Based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, To Hell and Backis the story of a songwriting Nebraskan named Jack who is struggling with the grief of losing his girlfriend to suicide five months ago. Tonight he receives an email from a stranger who claims to have found something lost on that tragic night, which Jack believes to be his favorite guitar. Little does he know that the stranger is Death himself and Jack is about to embark on a fantastic journey for his girlfriend's soul, facing grief in all its forms along the way.
Music by J. Oconer Navarro
Lyrics by Joel B. New
based on Kate Chapin's novella The Awakening
Winner of the 2006 Margo Lion Award for Adaptation
and 2008 NYU-Tisch Alumni Development Grant
made possible by the
Frederick Loewe Foundation
Set in 1899 Louisiana, Awakening tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young mother of two and the wife of a successful New Orleans businessman. While the family is vacationing at a seaside resort, Edna becomes acquainted with Robert Lebrun, a younger man who sparks feelings that Edna had forgotten. When she returns to the city, Edna throws off the trappings of her old life -- devotion to family, attention to societal expectations, and adherence to tradition -- to explore her own wants, interests, and desires. But her independence comes with a price.
Music and Lyrics by
Joel B. New
Standalone is a song cycle about isolation: solitude, loneliness, and, surprisingly most
often, one masquerading as the other. Individually, the songs in Standalone are firmly
rooted in isolation, but collectively, they challenge the audience to be open to and
reconnect with the world around them. The cast is made up of two men and two women
playing various characters in three locations: a coffee shop, a subway car, and an
apartment.
Book by Mac Rogers
Music and Lyrics by Joel B. New
Commissioned by
the Abri Agency
Bus Driver of the Year is a site-specific musical comedy to be performed on Abri’s The Ride, a performance space on wheels. This is the story of Hannah, a small-town woman resigned to drive the same school bus that she herself took her entire academic career. Literally en route to receiving the titular award, Hannah brakes for her former best friend Jenny, whose wedding limo has just broken down. Between the Saturday school students and a cast of characters all living lies, the bus reaches maximum occupancy and hilarity!
