TOMORROW, THE ISLAND DIES Comes to 54 Below for One-Night-Only Concert

October 5, 2026

RSO’s award-winning folk-horror musical will receive two concert performances October 26, featuring two casts and a six-piece chamber orchestra.

Tomorrow, the Island Dies, the award-winning new musical by RSO, will come to  ⁠54 Below for two concert performances on October 26, 2026, at 7:00 and 9:30 PM. Very Intense Productions, Actor Therapy New Works, and AT Musicals in Concert present the one-night-only event.

Set on the storm-ravaged island of Haverness in a not-so-distant future, the folk-horror musical follows 18-year-old Widow Clack, pregnant and living in exile at a lighthouse, as the island prepares for its final evacuation. When a young man is found dead on the beach, the remaining youth descend into paranoia, betrayal, and violence. Described as “Once meets Sweeney Todd,” the musical blends gothic folk tradition with a contemporary story of climate catastrophe, fractured communities, and the storms we create ourselves.  

The 7:00 PM cast features Oliver Callahan, Randall Scott Carpenter, James Cunha, Emily Foley, Kamryn Koerner, Emma Kops, Amy Laviolette (Funny Girl, Spamalot national tour), Kaléa Leverette (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Sasha Lippis, Brielle Mae, Julie McConnell, Emma Mineo, Matthew Moròn, Andrew Oppmann, Nathan David Smith (Beetlejuice and Come From Away national tours), Allison Spann, and Nick Xitco.  

The 9:30 PM cast features Oliver Callahan, James Cunha, Elena Reyes Farías, Hannah E. Feldstein, Alexander Fernandez, MJ Hughes, Andy Kear, Hannah MacDonald (Flashdance national/international tour), Lizzie J. Maguire, Jane Margolis, Julie McConnell, Emily Mesa (How the Grinch Stole Christmas national tour), Jack B. Murphy, Tommy Page, Adrian Rivera, Allison Spann, and Rebecca Alice Steiner.  

RSO and Mat Armada direct, with music direction by Joshua Zecher-Ross and a six-piece chamber orchestra.  

To purchase tickets, visit 54Below.com.

DON’T CRY, DANCING GIRLS Receives New York Industry Work Sessions

October 5, 2026

The hit Taiwanese musical is being reimagined for English-language audiences by Kirsten Guenther and RSO.

A new English-language adaptation of Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls, the celebrated Taiwanese musical, received a private industry work session in New York City, continuing the international life of a work that became a theatrical sensation in Taiwan.

Originally created and produced in Taiwan, Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls draws on Taiwanese culture, ritual, family, and folklore. The new adaptation relocates part of the story to the United States while sending three estranged Taiwanese-American siblings back to Yunlin, where ghosts, family secrets, and the ancient Khan-Bông ritual await.

The reading featured Dorcas Leung as Jen, Justin David Sullivan as Kris, Lianah Sta. Ana as May, Kevin Shiu as Dezheng/Dad, Joshua Hyunho Lee as Ray/Ren, Catherine Kim as Little Jen/Ensemble, Xiaoxiao Sun as Little Big Uncle/Thug/Ensemble, Joomin Hwang as Great Big Uncle/Thug/Ensemble, and Brooke Ishibashi as Liqing/Aunt/Betel Nut Woman/Ensemble. 

Chris Tseng directed, with original music by Ho-Hsiang Kan (also known as Robert Kang), Kirsten Guenther serving as book adapter, RSO as lyric adapter, and Joshua Zecher-Ross as music director. The reading was produced by Ren Hou and Ken Dingledine, with Barbara Darwall serving as executive producer and LDK Productions providing general management. Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls was created and originally written by Taiwanese playwright Jie Zhan.

The reading marks the latest chapter for Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls as the distinctly Taiwanese musical begins an ambitious new journey toward international audiences.

Photo Flash: TOMORROW, THE ISLAND DIES storms up SDSU in a thrilling college production

June 3, 2026

San Diego State University is finishing its season with the world premiere of Ryan Scott Oliver’s new musical, Tomorrow, the Island Dies. The work performs at the California institution May 1-6, with Stephen Brotebeck at the helm.

CHECK OUT THE PLAYBILL ARTICLE HERE

The dystopian, original story is set on an island off the coast of Maine facing imminent destruction in the face of the climate crisis. A mysterious death leads to finger pointing between those still left alive.

“I’m interested in the ways people respond to crisis—how they seek order, how they define virtue, and how quickly certainty can become destabilizing,” says Oliver in a statement. “The piece asks what happens when our desire for clarity overtakes our capacity for compassion.”

The work has been developed in the last two years via SDSU’s New Musical Initiative. Press notes describe the score as drawing on influences “ranging from Sweeney Todd to Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes.”

Cast and creatives for the production included:

Widow Clack, the lighthouse keeper: Rebecca Murillo
Benji Clack, her brother: Ian Bartlett
Kathryn, the government: Savannah Comer
Jacob, the law: Nole Jones
Ephraim, the church: Jansen Espares
Wyatt, sanitation: Quetzal Alcaraz
Mckenzy, sanitation: Katie Emily
Shauna, the shop: Ajay Junious
Shelly, the shop: Janeth Shayo
Porter, the docks: Anthony Methvin
Nadine, the hospital: Ashley Roche
Bree, the school: Isabel Wirz
Ms. Kelly, the outcast: Courtney Corey
Ensemble: Kassidy King, Mackayla Olivas, Avery Henkenius, Jordan Davenport, Bobby Bednar, Shane Mullinix, David Lamb (swings: Callen Kraus, Valentina D’auria)

Scenic Design: Lauren Richards
Costume Design: Kelan Yang
Lighting Design: Mary Ashley Fulton
Sound Design: Paul Peterson
Dramaturgs: David Limon, Nitalia Wilson
Production Stage Manager: Aden Carlson
Asst. director: Brett Puppilo

NEW TRUMAN CAPOTE-BASED MUSICAL IN THE WORKS BY RSO

March 1, 2023

From the article written by Ruthie Fierberg

Award-winning composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver is working on a new musical framed around a notorious event involving Truman Capote. Titled “Party of the Century,” the musical is sourced from the book of the same name by Deborah Davis. 

“It’s based on Truman Capote’s infamous Black and White Ball at the Plaza in 1966 and full of queerness and betrayal and murder — it was kind of crazy,” Oliver told Broadway News at the ceremony celebrating him as the winner of the 2023 Kleban Prize for Most Promising Musical Theatre Lyricist. Oliver has just started writing “Party of the Century” with book writer Kirsten Guenther. The two previously collaborated on the musical “Mrs. Sharp.”

Oliver and Guenther are developing the piece with the support of FourthWall Theatrical, which acquired the rights to Davis’ book. According to Oliver, the musical “has a Broadway trajectory.” Fourth Wall, consisting of partners Jana Bezdek and Jen Hoguet, was a part of the producing team for Broadway’s “Jagged Little Pill.”

Though Oliver’s work has not yet been produced on Broadway, his name is well-known in musical-theater circles. In addition to the Kleban Prize, he previously earned a Jonathan Larson Grant, Richard Rodgers Award and multiple honors from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Oliver’s select works include “35mm,” “Jasper in Deadland” and “We Foxes.”

The combination of the Kleban Prize, “Party of the Century” and a few other commissions has been reinvigorating, said Oliver. “I was very lucky to have a lot of success really early, and then it was sort of existing for a few years, and I really did feel that,” he said. “I told Richard Maltby [Jr.]: I feel like I’m back on the freeway.”

https://broadwaynews.com/2023/02/07/truman-capote-based-musical-in-development-from-ryan-scott-oliver/