Adam Lenson's BREAKING INTO SONG - WHY YOU SHOULDN'T HATE MUSICALS to be Published This September

People rarely say they hate books, or television, or films. But they often say they hate musicals. Moreover, everyone seems to have a fixed idea of exactly what a musical is; what it sounds like, looks like, or is about.

Why is the collision and integration of music, song and storytelling so polarising and why have we allowed a form so full of possibility to become so repetitive and restrictive?

Breaking Into Song asks what audiences can do to stay open minded and what creatives can do to make new musicals better. Examining both sides of the divide, Adam Lenson asks how those who both love and hate musicals can further expand the possibilities of this widely misunderstood medium.

Lenson, who recently produced and directed the world premiere of the social media musical 'Public Domain' at the Vaudeville Theatre, said "I have long been frustrated by so many of the ways musicals are written about or spoken about; the ways they are pigeonholed, undermined and undervalued as an art form. I have spent a long time working to get the voices of new musical theatre writers heard as well as speaking up for systemic change in an industry that expects and encourages repetition far more than innovation. This book is formed from a decade of passionate ideas, rants, debates, and theories and I hope might lead to new thoughts about what musicals can and should be."

Adam Lenson is a London-based director, dramaturg, producer and musical theatre specialist, most recently working in the West End producing and directing the world premiere of 'Public Domain', a thrilling new musical, composed entirely from the real-life words of YouTube vloggers, Instagram influencers.

He has extensive experience of working with composers, lyricists, songwriters and playwrights to develop new work and is the founder of ALP Musicals.

He spent 2020 developing his livestreaming, transmedia and digital theatre practice and co-founded theatrical.solutions. He was recognised in the 2021 Stage 100 and his productions of 'The Rink' and 'Superhero 'both won Best Musical at the Off-West End Awards.

Directing includes 'PUBLIC DOMAIN' (Vaudeville Theatre/Southwark Playhouse), 'THE FABULIST FOX SISTER', 'WASTED', 'THE RINK', 'SUPERHERO' (Southwark Playhouse), 'THE LEFTOVERS' (National Tour), 'THE STORM' (Helios Collective/ENO), '35MM', 'WHISPER HOUSE' (The Other Palace), 'SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD' (St James Theatre), 'THE SORROWS OF SATAN' (Tristan Bates Theatre), 'STAGES, LOCK & KEY' (VAULT FESTIVAL), 'DISGRACED' (English Theatre Frankfurt), 'DARK TOURISM' (Park Theatre), 'GHOST' (GSA), 'SEE WHAT I WANNA SEE' (Jermyn Street Theatre), 'REEL LIFE' (Ustinov Theatre Bath and St James Studio), 'THE GOODBYE GIRL' (Upstairs at the Gatehouse), 'WEST END RECAST' (Duke of York's Theatre, Phoenix Theatre), 'ORDINARY DAYS' (Trafalgar Studios), 'LITTLE FISH' and 'SATURN RETURNS' (Finborough Theatre), 'COME FLY WITH ME' (Salisbury Playhouse), 'THE DEAD GUY' (English Theatre Frankfurt) and 'THE FAMILY' (Old Vic US/UK Exchange, Public Theater, NY).

He has worked as associate and assistant director to Stephen Daldry, Terry Johnson, Roxana Silbert, Nancy Meckler, Maria Friedman and Victoria Wood at venues including The Old Vic, Royal Shakespeare Company, Hampstead Theatre, Menier Chocolate Factory, and in the West End.