Musical Theatre Factory to Present ONE WAY
By: Tyler Peterson Jul. 06, 2015
Musical Theatre Factory (MTF) will present the first act of ONE WAY, a new musical from MTF's developmental residency program. ONE WAY is written by MTF founding members Christopher Staskel (book & lyrics) and Benjamin Bonnema (book & music).
ONE WAY is a new musical about a musical about a group of people applying to go on a one-way trip to Mars and was inspired by the Mars One mission to establish a human settlement on Mars by 2026. The show was previously workshopped at MTF as part of the December 2014 4x15 series. The cast includes Tony Coslett, Cecily Daniel, Helene Galek, Taylor Janney, Cheeyang Ng, Amanda Savan and Ray Sheen. ONE WAY is directed by Jorge Lopez, with music direction by Heath Saunders.
Ben Bonnema's slumber party musical, BOYS WHO TRICKED ME, was MTF's first showcase production in February 2015. Joshua Barone of the New York Times called the musical "heart-healing musical theatre". Other musicals include THE LOST GIRL (written with Arianna Rose), SLASH (words by Christopher Staskel) and GLAMDROMEDA (book by Bryce Norbitz, lyrics by Christopher Staskel). He was awarded the 2011 ASCAP Foundation Frederick Loewe Award, as well as Artist Residencies at the Ucross Foundation and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.
Christopher Staskel holds a BFA in Music Theatre from Elon University and an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Music theatre works include: THE FIREBIRD (music by Lisa Whitson Burns); CRASH (music by Burns); GLAMDROMEDA (music by Ben Bonnema, book by Bryce Norbitz); and SLASH (music by Bonnema). Chris's next full-length project with Lisa Whitson Burns, SHADES OF WAYNE, is also currently in development at the Musical Theatre Factory.
ONE WAY takes place on July 6 at 8pm at 250 West 40th Street (between 7th & 8th Ave), fourth floor. $10 advance reservations can be made online at mtf.nyc/events.
Musical Theatre Factory is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to helping musical theatre artists develop and present new work in a collaborative environment free from the pressures of critical or commercial success.
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