The magnificent seven: Which new musicals will be showcased at From Page to Stage 2018 festival?

Aria Entertainment’s prestigious festival of new musical theatre is back for a sixth successive year, this time at London’s Southwark Playhouse from 11-25 September. Let’s introduce you to the shows and their writers…

The musicals selected for the From Page To Stage festival to be presented as rehearsed readings are: The Astonishing Times Of Timothy Cratchit with music and lyrics by Andre Catrini and book by Allan Knee, Cult! with music and lyrics by Tasha Taylor Johnson and To Paint The Earth with music by Jonathan Portera and lyrics by Daniel Frederick Levin.

The remaining musicals, which will be performed as part of a showcase evening, include: Villages with music and lyrics by Drew Dillon, Benjamin Button with music by Natalie Tenenbaum and lyrics by Brett Boles, Smoke with book by Darren Rapier and music and lyrics by Sam Hall and Never Change with music and lyrics by Nick Barstow and Jonathan Kirwin.

Producer Katy Lipson from Aria Entertainment said:

“As always we have had a wonderful two months reading and listening to over 150 submissions of new musicals from around the world. I am extremely proud of the seven shows we have selected for From Page To Stage this year and we will present them in a reading or showcase format. We look forward to welcoming audiences in to see these shows on stage at the very start of their theatrical journey.”

With over an amazing 150 entries from across the country and internationally, each submission of a new musical was fully assessed by the From Page To Stage expert literary team for the 2018 festival. This will take place in the format of three rehearsals readings and one Showcase evening, which will featur25-minute excerpts from four new musicals performed by a repertory company.

From Page To Stage Festival 2018: 

Cult! 

Monday 24 September Music and lyrics by Tasha Taylor Johnson (Staged Reading). Cult! is a musical comedy based on the true psychological study of a modern-day cult that predicted the end of the world.

The Astonishing Times Of Timothy Cratchit

Tuesday 11 September Music and lyrics by Andre Catrini and book by Allan Knee (Staged Reading). The Astonishing Times Of Timothy Cratchit by Knee (the writer of last year’s Little Women at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester) and music and lyrics by newcomer Catrini, tells the tale of a young man who sets out to find his place in an expanding and volatile world.

To Paint The Earth

Tuesday 25 September Music by Jonathan Portera and lyrics by Daniel Frederick Levin (Staged Reading). To Paint The Earth is the Richard Rodgers Award-winning musical that tells the story of the life of the Jewish Underground in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War.

Villages

Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 September  Music and lyrics by Drew Dillon (Showcase). Villages features songs inspired by various LGBT bars and venues throughout history. The piece explores some of the events which took place there and also the stories of the people who frequented them from The Admiral Duncan, Soho to The Stonewall Inn and Pulse, Orlando.

Benjamin Button

Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 September Music by Natalie Tenenbaum and lyrics by Brett Boles (Showcase). Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Benjamin Button is the story of a man who ages backwards.

Smoke

Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 September  Book by Darren Rapier and music and lyrics by Sam Hall (Showcase). Although set in 1860s London, Smoke deals with contemporary issues about development and ‘progress’, asking the question ‘Where Are You [We] Going to?’ (the title of one of the songs).

Never Change

Monday 17 & Tuesday 18 September  Music and lyrics by Nick Barstow and Jonathan Kirwin (Showcase). Nine years after her father’s death, the weight of holding life together weighs heavy on Sarah. Home is a small seaside town, but she’d expected to see and do more – so this summer she has promised her teenage son, Thom, that they will go on a fabulous European road trip, but plans can change…