NYC's composer-lyricist fashioning Gothic thrillers, queer poperettas, and high-octane rock into exhilarating new musicals
January 6, 2019
LISTEN TO THE CAST RECORDING ON SPOTIFY
ABOUT THE SHOW
Music and lyrics by RYAN SCOTT OLIVER, book by NESSIE NANKIVELL.
Based on the short story “The Outsider” by H.P. LOVECRAFT.
Download the liner notes — including the full libretto — here.
September 11, 2014
Currently in development.
Book, music and lyrics by RYAN SCOTT OLIVER. Conceived by BRETT RYBACK.
Darling is a dark deconstruction of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, following a girl called Darling in a 1920’s New England dreamscape who is swept away by Peter, a rent-boy. When she loses herself in the seedy underground of jazz, sex and a mysterious white powder called Dust, can the lost girl find herself again?
Darling is the winner of the Boston Metropolitan Opera Mainstage Award, the Pace New Musicals Award, the Weston Playhouse New Musicals Award, and the Jonathan Larson Grant for Ryan Scott Oliver.
September 11, 2014
Winner of the 2009 Richard Rodgers Award.
Book by Kirsten A. Guenther, music and lyrics by RYAN SCOTT OLIVER.
Based on the 1991 teacher-student sex scandal and murder trial surrounding Pamela Smart, Mrs. Sharp tells the story of a woman who ‘wants you to become more.’ Having written an unsuccessful self-help series entitled ‘Invent Yourself: Five Words to Live By,’ 31-year old Kimberly Sharp (Jane Krakowski) is encouraged by her husband (Christian Borle) to take a job teaching at the local high school. Kimberly sets out to change the lives of her students, absorbing them into her web of fantastical delusions and private affairs. But when her husband discovers she’s gone just a bit too far, Kimberly realizes there’s only one thing that can be done about him. Someone goes to jail, someone becomes a beloved self-help guru and someone gets shot in the head — but everyone learns a lesson from Mrs. Sharp.
Mrs. Sharp was developed at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Michael Greif and starring Jane Krakowski. It is the winner of the Margo Lion Award for Excellence in Adaptation.
September 11, 2014
Published and licensed by Steele Spring Stage Rights
Book by Kirsten A. Guenther, music and lyrics by RYAN SCOTT OLIVER.
Five 20-something strangers bare their hearts and souls as they journey through their lives, loves, and losses during a pair of free group therapy sessions. From the moment of their breakdowns to their ultimate breakthroughs, the smart and emotional interplay of these quirky characters brings them all the self-discovery to set aside their insecurities and face the world anew—a little less frightened and a little more brave than before. This fresh and contemporary chamber musical celebrates the amazing strength of the human spirit. Backstage calls it “witty and provocative.”
September 11, 2014