musical.
Jennifer Hedstrom (Ten Days In A Madhouse Music and Lyrics) has served as both pianist and music director for numerous productions within the Madison theater community. Recent credits with MTM include Lizzie, A New Brain, La Cage Aux Folles and the upcoming Murder Ballad. Passionate about arts education, Jennifer works as a private piano teacher, has held positions as a teaching artist with the Children's Theater of Madison and Girl's Rock Camp Madison, and serves as the music director for educational theater troupe, Whoopensocker. Jennifer performs regularly in the Madison area as a pianist and singer-songwriter. Her original song, "Prairie," was included on the 2017 Dane Arts Buy Local Compilation. Hear her music at https://soundcloud.com/jennifer-hedstrom
Karen Saari (Ten Days In A Madhouse Book and Lyrics) Karen's ‘Rain on Fire was awarded the 2019 Br!nk Residency Award by Milwaukee’s Renaissance Theaterworks and was a second-rounder at the 2018 Austin Film Festival. Her play In a Clearing celebrated its world premiere in 2018 (Magnetic Theatre Company, Asheville, NC) and was a 2018 semi-finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Playwriting Conference. Karen is a 2015 Wisconsin Wrights New Play Festival winner, a 2017 Last Frontier Theatre Conference PlayLab awardee and a 2017 ATHE Award finalist for Excellence in Playwriting. Her comedy Bad in Bed (A Fairy Tale) had its developmental premiere in 2018 (Acadiana Rep, Lafayette, LA) and was a semi-finalist for the Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival. One-act plays Joyland and The Ones Who Stay have been staged across the country. She is a member of Dramatists Guild, Playwrights Center and a founding member of Guest House Theatre. She will finish her MFA in playwriting from Augsburg University in 2021. As an actor she has appeared in MTM’s Bonnie and Clyde and The Sound of Music, among other Madison credits. She is a voice talent, costumer and proud mother of two.