Peter Mills Wins 2010 Kleban Prize

Congratulations to Peter Mills, winner of the 2010 Kleban Award! TRW author Peter Mills, the book, music and lyric writer of ILLYRIA, was awarded the prestigious Kleban Award, annually given to both a librettist and a lyricist. Also receiving this year’s award is Barry Wyner, wrote the music, lyrics and book for CALVIN BERGER, a new version of  “Cyrano de Bergerac.”

Mills wrote ILLYRIA, a beautifully realized musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” in 2001.  The adaptation of the comedy is credited to Mills and Prospect Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Cara Reichel. Noteworthy productions have included two runs at New York’s  Prospect Theatre Company in 2002 and 2009, and the regional premiere at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in 2004.

Full Text of Steve Spiegel’s Keynote Address to the NZMT

You’re about to create a new civilization and for your starting point, you want a center of this new town. A town square. To start, you will build an environment where artists can converge. Poets, painters, dancers, storytellers and musicians. And, all will be fine until the government realizes that these artists influence people. So, the artists get rounded up but quickly society realizes that without art, there is no community. And without community, there is no environment for self-expression, interactivity, socialization, mentorship, personal creativity and growth, friendship, knowledge, risk taking, and yes, without community, there is no environment for debate or leadership. So, this new civilization learns the value of community, especially that of its artists.

Hillcrest High School CURTAINS

Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah presented the Utah high school premiere of CURTAINS, November 18-21, 2009, with a superb production. TRW’s Broadway blockbuster features a book by Rupert Holmes, based on a concept by Peter Stone, with a classic score from the legendary Kander and Ebb.

CURTAINS played over 500 performances on Broadway, and received eight 2007 Tony® Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor (A Winner for David Hyde Pierce), Best Actress, Best Featured Actress, Best Direction and Best Choreography. Kander and Ebb’s amazing score is perfectly woven into the fabric of the unfailingly clever book.

CURTAINS is set in the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959. Boston’s Colonial Theatre is host to the opening night performance of a new musical.

Hillcrest HS’ CURTAINS a First Class Production!

Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah presented the Utah high school premiere of CURTAINS, November 18-21. TRW’s Broadway blockbuster features a book by Rupert Holmes, based on a concept by Peter Stone, with a classic score from the legendary Kander and Ebb. Theaters throughout the world are now getting their chance to produce this phenomenal show!

CURTAINS played over 500 performances on Broadway, and received eight 2007 Tony® Award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Actor (A Winner for David Hyde Pierce), Best Actress, Best Featured Actress, Best Direction and Best Choreography. Kander and Ebb’s amazing score is perfectly woven into the fabric of the unfailingly clever book.

CURTAINS is set in the brassy, bright, and promising year of 1959…

Striking 12 Director’s Chat

Why did you choose STRIKING 12?
STRIKING 12 is one of those little known gems of a musical, created by a band called GrooveLily, and later transformed into the “book musical” that we are presenting. The show is a wonderful blend of musical styles – rock, pop, folk, musical theatre – that combine to put a modern twist on a story as old as, well, Dickens and A Christmas Carol.

What’s the story?
The central character, The Man Who’s Had Enough, is at the end of the year and the end of his rope. Nothing seems to make him feel better about himself and everything around him until he meets, quite by accident, a girl selling “full spectrum holiday light bulbs” as a way to overcome the holiday season blues.