Andrew Lippa

The world premiere of "Asphalt Beach" will be the third new musical to emerge from the recently launched American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University. The show features music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, book by T. C. Smith and Peter Spears and direction by Amanda Dehnert. Performances will be held from Oct. 27 through Nov. 12 at the Josephine Louis Theatre, 20 Arts Circle Drive on the University’s Evanston campus. The show will launch Northwestern’s 2006-07 Mainstage theatre season this fall.

The hilarious new "rock" musical is set in Asphalt Beach, NJ., home of "Our Lady of Suppressed Desire Academy for Rambunctious Young Girls," where a rag-tag band of misfit girls struggle daily to break free from the dominating head-mistress, Sister Severia. The adversity leads them to discover that family isn’t just something you inherit; it also is something you create.

Andrew Lippa wrote the book, music and lyrics for "The Wild Party," which won the 2000 Outer Critics Circle Award for best Off-Broadway musical and for which Lippa won the 2000 Drama Desk Award for best music. Lippa also has written "A Little Princess" (book and lyrics by Brian Crawley," "john & jen" (book co-written by Tom Greenwald) and contributed three new songs to the 1999 Broadway revival of "You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown" (including "My New Philosophy" for Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth).

"From the moment I read the laugh-out-loud outline for ‘Asphalt Beach,’ I knew it would make a hilarious stage musical," said composer/lyricist Andrew Lippa. "What I found out, however, was it was very funny AND terrifically moving. I never went to an all-girl Catholic high school (me: Jewish boy). But if I had gone to one I would have laughed and cried all the time. Hey, I do that now." "Andrew Lippa is one of the most exciting theatrical composer/lyricists in America," said AMTP Artistic Director Stuart Oken. "There may not be another theatrical score as fully realized as Andrew’s "The Wild Party" in the past 10 years. Having him in residence, along with Peter Spears, T. C. Smith and Amanda Dehnert, couldn’t say more about the vitality of our initiative."

"Asphalt Beach" was initially developed for MTV, but the authors reversed course and re-developed it for the stage in an effort to more fully realize the material’s potential through the theatrical development process. The show received its first reading in April 2006 as part of TheatreWorks’ new works festival.

The American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) is a new initiative at Northwestern University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Stuart Oken and Executive Director Dominic Missimi. AMTP is dedicated to nourishing the vitality of American music theatre through the development and production of new musicals by music theatre’s leading artists; increasing opportunities for education and training with Northwestern’s theatre, dance and opera programs; and initiating a broad range of interdisciplinary research projects.

AMTP’s first production in spring 2006 was an adaptation of Geoff Ryman’s novel "WAS" with book and lyrics by Barry Kleinbort, music by Joseph Thalken and direction by Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Tina Landau.

AMTP’s second production, "The Boys Are Coming Home," features music and lyrics by Leslie Arden and a book by Berni Stapleton from an idea by Timothy French, who also is the show’s choreographer. "Boys" runs from July 28 through Aug 13.

AMTP was introduced in May 2005 by Northwestern University’s School of Communication, in collaboration with the School of Music, Kellogg School of Management, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School. Seed funding for this initiative was provided by prominent Northwestern alumnus and respected Hollywood writer, producer and television, film and theatre director Garry K. Marshall and his wife Barbara.

Listen to "Talk Theatre In Chicago" for an interview with Stuart Oken and Dominic Missimi from Northwestern University as they talk about The American Music Theatre Project as well as their current show The Boys Are Coming Home Stream