Current projects…
Psalm
a new musical
Two best friends and members of a storied church choir struggle to reconcile a wounded friendship while a baffling and faith-testing "miracle" polarizes their tightly-knit church community.
The Promised Land
a new musical
Against the backdrop of the 1899 Philippine-American War, the lives and fate of an idealistic revolutionary, a dauntless school teacher, and an American deserter are profoundly intertwined as they fight for freedom, love, and redemption.
A Normal Turtle
a mini-musical for young audiences
After a peculiar mix up at birth, Fox is raised by a family of turtles, disguised in a turtle shell.
Musical theater is the outgrowth of an ancient artistic impulse that manifests itself across the world—as well as in church basements, street corners, school auditoriums, and backyards in every neighborhood in our nation.
I’ve come to realize that the task that my generation of theater-makers must undertake is not to find new ways to lure the world back into our houses but, instead, to joyfully emerge from our establishments and join the celebrations of life and performance that have been happening out in the world since time immemorial. We will find them on the street, at family gatherings, in night clubs, and in sanctuary pews.
I believe in continuing the legacy of my ancestors and those who have generously mentored me in their musical traditions—but I also find inspiration in the artistry of Frank Loesser, Stephen Sondheim, and Rodgers & Hammerstein.
When I sit down to write, I look for words and music that can be created within the intersection of both the ancient and the emergent worlds that I know and love.