RED AND WHITE

So I'm working on a new musical based on the Grimm fairy tale Rose Red and Snow White. And no, it's not that Snow White. Same name, different girl. I'm doing book and lyrics, and Kari Kraakevik is doing the music.

It's sort of a full circle thing for me, to be writing the book and lyrics for a musical based on a classic of children's literature. The first thing I ever got paid to write was the book for a musical based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen. This was long ago, before I considered myself a "real writer"- I've always written things, but only in the past ten years have answered the question "what do you do?" with "I'm a writer". The Snow Queen that I worked on was a musical, composed by John Jay Espino in the early 1990s for The Childrens Theatre Workhop in Pleasanton, CA. The music is awesome, it was a blast to work on- and I don't even have a copy of it. I suppose I should hunt it down.

Anyhow, the new show is called Rose Red, and is set to have it's first performances in December at Actors Academy for the Performing Arts in Boulder (formerly Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids). The plan, at this juncture, is to eventually have two versions- one to be performed by young actors, one to be performed by a much wider age range. The production this December will be performed by young actors, and I am very excited about how it's shaping up. We just had auditions, and here's a brief clip of some of the cast singing the song Red and White:

There's a lot to do now. We've got a book, and all the songs- but having worked on new shows, I know there will be changes- things we find in rehearsal, those middle of the night inspirations, etc. On top of the creative side, there's also press releases, social networking, and all that. Work, work, work- thank God I love it.

So, what's so special about this show? 

Tune in next time to find out-

I will say this- there is a character named Stinker who likes to quote Shakespeare, a Wolf King, and three gossips named Hedda, Rona, and Louella who are all new to the classic story, but turning out to be a hoot.

The show is cast- now on to rehearsal. 

Please pass this along to anyone and everyone you know- I want the show to sell out. I want to add performances. I want a hit.

And I'm gonna get one.