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.

SONGS FROM ‘THREE POINTS OF CONTACT’ PLAY 54 BELOW, APRIL 30

March 19, 2018

New York, NY – Very Intense Productions presents Songs from THREE POINTS OF CONTACT, a new musical by Ryan Scott Oliver.  The evening will be presented at 54 Below (254 West 54th Street, NYC), on Monday, April 30 at 7:00pm and 9:30pm. Marshall Pailet (Baghdaddy) directs.

The cast will include Britney Coleman (Sunset Blvd.), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies), Katie Rose Clarke (Miss Saigon), Eric William Morris (Be More Chill), Blaine Krauss (Natasha, Pierre…), Emily Rogers (If/Then), and Pomme Koch (The Band’s Visit), with Ian Fairlee, Mary Claire Miskell, David Park and Bethany Perkins in the ensemble.

Music Director Joshua Zecher-Ross leads a 7-piece band featuring Allison Seidner, Jeremy Yaddaw, Matt Hinkley, Joseph Wallace and Hiroko Taguchi.

The story of Three Points of Contact revolves around newlyweds “Pooch” and Amy Harvey, who are proud of their progressive views on sex and marriage and anxious for their forthcoming child. When they miscarry and struggle to conceive again, their marriage (and their sex-life) strains to the brink; so much so that when Amy re-deploys for her second tour of Iraq and Pooch takes on an attractive pupil, they must confront the question:

“In a world where most marriages end in divorce …

Who wants to be like most marriages?”

Tickets are $30-45 and are now on sale and are available for purchase on the 54 Below Website, 54below.com.

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.

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE ORCHARD PROJECT DEVELOPS ‘THREE POINTS OF CONTACT’

May 31, 2017

World renowned writer’s haven The Orchard Project has announced RSO as one of its 2017 writers-in-residence..

RSO will work in its brand new Cabaret and Musical Theatre Program, which launched last year in partnership with Putnam Den. This year, the Orchard Project has made annual favorite Julian Fleisher Director of Cabaret and Musical Theatre and will host new work by a slew of the most exciting artists around, including RSO.

While at the Orchard Project, RSO will begin work on THREE POINTS OF CONTACT, the conclusion of the Dogs Trilogy (begun by WE FOXES and continued by ROPE).  ‘3PC’ tells the story of newlyweds Pooch and Amy Harvey, and is a contemporary piece about love, sex, and marriage.

Find out more about the Orchard Project’s 2017 season here.