Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen Talk Success of [title of show]

In 2004, Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen created an autobiographical musical by the name of [title of show] as an entry for the New York Musical Theater Festival. The production had a ran off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in 2006, followed by a brief stint on Broadway in 2008. The show is a love letter to musical theatre, and tells the story of two friends who decide to write an original work for a musical theatre competition despite a pressing deadline. The show's protagonists' obsession with theatre is something that both Bell and Bowen can relate to. In a story on Boston.com, Bell speaks of his early obsession with attending theatrical productions, " It started, like, washing over emotionally - I would totally wait at the stage door with my Playbill, like a stalker, waiting for people to sign."

Bowen and Bell met in 1995 when they were both enrolled in a theatre program and got along instantly. Then, an opportunity for artistic collaboration came up. "We learned that we work well together, and we were having fun collaborating, and then the festival came up, and we're like, let's try to submit something for this festival,' Bowen says. "We didn't have the rights to anything, so we were going to do something original if we were going to do anything at all. So we wrote this brilliant musical."

To read the rest of the story in Boston.com, please click here.

From January 15th - February 13th 2010, SpeakEasy Stage will present the New England premiere of the hit Broadway musical [title of show].Jordan Ahnquist and Joe Lanza will play Jeff and Hunter in the SpeakEasy production, which will also feature popular Boston actors Amy Barker, Will McGarrahan, and Val Sullivan.

SpeakEasy Founder and Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault will helm this production, the second of three shows he will direct for SpeakEasy Stage this season. A two-time Elliot Norton Award winner (Outstanding Director: Parade; Some Men; Zanna, Don't!; 2008. Outstanding Director: Passion; Bat Boy: The Musical; 2003). Mr. Daigneault has directed and produced over 50 Boston premieres for SpeakEasy Stage since its inception in 1992. Paul is also a member of the faculty at The Boston Conservatory. In 2007 he was honored with the Boston College Art Council's Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement.

Music Director Will McGarrahan and Choreographer David Connolly round out the creative team. For tickets and information, please click here.

For his book for [title of show], Hunter Bell earned an Obie Award, a Drama League nomination, and a 2009 Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. Other credits for this Tuscaloosa, Alabama native include the book for Silence! The Musical, the book for the 137th edition of The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, Bellobration!, and the book for Villains Tonight!, a new show for Disney Cruise Lines. As an actor, Hunter has performed both on and off-Broadway, and at such prestigious regional theatres as St. Louis Rep, Great Lakes Theater Festival, ALLIANCE THEATRE, and the Paper Mill Playhouse.

Jeff Bowen also won an Obie Award for his work on [title of show]. He has written music and lyrics for Villains Tonight! for the Walt Disney Company, the Easter Bonnet Competition for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the 53rd Annual Drama Desk Awards, and Broadway Bares 18. He has also composed several shows at P.S. 122 including Avant-Garde-A-Rama in SparkleVision. As an actor he has performed works at The O'Neill Center, Ars Nova, and the Vineyard Theatre, among others.

The pair is also well-known as the creators of the popular web series "the [title of show] show" (https://www.youtube.com/user/titleofshow) and is currently working together on a sitcom pilot for ABC Television.

 

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