This may come as a surprise, but not all musicals have to be huge in scope, and razzle dazzle in tone. Nor do they have to be commercially-minded, aiming for Broadway.
Perennial Workshop exists to develop and present more intimate chamber musicals with smaller casts. Staged readings will be presented around Los Angeles in the spring of each year.
Let’s tell a different story!
Cultivating cool musicals
Bernadette Peters and Stephen Sondheim working on a cool musical, Sunday in the Park with George
My motivation for creating Perennial Workshop comes from a deep concern about the economics of musical theater and in such an economy, what kinds of stories have the luxury of being told.
Musicals are increasingly expensive to develop and produce, and as costs rise, the field has become increasingly dependent on commercial viability, large institutions, and work that can justify enormous capitalization. I do not believe the answer is fewer musicals.
I want to see a broader ecosystem of musicals.
James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim collaborated on three incredibly cool musicals; Lapine wrote the book and directed, while Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics to Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Passion.