Developmental Production of DARLING to be Produced at Emerson College

Retrop Productions and Emerson College's RareWorks Theatre Company, in association with Kurt Deutsch, President and Founder of Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records, are pleased to announce their collaboration with Ryan Scott Oliver and BT Ryback on the new musical Darling. A private workshop of this new piece will be presented at Emerson College in December, with a developmental production occurring in early Spring of 2012.

Jacob Porter, President of Retrop Productions, remarked on the collaborative opportunity: "Having [Ryan Scott Oliver] and [B.T. Ryback] present for the developmental process will be a beneficial learning experience for the entire Emerson student community and will provide the authors with information that will aid the creation of this daring and bold new work." Nick Medvescek, Producing Director for RareWorks Theatre Company, adds "this production allows us to link our student community to industry leaders and rising talent."

Darling, A New Musical will be directed by Michael Bello, a senior BFA Musical Theatre Major at Emerson College. Bello has previously worked as an assistant director at Theatreworks in Palo Alto, CA and for Mary Zimmerman at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston. Bello believes that "bringing a new musical, like Darling, to Emerson will provide every student involved with a unique and educational experience to develop our skills and training, in collaboration with Mr. Ryback and Mr. Oliver, on this bold and exciting piece."

Darling is presented in association with Kurt Deutsch, President and Founder Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records, a Grammy Award winning label that bridges the gap between rock and theater music. Deutsch is looking forward to this exciting collaboration at Emerson, and stated that "there is nothing like being part of the creation of a new musical and working with two of the most exciting young musical theatre writers. I think that Darling represents where the future of musical theatre is going deeply rooted in traditional storytelling through music but by someone whose influences range from Sondheim to the popular music of today."

Ryan Scott Oliver, composer and lyricist for Darling, speaks on behalf of the creative collaboration with bookwriter BT Ryback: "We're really looking forward to our work with the Emerson team this year. To be able to not only read thru the material but then have the opportunity to revise it and have it up on its feet in production is an exceptional opportunity. The university setting is a blessing to workshop a show like Darling, and Brett [BT Ryback] and I are anxious to see our show take her next step forward."

This exciting collaboration highlights the importance of developing new musical theater within an educational environment; providing both student and professional theatre artists with the opportunity to work, learn, and grow in a creative and stimulating climate.

Darling, with music and lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver, and book by B.T. Ryback, follows upper crust teenager Ursula Morgan in 1929 Boston as its society boils in the weeks before the Crash. Neglected by her excessive, self-absorbed parents, Ursula encounters a boy named Peter, on the run from the Captain of Police who pursues him for a heinous crime he may or may not have committed. When she is offered the opportunity to run away with him, she takes it and finds herself swept into a seedy underground of jazz, sex and a mysterious white powder called Fairy Dust.

Brett (B.T.) RYBACK (Book) won the Tennessee Williams One-Act Competition for his play Weïrd. His play A Roz By Any Other Name was the winner of the Henrico County Theatre One-Act Competition, Virginia. Both are published in The Best American Short Plays 2007-2008 (Applause). Other works include: Liberty Inn: The Musical (LA Ovation Award Nominations, Best Music/Lyrics, Best Book); I, Abraham (UCLA commission); Quit India (Richard Rodgers Award Finalist); Death Valley DQ; and The Tavern Keeper's Daughter. He is also an actor on stage and TV, and recently made his Off-Broadway debut in Olivier-Award winner Lesli Margherita's show All Hail the Queen.

Ryan Scott Oliver (Music and Lyrics) is currently writing the score for Disney Theatrical's stage musical Freaky Friday, directed by Memphis's Christopher Ashley. 2011 Lortel Award Nominee, 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant Recipient, 2008 Rodgers Award Winner. Music and lyrics for 35mm (directed by Daisy Prince), Darling (featured on NBC's The Apprentice), Mrs. Sharp (Playwrights Horizons July 2009 starring Jane Krakowski, dir. by Michael Greif), Out of My Head, and the 2010 Writer's Guild East Awards; a collection of his work, Rated RSO, played the Kennedy Center, Joe's Pub, New York Musical Theatre Festival; Off-Broadway and elsewhere: TheatreWorksUSA's We the People, Rosie O'Donnell's Theater Kids, and cabarets worldwide. Upcoming commissions include Jasper in Deadland (for Pasadena Musical Theatre Program) and The Frog Prince, Cont. (with Chicago's Emerald City Youth Theatre). Songbook now available: Music+Lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver: Volume 1.

 

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski

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