NYC's composer-lyricist fashioning Gothic thrillers, queer poperettas, and high-octane rock into exhilarating new musicals
March 10, 2020
On February 27 and 28th, 2020, the first workshop of The Invention of Hugo Cabret (based on the novel by Brian Selznick and film, Hugo, by Martin Scorsese) was held at the Dominion Theatre in London as part of the show’s ongoing development. See the images attached for the cast and crew, and stay tuned for more news about the show.
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.
January 19, 2020
Very Intensive Productions is pleased to announce the release of Rope: Fibers, a new E.P. featuring songs from RSO’s musical, ROPE. The new recording is available now via Spotify, Apple Music, and all streaming platforms.
Rope: Fibers features Ethan Carlson, Ben Fankhauser, Troy Iwata, Cory Jeacoma, Max Kumangai, John-Michael Lyles, Mary Claire Miskell, David Park, and Daniel Yearwood, with Devon Chandler, Caitlin Doak, Ian Fairlee, and Byron Martin Turk.
The band features Joshua Zecher-Ross on keyboards and additional instruments, Virginia Luke on violins, Tom Jorgensen on percussion, and Andrew Zinsmeister on guitar, mandolin, and banjo. Joshua-Zecher Ross served as music director and co-producer, and orchestrations are by RSO and Solomon Hoffman.
The track list is as follows:
1: “My Lass, She Tied Her Lace to Me” — Cory Jeacoma, David Park, John-Michael Lyles and Daniel Yearwood
2: “The Stranger” — Ethan Carlson and Cory Jeacoma
3: “All Men are Tied Together” — Max Kumangai
4: “What You Call Freedom” — Mary Claire Miskell
5: “I Have Seen the After” — John-Michael Lyles
6: “I Go on with You” — Ben Fankhauser and Troy Iwata
Check out the liner notes below.
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.
December 15, 2019
In May 2020, RSO’s We Foxes will be presented in a fully staged and designed developmental production in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.
Theatre Elision develops and produces new theatrical works that tell compelling stories with music. Previously, the company has staged productions of Dave Malloy’s Ghost Quartet, LaChiusa’s First Lady Suite, and Ruthless!
More information on the creative team and casting to be announced soon.
We Foxes is a southern Gothic thriller set in small-town Missouri, 1945. It’s the story of Willa, a tough and unmannered orphan girl, and her adoption by the crafty Sheriff’s wife, Vesta Quimby. When Willa discovers the dark secrets beneath the floorboards, a war cuts them apart and Willa must fight to survive. After all, Vesta Quimby is the most beloved and powerful woman in town … Yet she’s less humanitarian socialite than she is Machiavellian sociopath… Can Willa discover her own salvation, deliver herself into courage, and sacrifice everything to escape Vesta? It is a story of intense human struggle, deliverance, and the great salvation found only through oneself.
Learn more about We Foxes here and listen to the EP of songs from the show on Spotify (also available on Apple Music and all streaming platforms).
For more information about the company and the production, go to their website here.