Across a Crowded Room (10/24/26)

Final Presentations of New Musicals 

Quick refresher course—composers, lyricists, and book writers all gather in a crowded room. They then decide who they would like to work with to write a 20-minute musical. There's usually a Library of the Performing Arts–related hook. This time, it was three random photos from the library's archives (a different three for each writing team). And—off we go! 

The Unrest Cure used a full recording of the score, which made it seem a little like karaoke. There was some great vocal writing, and the script included some humor, though it was a bit strained. I don't remember the plot, and the auditorium was too dark for me to take many notes. Alas, this was true for almost all of the musicals. 

Queen of Hearts had piano plus parts of a recorded score. The score was a little too rock-heavy for my taste. No recollection of plot. (Note to self: Don't wait so long to write about the event because your memory will fail you.) 

The piano score for Call of the Ibis had a '20s flair, and the work's setting was the 1933 World's Fair. It had fun props including a puppet style ibis whose mouth would imitate the words that the female character sang. The cast was one female, one male, and one puppet. There was lots of humor, especially involving the puppet. I really liked the visual humor. 

Rosetta's Family Stone also had a World's Fair setting although I'm not sure it was 1933. There was a lot of language-related humor, and the book ventured lightly into arts and politics, set to a pseudo-jazzy score. [Aside: I know you'll find this hard to believe, but a patron's phone went off during the performance. Yeesh. And, no, it was not mine (IYKYK).] 

The Fruit Crusade's score had a patter duet that caught my ear and some high-energy songs. Perhaps too many. The plot was a warring faction of yes, fruit crusade and no, fruit crusade. Overall, it was a little too clunky for me. 

The Unauthorized Brooklyn Bridge Musical was about the mishaps dealing with construction of the bridge and Emily Roebling's major contributions. Lots of history and six actors portraying thirteen different characters. The writing handled all of that very well. A fun prop added humor once again—Emily's stuffed animal support rooster, Augusta-DoodleDoo. The score ventured into rap a little bit with, "The ferries are nefarious" repeated as a catchphrase from time to time, as ferries were the only way to get from New York (Manhattan) to Brooklyn (Brooklyn was still its own city at the time) before the bridge was completed. Fun fact: During the feedback that occurred after each musical, the writing team learned that there is a preexisting Brooklyn Bridge Musical, so this one had to be completely clear in order to avoid any confusion. The things you learn at the library! 

I Will Find You was about a woman trying to find the man of her dreams and a man trying to find the woman of his dreams. They were, of course, each other, and after some amusing near misses, they finally did get together. I took exactly zero notes about the score, so I know I must have enjoyed it. 

Walpurgis was scored for guitar. An acoustic guitar. That was an odd choice to me, and I didn't particularly enjoy it. The score also included some acapella harmony and an awkward duet. This was not my favorite, though the team put together a good product. 

I remember very little about Bridge to Utopia other than the fact that it had a modern electronic score. It was effective, but not my cup of tea. 

All in all, it was an enjoyable, if very full day. Lots of talent, book/lyrics/music as well as talented performers. Excellent feedback from two separate pairs of clinicians. There will be more new musicals in the spring, and hopefully my brother will get to enjoy some!
ConcertMeister