30 DAYS OF NYMF: Day 5 This One Girl’s Story

Day 5: This One Girl's Story

THERE'S A STORY TO BE TOLD

Bil Wright, librettist for THIS ONE GIRL'S STORY

"You've never heard of Sakia Gunn?" my friend asked. Although similar in ways to the stories of Matthew Shepherd and Brandon Teena, somehow this one had not received the same headlines. As a writer, I'm always moved by the lives of people who have to defend themselves because they're different than "the norm."
That THIS ONE GIRL'S STORY, inspired by actual events, has become a musical nominated for a 2010 GLAAD Award and is now being presented in the New York Music Theatre Festival, is an honor. The show is about love and courage. The fact that fabulous performers like Zonya Love (Celie, The Color Purple), Danielle K. Thomas (Avenue Q) and Angela Grovey (Wig Out) are so phenomenal in bringing this story to life is inspirational. People who've seen it in earlier incarnations are surprised at how much humor there is and these women are brilliant comediennes.

Plus, in creating the piece, I knew it had to be musical. These characters had to sing because they are so bold and passionate. The composer Dionne McClain-McFreeney is a genius at melding jazz, R&B, gospel and pop. To hear this cast sing her music gives me chills. Tanisha Scott, one of the hottest choreographers of music videos around, is lighting a match to Dionne's music and making it explode. So, every rehearsal, watching director Jeremy Dobrish bring THIS ONE GIRL'S STORY to life only makes me hungry for one more thing: to share it with an audience.

To buy tickets or to learn more about This One Girl's Story go to www.nymf.org/this onegirlsstory or call 212-352-3101