Conference artistic director Paulette Haupt announced that the two works — notes to MariAnne and Red Eye of Love by two teams of writers and composers — have been chosen for the 30th year of the conference. The selected collaborators will spend two weeks in July developing their respective works with actors, directors and dramaturgs, before they are presented in readings.
"Among the many exceptional submissions we received this year, notes to MariAnne and Red Eye of Love demonstrated a fresh and bold approach to bringing complex characters and shattering events to life through music," Haupt stated in the announcement.
The O'Neill 2007 National Music Theatre Conference selections (schedule subject to change) follow:
Book, music and lyrics by David Rossmer and Dan Lipton
"A brother and sister are torn apart and then reunited under extraordinary circumstances. notes to MariAnne is a modern fairy tale that draws from popular music to sing its story, exploring the consequences of leaving those you love and finding hope in dark places."
Book and lyrics by Arnold Weinstein and John Wulp; music by Jan Warner
Based on a play by Arnold Weinstein, this "zany musical comedy about America [is] set against a background of war, depression and economic boom times [and] follows the wacky adventures of Wilmer Flange, a young idealist; O.O. Martinas, owner of the world's largest meat department store; and Selma Chargesse, the woman they both love. In doing so, it takes a hard look at the effects of love and money upon our lives." Lipton and Rossmer co-created the currently-running Don’t Quit Your Night Job variety show, which plays in New York City at the HA! Comedy Club. Lipton also played piano for Broadway's The Coast of Utopia. Rossmer has performed on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof and in the musical Zhivago at La Jolla Playhouse.
Wulp won a Tony Award as producer on the 1977 revival of the play Dracula and was nominated for his scenic design of The Crucifer of Blood. He was founder and a former director of the Playwrights' Horizons Theater School.
The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center was founded in 1964 and is based in Waterford, CT. Programs at the Center include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute. The Monte Cristo Cottage, O'Neill's childhood home, is also owned and operated by the group.
For more information, call (860) 443-1238 or visit the website at www.theoneill.org.
