About
Marvin Makes Music is a new musical adaptation of Marvin Hamlisch’s autobiographical children’s book of the same name. The piece also weaves in true layers from Hamlisch’s adult autobiography, documentaries, and interviews to bring additional resonance to the characters and conflicts. The story should engage and delight audiences of all ages, 7 and up.
Before he was THE Marvin Hamlisch: Tony, Pulitzer, Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy Award winning composer of countless hits, film scores, and the legendary “A Chorus Line,” he was just Marvin – a boy who hears music no one else can, and whose very best friend is a piano. When Marvin’s talent earns him a spot as Juilliard’s youngest student, suddenly Piano is no longer just his greatest buddy, but also the source of Marvin’s greatest anxieties. Marvin’s immigrant parents and strict teachers demand he practice Beethoven to become a serious classical pianist, but Marvin dreams of Broadway, and of performing his own music. He creates his own songs in secret, all the while fearing that if he can’t play well enough at the end of year test, he’ll be kicked out of Juilliard, crushing his parent’s dreams for him. This inner tug of war is almost too much. But in a breakthrough heart to heart with his father, (who’s own stilted ambitions as a musician color his passionate investment in his son,) Marvin comes to realize he can learn valuable lessons at school while still being true to his own dreams. Just as a song is made more beautiful with harmony, perhaps life doesn’t have to be a tug of war, but rather, a balancing act.
Cast
(For the 29-Hour Developmental Reading)
Michael Hurst
Met Opera: The Hours (Richie); Argyle Theatre: Mary Poppins (Michael Banks). Local Theatre: The Adams Family, Bye Bye Birdie, Ragtime and more. Michael is represented by Leorah Haberfield at Bohemia Group and Barry Kolker of Carson Kolker.
Jill Abramovitz
Broadway: Beetlejuice, Fiddler on the Roof, Cinderella, 9 to 5, and Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. Selected regional credits: Golde in Fiddler (The MUNY, Papermill), A Walk On the Moon (George Street Playhouse), God of Carnage (The Cape Playhouse). Selected TV/film: Recurring on Chicago Med and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, as well as The Blacklist, Bluebloods, FBI: Most Wanted, Law & Order: SVU, The Last OG, Kimmy Schmidt, Madam Secretary, The Good Wife, etc. Also an award-winning lyricisit/bookwriter, Jill was a contributing lyricist on Broadway’s It Shoulda Been You and has multiple projects in development. Jillaonline.com
Price Waldman
Price Waldman was made in New York. He has worked on and off Broadway and around the world with many brilliant artists including Julie Taymor, Bartlett Sher, Steven Lutvak, Robert Freedman, Darko Tresjak, John Rando, Laurie Anderson, Anne Bogart, Francesca Zambello, Daniel Fish, Gabriel Barre, Jenny Giering, Gary Griffin, Steve Broadnax III, Warren Carlyle, Sara Lapine, Charlotte Moore, Chris Baily, Mark Hoebee, Casey Hushion, Marcela Lorca, and Adam Immerwahr. His Broadway credits include The Lion King, The Grinch, The Little Mermaid and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. Recently he has appeared at The Muny in Fiddler on the Roof, and at Cleveland Playhouse as Salieri in Amadeus. Price received his training at Oberlin College/Conservatory, and U of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program. His favorite collaborator is his wife, choreographer Rebecca Lazier. He does not have a strong sweet tooth, but is particular about bagels.
Matthew Curiano
Matt Curiano is thrilled to be a part of Marvin Makes Music! National Tours: Ragtime (Tateh), Camelot (Clarius). Regional: Something Rotten (Nostradamus), Les Miserables (Thenardier), Annie (Rooster), Mystery of Irma Vep (Lady Enid) Just Between the All of Us (Phil). Matthew is also the co-creator of The HomoSapien Experience, a queer sketch comedy platform that operates on Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok @thehomosapienexperience @mattycake89 All the love to my family, friends, and Pantera/Murphy Agency!
Sarah Hamaty
Sarah Hamaty is delighted to join this wonderful group of storytellers. PACE MT graduate. Recent NY credits include; Prospect Theater Co Lab (Symphony Space), Axemas (The PIT), BFRJ Sings: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Little Island). @sarahhamaty on Instagram for more adventures!
Joy Del Valle
Tours: International Tour of West Side Story (Rosalia, Maria alternate). Select regional credits: West Side Story (PCLO & KC Starlight Co-Pro), West Side Story (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Holiday Inn (Arts Center Coastal Carolina), Cinderella (Phoenix Theater Company), West Side Story (Phoenix Theatre Company), Fiddler on the Roof (Goodspeed), Annie Get Your Gun (Goodspeed), In The Heights (Beck Center), A Christmas Carol (Hartford Stage). Love and thanks to PMA. Baldwin Wallace MT. www.joydelvalle.com @joyrdelvalle
Musicians
Franca Vercelloni
City Center Encores: Dear World (w/Donna Murphy). Off-Broadway: Drama Desk nominated productions A Christmas Carol and I’m A Stranger Here Myself. Select Regional: Once (Syracuse Stage), The Buddy Holly Story (Engeman Theatre), Cowgirls (Florida Studio Theatre), Family Game Night (w/Kathleen Turner, Provincetown Theater). NY Fringe Festival hit solo show: Classically Trained, Practically Broke. Concerts: Ragtime on Ellis Island (w/Brian Stokes Mitchell), Perfectly Marvelous (w/Audra McDonald), Cabaret (w/Carolee Carmello). TV: “The Deuce”, “Search Party”, “Bull”. Film: The Big Bad Swim. MAC Nominated pianist/entertainer at iconic NYC piano bar Marie’s Crisis. Acclaimed for leading interactive virtual singalongs during covid lockdown, featured in the New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, American Theatre Wing’s “Working in the Theatre” and on the cover of The New York Times Arts Section. www.francavercelloni.com (http://www.francavercelloni.com/)
@FrancaVerce
Jed Feder
Jed Feder is a musician, actor, and composer based in NYC. Credits include drums for the Off-Broadway show Trevor the Musical, also on Disney+, Kassim in the First National Tour of Aladdin, and work as an actor, musician, or both at theaters around the country including Chicago Shakespeare, Arena Stage, Marriott Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Indiana Rep, Asolo Rep, Drury Lane Oakbrook, Writers Theatre, and Chicago Children’s Theatre. Jed is the co-creator of the radio-play musical podcast Yellowfin Grouper P.I.—season 1 out now. @jed_underscore or jedfeder.com for more!
Creative Team
Scott Weinstein
Scott Weinstein is a multi-award winning director currently based in New York and Chicago. His newly conceived “chamber version” of Ragtime was nominated for 10 Joseph Jefferson Awards, winning 4 – including Best Director and Best Production. He is currently the developer and director of the world premiere musical We Ain’t Ever Gonna Break Up. (Phoenix Theatre Company). Favorite credits include Something Rotten (Marriott Theatre), Titanic and Ragtime (Griffin Theatre – Jeff Award); Into The Woods and Rock of Ages (Pittsburgh CLO), Rent (Theo Ubique – Jeff Award), South Pacific and Beautiful (The Rev Theatre), The North American Premiere of David Greig’s Solaris (Griffin Theatre), World Premieres of Kooman and Dimond’s The Break (Constellation Stage) and The Enlightenment of Percival Von Schmaltz (Adirondack Theatre Festival). Scott was the Associate and Resident Director for the Broadway National Tour, Las Vegas and Chicago productions of the hit musical Million Dollar Quartet. He developed and directed the world premiere national tour of Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, which toured for three years, produced by Gigi Pritzker’s Madison Wells Media. He is the recipient of an SDC Observership and Berkshire Theatre Group Directing Residency. He has developed new work at Pittsburgh CLO, The American Music Theatre Project, The Marriott Theatre, Village Theatre, Route 66 Theatre, Porchlight Theatre and others. Graduate of Northwestern University and proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. He is represented by William Morris Endeavor. Upcoming: The Little Mermaid (Drury Lane Theatre) www.Scottgweinstein.com
Caitlin Collins
Caitlin Collins is an NYC-based playwright, lyricist, and actor with Chicago roots. She is currently a lyricist and librettist in the Advanced BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Writing credits include These Walls (Book & Lyrics, NYTF Winterfest – Best Short, Sound Bites Streaming Live, Sound Bites 7.0 Festival) and full-length play Outbound (Redtwist Theatre – Workshop Production, In the Works ~ In The Woods Festival – Workshop/Staged Reading). As an actor, she has performed with many Chicago and Regional Theaters, received a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Ensemble, been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Best Ensemble, was featured on NBC’s Chicago Fire, and Fox’s Empire, and can be seen in several independent films. Graduate of Northwestern University. caitlin-collins.net
Matthew Lowy
Matthew is an NYC-based composer, music director, arranger, and pianist. He is a composer in the Advanced BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theater Workshop, where he received the 2019 First Year Jerry Harrington Musical Theatre Award. His original musicals have been performed at the New York International Fringe Festival (Fallen Skies, Overall Excellence Award in Music Composition), C.I.C. Theater in Boston (How Christmas Feels), NYTF Winterfest (These Walls; winner, best short), and Sound Bites (These Walls). Selected theater: The Sabbath Girl (MD, Penguin Rep. and Off-Broadway at 59E59), Fiddler on the Roof (Assoc. MD, Paper Mill Playhouse), The Music Man (Piano/keyboard sub., Broadway), Beetlejuice (Keyboard 2 sub., Broadway), City Center rehearsal pianist (A Chorus Line, Dear World, Oliver!), New Voices at Paper Mill Playhouse (MD/conductor, arranger, pianist – variously since 2010). Nat’l Tours: An American in Paris (music supervision, orchestrations), A Chorus Line (U.S., Japan, Shanghai; MD/Orchestrations), 42nd Street (MD). Matt holds a B.M. in Music Composition from The Boston Conservatory. matthewlowy.com
Holly Weis
Holly Weis is a Chicago-based producer and marketing/PR specialist with a passion for elevating the arts. As the mastermind behind two successful Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraisers—Cabaret Games and Winter Wondergram—she has made a notable impact in supporting the arts community. Holly has produced acclaimed productions for the renowned JAM Orchestra and has worked on a variety of theatrical projects across Chicago’s vibrant suburbs. With a special interest in developing new works, she is committed to bringing fresh and innovative productions to life. Holly is also the co-founder of Lark Creative Group, Chicago’s premiere theatrical marketing agency, where she leverages her expertise to provide top-tier marketing and PR services for theater companies.
Chelsea Janke
Chelsea is a freelance stage manager based in New York City. Other credits include Broadway: & Juliet (Sub ASM), The Lehman Trilogy and Slava’s Snowshow; Off Broadway: Summer for the City (Lincoln Center), The Vagrant Trilogy (The Public Theater), and The Tap Dance Kid (City Center). She thanks the entire team for this opportunity!
Latest News
Marvin Makes Music NYC Reading
Marvin Makes Music, an inspiring new family musical celebrating the early life of legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch, is set to receive an exclusive industry reading on September 26 at Ripley Grier Studios in New York City. This musical adaptation is based on...
Marvin Makes Music Casting Announcement
Marvin Makes Music is a musical adaptation of Marvin Hamlisch’s autobiographical children’s book of the same name. The piece also weaves in true layers about the celebrated composer inspired from his adult autobiography, documentaries, and interviews to bring...
Marvin Makes Music Creative Team Selected
Before he was the Marvin Hamlisch-Tony, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-he was simply Marvin, a boy who heard music no one else could and whose best friend was the piano. Marvin Makes Music tells the heartwarming story of young Marvin as he...
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