Songs for the Way We Live Now

Where's the next great composer/lyricist team destined to revivify the American musical? Maybe right here

By Terry Berliner

Anyone involved (or aspiring to be involved) in the making of new musicals will find some valuable clues in the five portraits that follow. The new-musical writing teams you're about to meet may live in different parts of the country and may be at different stages in their careers, but their stories share one strong similarity: Each pair faces big, juicy, personal challenges that pertain to the necessity of feeding their creative dreams.

Although these songwriting pairs work in relative isolation, they all mention that they are both dependent upon and grateful for the keen assistance they get along the way—from the actors who read their rough drafts aloud in small informal gatherings; from directors who give them dramaturgical insights; from producers who provide money and artistic support; from designers who offer their two cents on shows they have not yet been hired to design; from casting directors who help clarify undefined roles by suggesting actors (who, in turn, help to shape those roles forever); and even for the attorneys and agents who help iron out the nitty-gritty legal matters of, say, securing rights for an adaptation.

If you decide to travel down the new-musicals road, you will be buoyed by small miracles that come your way as well as saddened by numerous things that don't work out so well. Sometimes great ideas are never realized because funding isn't available. Collaborations fall apart because of artistic differences. A myriad of overwhelming choices abound. And if you aren't tough enough to navigate the hurdles, it's easy to get lost along the way.

As we know, every musical was new at one point in time. The evolution of an art form can only come when people are willing to experiment by pushing the boundaries of form, style and subject matter. But as these stories attest, if your dream is to write musicals, get some training. Invest in your talent by entering such arenas as New York University's graduate musical-theatre writing program, the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), New Dramatists or the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program—or connect with mentors who have been there and are willing to pass down invaluable trade secrets.

And if you're alert, you'll pocket some of those secrets as you meet the 10 talented artists in these profiles:Feeding the Dream, A Joyride to Beatsville, Risky Business, The Waiting Game and Beyond Déjà Vu.

Terry Berliner is a director and musical-theatre specialist living in New York City.