JAMES, MENDEZ, AND MILES STAR IN ‘RSO AT F/54’

February 16, 2020

Tony Award-winners Nikki M. James, Lindsay Mendez, and Ruthie Ann Miles star in RSO AT F/54, an evening retrospective of musicals by multi-award-winning composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Show time will be 7:00pm on March 31, 2020. 

The evening will also feature Tony nominee Kate Baldwin, plus Christy Altomare, Kerstin Anderson, Katie Rose Clarke, Ben Fankhauser, Drew Gehling, Jason Gotay, Troy Iwata, Jay Armstrong Johnson, John-Michael Lyles, Katie Thompson, and Natalie Walker.

Also featured during the evening are Ethan Carlson, Caitlin Doak, Ian Fairlee, Mary Claire Miskell, David Park, Bethany Perkins, and Donté Wilder.

Joshua Zecher-Ross music directs Max Grossman on Keyboard 2, Allison Seidner on cello, Coco Taguchi on Violin, Joseph Wallace on basses, Jeremy Yaddaw on drums, and Andrew Zinsmeister on guitars. Orchestrations are by Ryan Scott Oliver.

Audience members can expect to hear tunes from the prolific list of Oliver’s work, from Mrs. Sharp; Darling; 35mm: A Musical Exhibition; Jasper in Deadland; We Foxes; Rope; Otherbody, a brief musical allegory; Three Points of Contact, and world premieres from Oliver’s latest work.

You can purchase tickets at Feinstein’s/54 Below’s website.

RSO returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below this March

December 15, 2019

On March 31, 2020 — after two years away — RSO returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below for his most awesome evening of song to date. With a cast of Broadway stars and fan favorites (to be announced), audiences can expect to hear some of RSO’s best-loved songs from 35MM: A Musical Exhibition, Jasper in Deadland, We Foxes, Darling, Mrs. Sharp, and more — plus a few brand-new tunes!

The cast for the evening will be announced soon, but tickets are already on sale at the venue’s site.

‘JASPER IN DEADLAND’ MAKES EUROPEAN PREMIERE IN GERMANY

January 31, 2019

RSO and Hunter Foster’s musical Jasper in Deadland, which opened Off-Broadway in 2014 and moved to Seattle’s acclaimed 5th Avenue Theatre in 2015, opened on January 21 in Hildesheim, Germany.

Elisabeth Köstner and Nicolo Soller
Amanda Whitford

Tickets and more information may be found here. Check out the official show program here.

Jasper in Deadland continues performances around the world. Go to Samuel French’s website for licensing information, and listen to the cast album on Spotify.

2018 YEAR IN REVIEW

December 30, 2018

Here’s a look back on 2018. 

RSO MUSIC HIT 1 MILLION STREAMS ON SPOTIFY

Thanks for listening!

¡HAVANA!, DIRECTED BY WARREN CARLYLE, PREMIERED

In the spring, the musical, which features RSO tunes and lyrics, set sail on Norwegian Cruise Lines brand new ship, the Bliss, and has since opened on a second ship — the Jade.  ¡HAVANA! also includes songs by Cuban pop sensation and Grammy Award winner Albita. Find out more

PLAYBILL GAVE ¡HAVANA! SOME LOVE WITH AN INTERVIEW AND PHOTO FLASH

Check out production stills here.

RSO INTRODUCED THE WORLD TO THREE POINTS OF CONTACT

RSO’s latest show, THREE POINTS OF CONTACT, was presented at 54 Below in April. The cast included Britney Coleman (Sunset Blvd.), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies), Katie Rose Clarke (Miss Saigon), Eric William Morris (King Kong) and more. Find out more

CRAZYTOWN CAME TO LONDON

In March, RSO returned to London with an evening of songs, directed by Adam Lenson and music directed by Joe Bunker (the three previously collaborated on an acclaimed run of 35mm: A Musical Exhibition at The Other Palace).  Find out more

crazytown scores

…and then in December, Britishtheatre.com critic Julian Eaves called it one of London’s theatrical highlights for 2018. Read the article

PLUS NEW SHEET MUSIC RELEASED

Music and Lyrics by RSO: Volume 4 was released (also featuring tons of gender-bending keys for old favorites), as well as the complete vocal score to Otherbody, a brief musical allegory. Find out more

AND HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT’S COMING IN 2019 …

Keep your eyes peeled:

  • Gavin Creel, Lindsay Mendez, Jenn Colella, and so many more have recorded a conceptual album of RSO’s Three Points of Contact, from the producers of 35mm: A Musical Exhibition.
  • Universal Theatrical Group has commissioned RSO and his Mrs. Sharp collaborator, bookwriter Kirsten Guenther, to adapt a musical version of a popular 1990s film …
  • Pulitzer-prize winning opera librettist Royce Vavrek will team up with RSO for a musical adaptation of an Oscar-nominated film …
  • Playwright Chelsea Marcantel and RSO are musicalizing a brand new play set in Cajun country, Louisiana …
  • ¡Havana! will open on a third ship …

Plus —

  • The audio release (finally!) of Darling, live in concert, starring Nicholas Christopher (Hamilton, Miss Saigon) and Kerstin Anderson (LCT’s My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music) …
  • Jasper in Deadland will receive its German premiere …
  • One of RSO’s most beloved shows will be adapted as a novel …
  • And much more to be announced!

Coming at you, 2019.

RSO BRINGS AN EVENING OF SONG TO LONDON, MARCH 26

March 8, 2018

On 26 March, 2018, RSO will return to London with an evening of his songs, directed by Adam Lenson and music direction by Joe Bunker (the three previously collaborated on an acclaimed run of 35mm: A Musical Exhibition at The Other Palace).  Show time is at 8:00pm.

Following the acclaimed run of 35mm: A Musical Exhbition, award-winning composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver returns to The Other Palace to host Crazytown, an evening of his songs, performed by a star-studded cast.

Crazytown is produced and directed by Joe Bunker and Adam Lenson and features a host of West End soloists, including: Ethan Carlson, Cassie Compton (Wicked, The Wedding Singer), Alexia Khadime (The Book of Mormon, Wicked), Jill Rensing (Les Miserables), Alex Young (Follies, Carousel), Anton Zetterholm (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables).

The concert will reunite three of the original cast of 35mm: Gregor Duncan, Christina Modestou (Rent, In the Heights, We Will Rock You), and Stage Debut award winner Samuel Thomas (Allegro). Musical Director Joe Bunker will lead a six-piece band.

Joe Bunker and Adam Lenson previously collaborated on 35mm: A Musical Exhibition, Adam Gwon: The New American Musical (The Other Palace Studio), and the award-winning Superhero: A One Dad Musical (Southwark Playhouse, winner of the Off West End Award for Best New Musical). In June, they will open a major revival of Kander and Ebb’s The Rink at Southwark Playhouse, starring Caroline O’Connor.