Lucille Lortel Theatre Reveals 2025 Round Of 121 Project Supported Musicals

The Lucille Lortel Theatre has revealed that four new musicals will receive support through the 121 Project, the Lortel's tailored development program for new musical works. The 2025 recipients of the 121 Project are Built for This with book by Lauren Gunderson and music & lyrics by Kira Stone; King of Harlem with book, music & lyrics by David Gomez and book by John-Michael Lyles; Legendary with book, music & lyrics by Cheeyang Ng; and Lighthouse with book & lyrics by abs wilson and music & lyrics by Veronica Mansour.

Under the stewardship of Michael Heitzman, Artistic Director of New Musical Development, the Music Theatre Lab at the Lortel fosters the creation, development and presentation of new musicals. A signature program is the 121 Project, which further expands the Lortel's impact on the Off-Broadway community and the field nationally. 121 submissions were received in this second year of the initiative, which provides up to $10,000 of tailored support for the specific needs of a project.

“121 Project is a tailored development program designed to meet the individual needs of a specific moment,” says Heitzman. “The panel and I were delightfully overwhelmed with the volume and quality of submissions that we received. They also cemented our belief that the creative process can vary widely, and that there is no one size fits all approach to support. We are thrilled to be helping these four projects advance to their next stage of development and hope that the support of the Lucille Lortel Theatre can be transformational.”

Details on each 2025 recipient and musical of the 121 Project follows.

Built for This 

Book by Lauren Gunderson; Music & Lyrics by Kira Stone
Built For This is an athletic, feminist, all-femme pop musical centering five fierce young gymnasts confronting inner demons required for top tier competition, as well as a real demon preying on their youth, ambition and vulnerability. Set months before the first new story drops about the abuses of Larry Nassar (though we never hear his name anywhere in the script), this musical is a journey of self discovery, community coherence and collective truth-telling. The musical sings through the bravery of reckoning with these teenager's secrets including safely coming out, battling eating disorders, and the rot of sexualized shame. Who will hear? Who will believe?

King of Harlem

Book, Music & Lyrics by David Gomez; Book by John-Michael Lyles
King of Harlem takes place in 1929 and explores the forbidden gay love affair between Mercy Wheatley, an up-and-coming Black prizefighter, and Federico Garcia Lorca, the celebrated Spanish poet who is studying abroad at Columbia University. Mercy has the perfect life at his fingertip and is poised to marry his beautiful fiancee Sarah and finally quit his job as a janitor to become a boxing champion. All of these well laid plans come toppling down after a chance encounter with Federico on Riverside Drive. With the Harlem Renaissance as their backdrop, Federico inspires Mercy with parties, dance, poetry and shows him how it can feel to live life to the fullest. Their budding romance is challenged to overcome cultural barriers, the cutthroat boxing world and Mercy's impending wedding. By the end of this sweaty, sexy and surreal musical Mercy finally learns firsthand that love and authenticity are always worth fighting for. 

Legendary

Book, Music & Lyrics by Cheeyang Ng

In Chinese mythology, there exists a binary nature to the world, evident in creation myths and explanations of world order. This duality is echoed in the cultural concept of continuing the family line (传宗接代), which is central to the understanding of self, family, and society. As a queer, ethnically-Chinese individual who grew up in Singapore, and amidst the growing anti-immigration and anti-trans sentiment in America, "Legendary" seeks to explore and excavate where one could fit into this society. Legendary is inspired by Samsara, a Buddhist and Hindu concept that emphasizes the cyclicality of life: Birth, Life, Death, and Rebirth. The Narrator utilizes well-known stories from Chinese mythology to engage in self-reflection and communal introspection. The Narrator, while holding up a mirror to the audience's complicity, navigates the complexities of their relationship with their father and the desire to have children as a queer person.

Lighthouse 

Book & Lyrics by abs wilson; Music & Lyrics by Veronica Mansour

Lighthouse is a 6-women, fourth-wall-breaking pop country musical following our unreliable narrator Bus, an 18 year old girl who wants nothing more than to escape her small Minnesota town. But what Bus really wants to escape? Herself— and everything  she fears she could become. With a cast ranging from ages 18-73, Lighthouse  explores anxiety and OCD, intergenerational relationships, and what it means to be yourself for the rest of your life. Ultimately, Lighthouse  celebrates the idea that maybe, just maybe— every version of yourself is worth being.

About the Artists

Lauren Gunderson

(Built for This; book) is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list thrice including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Arthur L. Weissberger Award, and John Gassner Award for Playwriting. Her musical adaptation of The Time Traveller's Wife premiered on The West End last fall, and is writing the Broadway-bound new play about Billie Jean King. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU's Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Bloomsbury just published her first anthology of plays called Revolutionary Women, and her radical AI play anthropology premiered at Hampstead Theatre in London last year. Her play The Catastrophist, about her husband virologist Nathan Wolfe, premiered digitally in January 2021 and is now in The COVID Art Capsule in the Library of Congress. She co-authored the Miss Bennet trilogy with Margot Melcon. The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered off-Broadway and at Audible.com. Her work is published at Playscripts (I and You; Exit Pursued By A Bear; The Taming and Toil and Trouble), Dramatists Play Service (The Revolutionists; The Book of Will; Silent Sky; Bauer, Natural Shocks, The Wickhams and Miss Bennet) and Samuel French (Emilie). Her picture book Dr Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon is available from Two Lions/Amazon. She is the book writer for musicals with Dave Stewart and Joss Stone (The Time Traveler's Wife), Ari Afsar (Jeannette and I and You), Joriah Kwamé (Sinister), Kira Stone (Built for This) and Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk (Justice and Earthrise). She is a board member of The Playwrights Foundation, and a member of the Aspen Institute Science and Society cohort. www.laurengunderson.com

Kira Stone

(Built for This; music & lyrics) is a composer , lyricist, songwriter , playwright, performer , and music producer fueled by the rhythms and rhymes of pop & hip-hop music, and led by the storytelling of musical theater . Her current musicals include SALEM; Built for This (book by Lauren Gunderson); Revival; and a new thriller/ /dark comedy musical about a secret society of killer housewives (book by Matthew Greene). Kira is passionate about telling stories that center complex female perspectives and incorporating genre-defying and genre-blending pop, hip-hop, and highly theatrical scores. Her work (so far) has been developed at Playwrights Horizons, Goodspeed, Circle in the Square Theater , the New York Musical Festival (R.I.P.), New York Theatre Barn, University of Southern California, University of Gothenburg (Sweden), and 54 Below. Residencies include: The BringAbout (Brooklyn), Chateau d'Orquevaux in Champagne, France. Finalist: The Civilians' R&D 2020-2021 Group (Built For This), Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (2022; SALEM), New Dramatists Composer Librettist Studio, Pace New Musicals, Fault Line Theater “Irons in the Fire” New Works Series (2x). Kira also writes & produces music for TV/Film, currently Sesame Street. She resides in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two daughters. Kira is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, Actor's Equity, and Maestra. www.kirabethstone.com 

David Gomez

(King of Harlem; book, music & lyrics) is a composer , lyricist, and librettist. His musicals include Malinche, The Blue Shoes, Miss Havishham's Wedding, R and J, Feet Keep Me Flying, Sugarplum, and Adelita. His latest musical, co-written with John-Michael Lyles, The King of Harlem, has received support from the Kurt Weill Foundation Songbook Series, The Musical Theatre Factory MAKERS program, and was a finalist for the Relentless Award through the American Playwriting Foundation. David was one of the 2020-2021 Dramatist Guild Fellows Program and participated in the Johnny Mercer Songwriting Workshop in 2021. David is invested in continuing the Chicano tradition of rancheras y corridos. This musical legacy uses lyrics and popular song forms to question authority, cross borders, and inspire collective liberation.

John–Michael Lyles

(King of Harlem; book, music & lyrics) is an Obie-winning actor with a BFA in Musical Theater from Pace University. He has originated two roles on Broadway: first, with his Broadway debut in the Pulitzer & Tony-winning musical, A Strange Loop; and second, in The Heart of Rock & Roll! His film debut was alongside Alec Baldwin in “Blind,” and he's guest/co-starred in “The Other Two,” “Chicago PD,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” & “The OA.” At NYC's Barrow Street, he performed in the Pulitzer Prize winning play, The Flick, and played Tobias in their critically acclaimed Sweeney Todd. The Times lauded his “hauntingly simple performance” as the Courier in 1776 at NY City Center Encores, where he went on to perform in Love Life & Big River! He's also been seen in This Ain't No Disco (Atlantic), Brooklynite (Vineyard) & Jasper In Deadland (Prospect). Regionally, he played Dickon in CTG's The Secret Garden, originated the role of Toby in Bliss at the 5th Avenue, co-starred in Second City's production of The Art of Falling and was deemed a “fleet and winning phenom on stage” in the Guthrie's Choir Boy. As a Vivace Award winning composer/lyricist/librettist, he's been commissioned by 5th Avenue Theater's Raise Your Voice program, and he's currently co-writing a new musical, The King of Harlem, with prestigious support from The Relentless Award (finalist), Rhinebeck Writer's Retreat, MTF Makers Cohort 2 and Dramatist Guild Fellows Class of '21. He also wrote additional music for Second Stage's We're Gonna Die!

Cheeyang Ng

Born and raised in Singapore, Cheeyang Ng (Legendary; book, music & lyrics) is an award-winning singer-songwriter who writes at the intersection of queer, Asian and immigrant stories. They have performed around the world, including Lincoln Center with Carole King and Carnegie Hall with Jason Robert Brown. They are the first Singaporean to headline a concert at Joe's Pub and Millennium Stage at Kennedy Center showcasing their original music and their songs have been performed across the U.S.. Creator of podcast East Side Story and vocal group The Lunar Collective, they have won multiple vocal awards all across Asia, including Singapore, Taiwan and China. Musicals in development include MĀYĀ with Eric Sorrels (London 2025), EASTBOUND with Khiyon Hursey, and THE PHOENIX with Eric Sorrels and Desdemona Chiang. Their solo musical, LEGENDARY is in development with Musical Theatre Factory and Goodspeed Musicals. Select credits include: Fred Ebb Award, Princess Grace Award, Eric H Weinberger Librettist Award, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat Alumni, Larson Grant Finalist, ASCAP Foundation Lucille & Jack Yellen Award. MFA: NYU. BMus: Berklee. www.cheeyang.com  

Veronica Mansour

(Lighthouse; music & lyrics) is a composer/lyricist/artist. She is a 2024 Richard Rodgers Award Winner and Jonathan Larson Grant winner, 2024 Dramatist Guild Fellow, and was recently nominated for a Marvin Hamlisch International Music Award (Musical Theatre Composition), selected as one of four writers for DreamWorks Theatricals, MTI & NBCUniversal Emerging Writers Program (currently commissioned to write How To Train Your Dragon Jr.), and one of three 2023 Write Out Loud Contest Winners for her song “Runaway Girl” (performed by Jessica Vosk, written with abs wilson). Current works: Lighthouse (NAMT Winner 2024, Eugene O'Neill NMTC Winner 2024 & Finalist 2023, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat 2024, Syracuse NWNV 2024, Olney Theatre Center Vanguard Arts Fund Finalist 2023, New York Theatre Barn New Works Series 2023, Vanguard Theater New Works Festival Commission 2023, St. Olaf College World Premiere 2024, NAMT Finalist/Playlist) and The Dark Lady (Eugene O'Neill NMTC Winner 2023, Syracuse NWNV Finalist, 2024 Musical Theatre West New Works Festival, 2024 Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, 2024 South Carolina New Play Festival). Past works: CYRANO (music/lyrics, University of Notre Dame, named part of NAMT's "Other Shows You Should Know About Jukebox", NAMT Playlist, 2023), An Old Family Recipe (book/music/lyrics, Regional BroadwayWorld “Best Streaming Musical”, premiered as a film at the University of Notre Dame in the Spring of 2021). Veronica is a proud member of Maestra, BMI, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and the Dramatist's Guild. She has an MFA in Graduate Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

abs wilson

(Lighthouse; book & lyrics) is a playwright/lyricist originally from Minnesota and now based in NYC. She's a recipient of the 2024 Richard Rodgers Award, selected writer for the National Musical Theatre Alliances's New Musical Festival (2024), Eugene O'Neill National Music Theater Conference winner (2024), selected writer for the musical theater Rhinebeck Writer's Retreat (2024), selected writer for the Syracuse New Works New Voices program (2024), Write Out Loud Contest winner for her and Veronica Mansour's song “Runaway Girl" (2023), National Musical Theater Conference Finalist (2023), NAMT finalist (2023), recipient of the Vanguard Theater New Works Festival Commission (2023), THE SEVEN New Works winner (2023), finalist for the Olney Theater Center Vanguard Arts Fund (2023), featured on the NAMT playlist, and finalist for the David Einhorn Prize (2022). She's had work done with Theatre Barn at Playwright's Horizons, Paper Kraine, the Tank, the Brick, Fusion Theater, Syracuse University, and St. Olaf College, with songs performed at 54 Below, Joe's Pub, the Composers Concordance Marathon, and a play published in Some Scripts Literary Magazine. She got her MFA from NYU Tisch's Musical Theater Writing Program and her passion for theater at the National Theater Institute's 2020 Summer Intensive theatermaking program. abs is a member of the Dramatist's Guild & ASCAP. Past Works: I CRAVE THE HEAT, As Long as the Light, SPACE OVEN, All We Know of Love & Fire, HE DID IT., Dutch Kassidy & the Skydance Guy, ASTRONOMER / STAR-WEAVER., DEAD ANY WAY. Current Works: LIGHTHOUSE, RAT KING, Swamp Song, UGGO.

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