Goodspeed Musicals launches Goodworks, a new musical commissioning program
Inaugural Projects include The Snow Goose and Little Miss Perfect
Two-time Tony Award-winning Goodspeed Musicals proudly announces GoodWorks, its first formal commissioning program to support the creation and development of musicals that celebrate inspiring and transformational stories. The first GoodWorks commissions will be The Snow Goose written by Scott Gilmour and Claire MacKenzie and Little Miss Perfect written by Joriah Kwamé.
With GoodWorks, Goodspeed adds another tool to ensure the continued vitality of the American Musical Theatre genre. “Goodspeed has a long and storied history developing and producing new work. In more recent years we’ve introduced the Festival of New Musicals and the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove as critical tools in support of that priority,” Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton said. “Now, through GoodWorks, we have strengthened our ability to support the development of important new musicals from conception to the stage.” Hilton described that the goal of GoodWorks is “to commission and develop musicals that reveal the best in humankind; celebrate that which is good in our world; and will resonate with and inspire our audience.”
The first commission from this new commitment is The Snow Goose, written by Noisemaker, the Scottish writing team of Scott Gilmour and Claire MacKenzie, and adapted from the Paul Gallico novella of the same name. Set against a backdrop of war, The Snow Goose tells the story of Philip Rhayader, an artist living a solitary life in an abandoned lighthouse in the marshlands of Essex, England, a young local girl Fritha and the wounded snow goose who brings them together.
“I was gifted The Snow Goose 40 years ago, and I’ve always felt it should sing,” Hilton said. “We were fortunate to obtain an option on the Gallico novella. Scott and Claire (Hi, My Name is Ben at The Terris Theatre in 2019) were with us in East Haddam this past winter to discuss our expectations and goals for their first phase of work. We have a story treatment in place and in early 2023 during a residency at Britten Pear Arts on the southeast coast of England, where The Snow Goose is set, we will launch fully into writing the piece,” Hilton added.
“Paul Gallico‘s novella has captivated and transported readers for generations,” Gilmour and MacKenzie shared. “We‘re honoured to be bringing this story to the stage for the first time and delighted to continue our relationship with Goodspeed through its ambitious new commissioning program.”
For the second GoodWorks commission, a single song has inspired a full-length musical in Little Miss Perfect written by Joriah Kwamé. In this story, coming of age is even harder when you’re also coming out. Noelle struggles to decide whether she will be true to herself and an ally to her peers, or if she will settle with simply being Little Miss Perfect.
“Joriah’s song ‘Little Miss Perfect’ won the WRITE OUT LOUD contest in 2020, was covered by Taylor Louderman and, at last check, has well over 1 million views online,” Hilton said. “Joriah and his agent approached Goodspeed with the idea of commissioning a full-length musical based on the song. That work is well underway and I anticipate sharing the show with our audiences relatively soon.”
“Since writing Little Miss Perfect, I’ve been blown away by its global impact, and I’m so excited to be working with Goodspeed to create an all-inclusive coming-of-age story that will honor the original song while reimagining it in a way that feels fresh, exciting and relevant to today,” Kwamé added.
GoodWorks is only possible due to the generosity of our sponsors and donors who have encouraged the development of new musicals. These include the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the estate of Christopher Weed; Susan Gonsalves; Jon Lukomnik and Lynn Davidson; and Straighten Your Crown Productions, Inc.
“We are incredibly grateful to those foundations and individuals who have supported the creation of the GoodWorks program and look forward to announcing more exciting new commissions soon as we continue to use our art form to bring communities together,” Managing Director David B. Byrd added.
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