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.

Music+Lyrics by RSO: Vol. 4 and Otherbody Vocal Score released!

January 30, 2018

After three years, there’s new RSO sheet music at the store.

Music+Lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver: Volume 4, featuring 16 brand new songs, including never-before-released tunes from Rope, We Foxes, 35mm: A Musical Exhibition, and Jasper in Deadland, and the complete vocal score for Otherbody, a Brief Musical Allegory are now available to purchase as digital downloads.

Individual songs contained in Volume 4, including “Roots Dig Deep” and “Dark Dark Dark” from Otherbody, are also available to purchase.

PLUS!  Now through February 2, 2018, all songbooks (including Volume 4!) are now 15% off.  Go to the store!

The complete songlist for Volume 4 appears below!

 

NEW RSO ALBUM, ‘OTHERBODY, A BRIEF MUSICAL ALLEGORY’ NOW AVAIL.

January 31, 2017

Without any fanfare, RSO’s written a brand new musical now available for you.

OTHERBODY is a brief musical allegory on otherness and survival in the new nation, written by Nessie Nankivell (book) and Ryan Scott Oliver (music and lyrics). It is suggested by the Gothic short story “The Outsider” by H. P. Lovecraft.

In the eerie, allegorical world of OTHERBODY, a nameless TELLER lives apart, never having seen his own face, heard his own voice, or even experienced daylight. He escapes into the world to find the truth, and discovers a raucous party — and the horrifying reality of his world.

Ours is a time when people and places are divided; when our families seem more than ever like strangers; and to find a community of allies is a desperate, essential quest. The world of OTHERBODY is our sordid past and our sudden, tragic present — and maybe hope for our future.

It was recorded on December 12, 2012, starring Nicholas Christopher and directed by Jen Bender.

Discover OTHERBODY, A BRIEF MUSICAL ALLEGORY anywhere music is streamed and sold, and find out more here.

(Photographs by Matthew Murphy.)

 

 

 

BROADWAYCON OPENS JAN. 27 WITH NEW RSO MUSICAL

January 26, 2017

On Friday, January 26, BroadwayCon will open at the Javits Center with a brand-new forty-five minute musical by RSO, featuring Alice Ripley, Carolee Carmello, Anthony Rapp, James Monroe Iglehart, LESLI MARGHERITA and more.

 

RSO wrote the script and an original song for the piece — which tells the story of Carl (Sam Tanabe) who must stop the hateful, corrupt politician @Mayoress (Lesli Margherita) from banning Broadway! Additional material is by Tessa Netting, David Alpert and Andrew Briedis.

Thousands of Broadway fans are expected to attend the second-ever BroadwayCon.  From celebrity talkbacks, to first-look performances and workshops, BroadwayCon 2017 will be packed with unforgettable experiences. BroadwayCon brings you through the stage door to be part of the excitement that happens onstage and behind-the-scenes. It is a place where Broadway fans come together to celebrate the shows they love with people who bring them to life. It’s co-presented by Playbill, Mischief Management, and Anthony Rapp.

‘JASPER IN DEADLAND’ Album to be Released May 20

May 20, 2016

300_jasperRSO’s ‘Jasper in Deadland’ (with a book by Hunter Foster) will release a Cast Album on May 20, 2016.

The album is distributed by Sh-K-Boom Records, which also distributed his ’35mm: A Musical Exhibition.’

MATT DOYLE as the title character, with SYDNEY SHEPHERD, LOUIS HOBSON, ANDI ALHADEFF, BRANDI MASSEY, BONNIE MILLIGAN, F. MICHAEL HAYNIE, JOHN-MICHAEL LYLES and KYLE CARTER are featured as the nine-person cast on the album.

The album is produced by Oliver and John Clancy (orchestrator), with Nessie Nankivell, Kailey Marshall and Solomon Hoffman as associate producers.

The album will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, and more.

Jasper in Deadland was developed as a commission for the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program in 2011. Prospect Theater Company presented the New York City premiere, which featured Matt Doyle (The Book of Mormon) as Jasper, Allison Scagliotti (Off-Broadway debut, SyFy’s “Warehouse 13”) as Gretchen and Ben Crawford (Big Fish, Shrek The Musical) as Mr. Lethe. Performances ran through April 13 at the West End Theatre in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew. In May of 2015, Jasper in Deadland opened at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. David Armstrong, 5th Avenue Theatre’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director said, “Ryan Scott Oliver and Hunter Foster are two of the most exciting young talents working in the theatre today and The 5th has a very successful track record in providing emerging theatre artists like these with a large scale playing field in which they can thrill and amaze us. What Rent is to La Bohème, this show is to the Orpheus myths and legends.”

Jasper in Deadland tells the story of 16-year-old Jasper, who journeys into the Afterlife to rescue his recently deceased best friend, Agnes.  But in this version of the hereafter – known as “Deadland,” a hybrid of mythology, religion, and superstition – the dead forget Life…  And so, too, will Jasper, if he can’t get past the seven circles of Deadland, fearsome Cerberus, heavenly Beatrix, mysterious Mr. Lethe, and ultimately himself.  Can Jasper bring his best friend back from the dead, or will he join the dead forever?

The cast album is made possible by a generous contribution from Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff, Angela Hardy, Diane Finston, Kevin Montgomery, and Frank and Linda Damon.