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.

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!

 

2017 YEAR IN REVIEW

December 31, 2017

Here’s a look back at 2017.

BROADWAYCON FEATURES NEW RSO MUSICAL
On Friday, January 26, BroadwayCon opened 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 other Broadway stars.  Find out more

NEW RSO ALBUM, ‘OTHERBODY, A BRIEF MUSICAL ALLEGORY’ RELEASED
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.  Find out more

 

’35MM’ RECEIVED ITS BIGGEST PRODUCTION YET — IN LONDON
35mm: A Musical Exhibition received its biggest production yet in fall 2017, directed by one of London’s most acclaimed new directors, Adam Lenson.  Critic Julian Eaves called it “a stunning performance of this thrilling score.”   Read the rest of Mr. Eaves review here  and Find out more

 

SAMUEL FRENCH LICENSED ‘JASPER IN DEADLAND’
JASPER IN DEADLAND is now available to license through Samuel French, which also currently licenses 35MM: A MUSICAL EXHIBITION.  Find out more

 

THE ORCHARD PROJECT DEVELOPED ‘THREE POINTS OF CONTACT’
World renowned writer’s haven The Orchard Project announced RSO as one of its 2017 writers-in-residence, working on the conclusion of his Dogs Trilogy, Three Points of Contact.  Find out more

NYMF PRESENTED ‘OTHERBODY’ IN CONCERT
RSO’s Otherbody, a Brief Musical Allegory was presented by the New York Musical Theatre Festival on Monday night, July 31, featuring Hamilton’s Sean Green, Jr.  Find out more

‘WE FOXES’ DEVELOPED IN MICHIGAN AND UTAH
RSO’s WE FOXES received a double dose of developmental opportunities this past fall: a staged concert reading in Michigan and the first fully-produced developmental production in Utah.  Find out more 

 

And, slated for 2018: RSO’s been commissioned by two major studios to create brand new musicals based on beloved source material; RSO and Tony-winning director Warren Carlyle have joined forces for a brand new musical; plus two major productions of RSO favorites soon-to-be-announced; and some very exciting news on the horizon.  Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYMF PRESENTS ‘OTHERBODY’ IN CONCERT

July 30, 2017

RSO and Nessie Nankivell’s Otherbody, a Brief Musical Allegory will be presented by the New York Musical Theatre Festival on Monday night, July 31 at 8:00pm.

Featured as part of How the Light Gets In: An Evening of New American Micro-Musical Works, each piece in the evening – 30 minutes or less – is commissioned by NYMF (with support from The ASCAP Foundation and Jan Brandt), in an effort to create more space for arts-based civic engagement in our Festival. Directed by Jonathan McCrory (National Black Theatre) and co-curated by Zhailon Levingston (Broadway Advocacy Coalition), participating artists also include Ty Defoe and Tidtaya Sinutoke with WATER IS LIFE and Lelund Durond Thompson and Jason Michael Webb with ILATHI: THE GIFT.  A moderated conversation with artists discussing the process of developing their micro-musicals will follow the concert.

Performing Otherbody will be Sean Green, Jr. as The Teller, with Bethany Perkins, Miles Josephson, Ali Stroker, and Jada Temple as The Wind.  Rodney Bush music directs.

Find out more about Otherbody and hear the complete recording on all streaming platforms.

Find out more about the evening here.