CO/LAB (Creative Opportunities without Limits And Boundaries) Theater Group will premiere its newest original show The Best Thing in the World: A New Musical, on May 5 at the Actors Fund Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY. Musical theater writing team Matte O'Brien and Matt Vinson collaborated on the score, lyrics, and libretto using ideas generated by CO/LAB's Musical Theater Production class.
The Best Thing in the World: A New Musical takes place in a world without art. A factory of diligent workers spend all day on an assembly line manufacturing a mysterious product that is sold to the entire world. Their bosses think only about profits, and the workers labor willingly, until a chance artistic discovery shakes the factory to its core. The Best Thing in the World: A New Musical is a story that reminds us that creative expression is our most important asset.
"Our actors don't just perform in our shows, they have a heavy hand in creating material for the final product," says Laura Borgwardt, CO/LAB's Program Development Manager and Teaching Artist of the Musical Theater Production class. "The challenges of creating a musical teach our actors important lessons about collaboration, physical storytelling, and personal expression," notes Borgwardt.
CO/LAB Theater Group, now in its seventh season, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing individuals with developmental disabilities a creative and social outlet through theater arts. CO/LAB's core programs include four weekly classes, each focused on honing theatrical skills and culminating in the public performance of an original show.
The Best Thing in the World: A New Musical will have performances on May 5 & 11 at 7:30PM and May 6 & 12 at 3:30PM at the Actors Fund Arts Center, 160 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn. Tickets are $15 and available at colabtheatergroup.com. For a preview, visit us on YouTube.
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