BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop Announces SPRING SMOKER Showcase 4/30

The Tony® Honored BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop announces its Spring Smoker, a semi-annual showcase for new songs from Workshop writers. The event will be held in the Media Room of BMI's New York office at 320 West 57th Street on Thursday, April 30 5:30PM and is open to members of the entertainment industry as well as Workshop members. Reservations: Ssantana@bmi.com or 212 830-8360.

The Smoker, now in its eleventh season, is modeled after informal social gatherings at Cambridge University where the Workshop's two time Tony® Award winning writer Maury Yeston performed his songs during his undergraduate days. Previous smoker participants include Best Musical Tony® Award winners Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (Avenue Q), Nancy Ford and Gretchen Cryer (I'm Getting My Act Together...), Eric Rockwell and Joann Bogart (The Musical of Musicals, The Musical) Amanda Green and Tom Kitt (High Fidelity) and Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal.)
Recent productions of musicals developed in the Workshop include Next to Normal by Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey, currently at the Booth Theatre, Wanda's World by Beth Falcone & Eric H Weinberger at AMAS, The Story of My Life by Neil Bartram & Brian Hill which moved from Goodspeed to Broadway earlier this season, See Rock City (Jerry Bock Award and Richard Rodgers Award) by Brad Alexander & Adam Mathais at Barrington Stage and Calvin Berger (Richard Rodgers Award and Jerry Bock Award) by Barry Wyner, seen at Barrington Stage and scheduled for an industry reading to be directed by Kathleen Marshall.

Twelve new musicals and twenty-two BMI Workshop writers are included in the 70 minute presentation.
Raymond Bokhour & Simon Gray are adapting the 1928 Soviet play The Suicide by Nikokai Erdman. Their hero, an unemployed grouch, believes a suicide may be his only chance for greatness. Bokhour, who currently appears on Broadway as Amos in Chicago, performs with his wife, Christine Bokhour, who had played every role except Roxie in the current Broadway production of Chicago
The Thing About Joe, music by Randy Klein, book and lyrics by Matthew Hardy, tells the story of Joe Christiansen from Preston, Idaho, who rebels against his pill pushing psychiatrist mother and journeys to New York City to pursue his dream of becoming a great Maitre d'. Klein is a multi-Emmy® and Concert artist. Hardy is a performer-writer hyphenate who toured in Fosse, received a BackStage West "2007 Performance to Remember Award." Ashley Fox Linton, who toured nationally in Les Miserables and Wicked performs the song "New Jersey," the finale to Klein and Hardy's original musical.