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Theatre Building Chicago will present Stages 2008, a festival of 4 new musicals in progress and 4 panel discussions of musical theatre in America on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, August 15-17, 2008. The three-day musical extravaganza performs each new work twice in concert style formats. Now in its fifteenth season, Stages focuses on the development of the material, the craft of writing and the talent of the performers.
Stages 2008 is a creative gathering of authors, actors, artists, theatre producers and musical theatre lovers who come together for one weekend, celebrating America's original art form, the musical. It will feature four musicals by a diverse group writers from Chicago, New York and London and members of Theatre Building Chicago's Musical Theater Writers Workshop.
Stages 2008 Schedule:
Here On This Hill
Book by Edward M. Cohen, Lyrics by Edward M. Cohen and Marshall Coid, Music by Marshall Coid
Saturday August 16th - 7:30 PM
Sunday August 17th - 1:00 PM
Three generations of men in one amusingly dysfunctional family – eccentric grandpa, high-strung son, and rebellious grandson – struggle with love, loss and their significance in the grand scheme of things. They are poked, prodded and motivated toward a more hopeful future by a ghostly trio of the women in their lives.
Take Me America
Lyrics and Libretto by Bill Nabel, Music by Bob Christianson
Saturday August 16th - 1:00 PM
Sunday August 17th - 6:30 PM
Follow nine refugees in their quest for asylum in the United States and the immigration agents who agonize over their fate. Who's lying? Who's telling the truth? Who stays? Who goes? How would you decide? Get it wrong and it might mean a death sentence. Based on true stories of asylum refugees, real, sometimes humorous, always compelling.
Belle Barth: If I Embarrass You, Tell Your Friends
Book by Joanne Koch, Lyrics by Owen Kalt, Music by Ilya Levinson)
Saturday August 16th - 1:00 PM
Sunday August 17th - 7:00 PM
The bawdy humor of Belle Barth - - nightclub comic who sold records in the millions - - was forbidden fruit to Americans in the 1950s. Here, Belle tries to recover from a flop at Carnegie Hall, she jokes and sings and shares the life experiences that fueled her outrageous comedy.
Killala Bay
Book and Lyrics by Chris Burgess, Music by Denise Wright
Saturday August 16th - 7:30 PM
Sunday August 17th - 1:00 PM
Broadway meets "Riverdance". Grace abandons her "Sex in the City" existence to search for ancestors in an Irish backwater. But her volatile romance with the local rough diamond, and her battle to save the town from industrial devastation mean that she's in for anything but a quiet life! Manhattan values clash with the Old World in this elemental tale of an Irish-American in search of home.
Stages 2008 will also offer a series of 4 panel discussions reflecting the ever-changing world of musical theatre. Meet the professionals who know first hand the challenges and triumphs of musical theatre today
Reinventing Classic Musicals - Saturday, Aug. 16th, 10:00am
Find out how Chicago theatres are reinterpreting and bringing beloved musicals to a new generation of audiences.
New Musicals in Chicago Theatres - Saturday, Aug. 16th, 4:00pm
Homegrown talent is creating and producing musicals of exceptional quality and creativity. Meet the people responsible for Chicago's being at the center of new works.
New Musicals in American Theatres - Sunday, Aug. 17th, 10:00am
A distinguished panel of regional theatre producers will discuss the challenges and rewards of new works for subscription audiences.
Writing and Performing Special Material - Sunday, Aug. 17th 4:00pm
What is needed to help cabaret performers compete with cash registers, blenders at the bar and conversations at ringside seats.
For tickets and more information visit www.theatrebuildingchicago.org.