Productions
Yale Institute for Music Theatre
Due to ongoing University-mandated budget cuts, Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre has announced that the 2017 edition of the Yale Institute for Music Theatre, which concluded on June 25, would be its last.
Established in 2009 to bridge the gap between training and the professional world for emerging composers, book writers, and lyricists, the Yale Institute for Music Theatre developed music theatre works in a two-week summer lab at Yale School of Drama.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mark Brokaw, the Institute developed more than 20 projects, including Pop! by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Anna Jacobs, which premiered at Yale Rep, won the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Best Production of a Musical, and went on to multiple productions around the country; Stuck Elevator by Aaron Jafferis and Byron Au Jong, which premiered at ACT and returned to New Haven for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas; The Daughters by Shaina Taub; and Invisible Cities by Christopher Cerrone, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in music.
The Institute was originally conceived and founded in collaboration with the Yale School of Music, which was forced to withdraw its support in 2012 following the recession. The School of Drama took over full responsibility for the work, but successive years of downward pressure on the Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre budget have made this step necessary to preserve the excellence of the most important strategic operations of the School and Yale Rep: training and production.
“This was a difficult decision to make, especially given that the Yale Institute for Music Theatre has been so energetically served by so many members of the faculty, staff, and student body for the past nine years, and so astutely led by Mark Brokaw, whose excellent taste, astute direction, and enthusiasm made it a joyful and productive center of music theatre development,” said James Bundy, Dean, Yale School of Drama/Artistic Director, Yale Repertory Theatre. “We extend our gratitude as well to Beth Morrison, whose early management as the Institute’s first producer helped to establish a successful trajectory, and to the roster of young composers, lyricists, and book writers who participated in the Institute. Their current and future contributions to the American theatre are to be celebrated and their own advancement in the field will be another legacy of the program.”
YALE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC THEATRE HISTORY
2017
Lab
Cowboy Bob
Created by Molly Beach Murphy, Jeanna Phillips, and Annie Tippe
Book by Molly Beach Murphy
Music and Lyrics by Jeanna Phillips
GUMBO
Music by Brett Macias
Book and Lyrics by Christina Quintana
Conceived by Christina Quintana and Brett Macias
Alumni Residency
REB + VoDKa + ME
Music by Julia Meinwald (Pregnancy Pact, 2011)
Book and Lyrics by Gordon Leary (Pregnancy Pact, 2011)
2016
Blessing
Music and Lyrics by Andrew R. Butler
Book by Andrew Farmer
Directed by Kent Nicholson
The White City
Music by Avi Amon
Book and Lyrics by Julia Gytri
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Alumni Residency
Run Away Home
Music by Tim Rosser
Book and Lyrics by Charlie Sohne
2015
Lab
gilgamesh & the mosquito
Music by Bob Kelly
Book and Lyrics by Sam Chanse
Directed by Lee Sunday Evans
Music Direction by Matt Castle
Ship Show
Music by Ben Wexler
Book and Lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Music Direction by Brent Frederick
Alumni Residency
Robin
Music and Lyrics by Shaina Taub (The Daughters, 2010)
Book by Jen Silverman
2014
Afterland
Music and Lyrics by Benjamin Velez
Book and Lyrics by Kathryn Hathaway
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Music Director Kimberly Grigsby
Clouds Are Pillows for the Moon
Music by Tidtaya Sinutoke
Book and Lyrics by Ty Defoe
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Music Director Jason Loffredo
2013
The Last Queen of Canaan
Music by Jacob Yandura
Book and Lyrics by Rebekah Greer Melocik
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Music Director Matthew Gallagher
Mrs. Hughes
Music and Lyrics by Sharon Kenny
Book by Janine Nabers
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
Music Director Zach Dietz
2012
Mighty Five’s Infinite Funk Odyssey
Music and Lyrics by Zach Abramson and Derek Muro
Book by Phil Aulie and Xaq Webb
Directed by John Rando
Music Director Jason DeBord
Mortality Play
Music by Scotty Arnold
Book and Lyrics by Alana Jacoby
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Music Director David Truskinoff
2011
Maren of Vardø
Music by Jeff Myers
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger
Music Director Robert Trevino
Pregnancy Pact
Music by Julia Meinwald
Book and Lyrics by Gordon Leary
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Music Director Vadim Feichtner
The Profit of Creation
Music by Tim Rosser
Book and Lyrics by Charlie Sohne
Directed by Evan Yionoulis
Music Director Chris Fenwick
2010
The Daughters
Music and Libretto by Shaina Taub
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Music Director Jesse Vargas
Stuck Elevator
Music by Byron Au Yong
Libretto by Aaron Jafferis
Directed by Chay Yew
Conductor Perry So
2009
Invisible Cities
Score and Libretto by Christopher Cerrone
Directed by Robin Guarino
Music Director Julian Wachner
POP!
Book and Lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman
Music by Anna K. Jacobs
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Music Director David Loud
sam i was
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Sam Wessels
Directed by Joe Calarco
Music Director Robert Meffe