Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Announces Eight New Musicals for the Summer, Beg. 7/1

Kathy Evans, Founder and Executive Director of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, announced the eighteen writers who were selected for residencies this July and August. Each week, for eight weeks, one musical theatre writing team will work on their musical in a home in Rhinebeck, New York.

The award-winning participants for 2012 include John Caird, Paul Gordon, Glenn Slater, Laura Eason, Jenny Giering, Scott Murphy, Nathan Christensen, Chris Dimond and Michael Kooman. This year’s eight musicals were selected from 55 applications by a panel, which included Tory Bailey (Theatre Development Fund), Neil Bartram (Composer), Gigi Bolt (William Inge Festival), Nick Demos (Demos/Bizar Entertainment), Brian Hill (Bookwriter), Donna Lynn Hilton (Goodspeed Musicals), Kevin Moore (The Human Race Theatre Company), and Michael Robertson (The Lark Play Development Center).

The complete line-up of writers and projects selected for this summer, and the generous contributors supporting each week are:

· July 1 – 8: John Caird, Sam Caird, and Paul Gordon; Little Miss Scrooge, supported in part by The Harry, Cathy, Gabriella and James Rubin Foundation.

· July 8 – 15: Alexandra Collier and Greta Gertler; Willow’s One Night Stand, supported by Alec Stais and Elissa Burke

· July 15 – 22: Nathan Christensen and Scott Murphy, Broadcast, supported by Stacey Mindich Productions

· July 22 – 29: Sean Barry, Laura Eason, and Jenny Giering, The Sisters Fox, supported by Stacey Mindich Productions

· July 29 – Aug 5: Wendy Wilf and Glenn Slater; Beatsville, supported in part by John Levin and Diane Keefe Fund

· August 5 – 12: Henry Aronson and Cailin Heffernan, Loveless Texas, supported in part by Jody and Giulio Martini

· August 12 – 19: Chistopher Dimond and Michael Kooman; The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, supported by The Noël Coward Foundation.

· August 19 – 26: Darrah Cloud and Kim Sherman, Makeover, supported in part by the Marcus Greenbaum Family and Susan Phillips

Created in 2011, the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is a 501 (c) 3 organization whose mission is to provide a sanctuary for musical theatre writers to develop their musicals in the heart of the Hudson Valley. Last year’s participants included Itamar Moses and Gaby Alter, with Nobody Loves You, which is now playing at The Old Globe in San Diego; Groovelily’s Wheelhouse, which opens next month at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto; and Andrew Gerle’s Gloryana, for which Andrew was just awarded the Kleban Prize. Writers pay nothing to participate in Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and all costs are covered by donations. We are grateful to our many donors who make it possible. In addition to the contributors sponsoring the eight retreats, RWR has also received major support from American Express, Elizabeth Evans, Rick Farrar, Brian Hargrove, and Peter Risafi. For more information, visit www.rhinebeckwriters.org.