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The Woman Upstairs is a musical by Bree Lowdermilk (music and lyrics) and Kait Kerrigan (book and additional lyrics) that premiered in 2004 at the inaugural New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF). [1] The plot concerns the romance between a physics professor named Helen Morton and a blind violinist named Milo who lives in the apartment below her.
The original NYMF production of The Woman Upstairs opened at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in Manhattan on September 23, 2004, and played for five performances, closing on October 3. It was directed by Kerrigan, conducted by Lowdermilk, and starred Deb Heinig (Helen), Aaron Ramey (Milo), Alison Fraser (Gracie), and Kate Shindle (Prof. Kassan). Josh Young played a variety of ensemble roles, including a student and a beatboxer. Casting was by Michael Cassara.
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In his review of the original production, Matthew Murray of Talkin' Broadway wrote, "Sometimes, a musical comes along that announces itself from its first few notes as something very, very special. The Woman Upstairs...is just such a musical" and called the show "one of the year's most exciting musical dramas." [2] David Finkle of TheaterMania.com agreed, writing that "Lowdermilk and Kerrigan are the real thing, and The Woman Upstairs is as promising as a musical in the developmental stage can get." [3]
Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times wrote that "this modern-day romance... is not ready for prime time. In fact, it's a confused mess. But the intermittent moments when it actually finds its footing provide some reward." [4]
Martin Charnin was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical Annie.
Bree Lowdermilk is an American musical theater composer and lyricist.
Kait Kerrigan is an American playwright and musical theater lyricist and book writer.
Mimi le Duck is a musical with book and lyrics by Diana Hansen-Young and music by Brian Feinstein. Mimi Le Duck premiered at the Adirondack Theater Festival in 2004, followed by a run at the Fringe Festival that same year. The musical opened on November 6, 2006 Off-Broadway at New World Stages. Directed by Tom Caruso, the cast featured Tom Aldredge, Candy Buckley, Robert DuSold, Allen Fitzpatrick, Annie Golden, Ken Jennings, Marcus Neville and Eartha Kitt, with musical staging by Matt West. The production closed on December 3, 2006 after 28 previews and 30 regular performances.
The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) was an annual three-week summer festival that operated from 2004 to 2019. It presented more than 30 new musicals a year in New York City's midtown theater district. More than half were chosen by leading theater artists and producers through an open-submission, double-blind evaluation process; the remaining shows were invited to participate by the Festival's artist staff. The festival premiered over 447 musicals, which featured the work of over 8,000 artists and were attended by more than 300,000 people.
Craig Carnelia is an American musical theater composer and singer, known for his collaboration on the musicals Working and Sweet Smell of Success.
Michael Andrew Cassara is an American casting director, educator, and genealogist. His casting work spans musicals, plays, and films and he has been nominated for two Artios Awards by the Casting Society of America.
William Landry Aronson is an American composer and writer for musical theater, whose work includes the scores for Pete the Cat, Mother, Me & the Monsters, and My Scary Girl. He also composed and co-wrote the book for the late 21st-century romance Maybe Happy Ending (2017), The Trouble with The Dog, and Bungee Jump, cited by the NY Times in 2013 as Korea’s “most popular original musical,” and winner of Best Score at the Korean Musical Awards. Current projects include Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter and Wind-Up Girl.
Peter Kellogg is a musical theater book writer and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics and the book for the 1992 production of the Broadway musical Anna Karenina, for which he received two 1993 Tony Award nominations, one for Best Book of a musical and one for the Best Original Score. He also wrote the lyrics and book for the musicals Chasing Nicolette, Desperate Measures, Lincoln In Love, Stunt Girl, Money Talks, and The Rivals which have been read and produced regionally. Kellogg also received the New York Musical Theatre Festival 2006 award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing (Book) for Desperate Measures. On June 3, 2018, Kellogg won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for Desperate Measures.
The Story of My Life is a musical with music and lyrics by Neil Bartram, and a book by Brian Hill. The show follows two childhood friends from age six to 35 and has only two characters.
Robert John Spencer, known as J. Robert Spencer, is an American musical theatre and television actor, who was nominated for a Tony Award for his work in the Broadway musical Next to Normal.
Linda Good is an American musician, composer, writer, songwriter and producer. She is co-founder, with her twin sister Laura, of the alternative pop band The Twigs. Good has also toured as a keyboardist with Jane's Addiction (2001),The Mars Volta (2002), the Lisa Marie Presley Band (2002–2006) and Bitter:Sweet (2007–2008). She co-wrote the musical LadyShip, which was an Official Grand Jury Selection of the New York Musical Festival (NYMF) and debuted in New York City at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater in July 2019. LadyShip was also a finalist for the 2020 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. She and her twin sister Laura were born in Ohio, lived in Mexico City as toddlers, and grew up in Chicago. She is a graduate of the Chicago Academy for Performing Arts High School in Chicago, the University of Illinois, and studied abroad at University College-Cardiff, Wales. She has been based out of Los Angeles since 2000.
Neil Berg is an American composer/lyricist best known for the hit off-Broadway musical The Prince and the Pauper, as well as the Award-Winning rock musical "THE 12", and Grumpy Old Men: The Musical. He is the creator and co-producer of Neil Berg's "100 Years of Broadway," a Broadway concert tour, performing over 100 shows a year since 2006. Neil was also one of the lead Producers, and driving force of the Award Winning 2013 Off-Broadway revival of Maltby and Shire's Closer Than Ever, at The York Theater. He studied Piano/musical composition with Walter Ponce, Robert Printz and Sue Peters, and is a product of The BMI Workshop, mentored by Maury Yeston and Skip Kennon. His theater songs are featured in various Hal Leonard's Musical Anthologies.
Charles Leipart is an American musical theatre bookwriter-lyricist and playwright. He was born in Chicago and graduated from Northwestern University. He lives in New York City.
Chaplin: The Musical, formerly titled Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin, is a musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Curtis and book by Curtis and Thomas Meehan. The show is based on the life of Charlie Chaplin. The musical, which started at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2006, debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010, and then premiered on Broadway in 2012.
Timothy Jerome is an American stage, film, and television actor.
Baby Case is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Michael Ogborn. The show is based on the famous Lindbergh baby kidnapping, commonly known as the "Crime of the Century". The musical, which had its world premiere at the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia, has gone on to win multiple awards, including the "Best of Fest" award in the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival.
Christopher Anselmo is an American composer and playwright of musical theatre.
Karen Bishko is a British singer/songwriter. Her lyrics often present a humorous perspective on life's challenges, especially regarding love. She formerly worked as a professional portrait artist.
Bedbugs!!! is an American musical comedy about a mad-scientist exterminator named Carly who accidentally mutates New York City's bed bug population with her super-insecticide, which she created out of revenge for her mother's bedbug-related death. The rock musical, written by Paul Leschen (Music) and Fred Sauter, pays homage to 80s rock music, 80s films such as Gremlins and Ghostbusters, and features a side-plot about a Canadian pop singer called Dionne Salon. It opened off-Broadway at the Arclight Theatre on September 14, 2014 and closed on November 2, 2014. It has been compared to The Rocky Horror Show and Little Shop of Horrors.