Countdown to 2019: 2018 Theater

Not Coming Back at the Duplex

Last year I saw 75 shows, not a bad showing. This year I saw 65. Sadly, 69 had been the lowest count thus far, so now I’ve hit a new low. I’m accepting that my show count should be in the 60s and 70s, though, so 65 is still in keeping with what I expect, especially when I missed a ton of shows I’d wanted to see this past fall.

I saw a good number of these shows for free and paid a discount rate for most of the others. Last year I saw multiple shows multiple times, but this year the only show I saw for a second time was the Hello, Dolly revival, this time with Bernadette Peters (the first time was with Donna Murphy the previous year). I also performed in 6 of them: The Pops holiday concert twice, the Pops Broadway program: “Song and Dance,” Everybody’s Theater Company’s New Works Spring Forth, Russell’s piano concert, and then my own cabaret at the Duplex. 3 shows were concerts/workshops of my own work: A Story No One Knows at NYTB and the two workshops of Days of Rage. 3 shows (as opposed to last year’s 9) were connected to articles I wrote for Culturadar.com and Musical Theater Today. 1 show was an autism-friendly performance for people with autism. 2 were in Philly, 1 was in San Diego, 1 was in Peterborough, NH, and 2 were in New Jersey.

I used to do a star rating system, but since I know people involved in many of these shows, I’ve done away with that and just highlighted my favorites. After the favorites is the HUGE list of everything I saw. Then, I have listed some fun panels, exhibits, and events I also attended this year.

Top 10 Favorites (in no order, I swear):

Angels in America Parts 1 and 2
Spongebob Square Pants
Dance Nation
Salty Brine: I’m a lot Like You
Hello, Dolly!
The Skin of Our Teeth
Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope
Fiddler on the Roof
Scum
What the Constituion Means to Me

Runners Up (Also in no order):
Passing Strange
Once on this Island
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
One Thousand and One Nights and One Day
The El Salomons at Union Hall
School Girls, Or The African Mean Girls Play
The Band’s Visit
Straight White Men
Head Over Heels

The Big List:

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New Cabaret Show: “Not Coming Back”

On Sunday, November 4th, I debuted my new cabaret show, “Not Coming Back.” It was a wonderful afternoon at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre on Christopher Street. My cabarets are a hybrid of storytelling, songs I wrote, and existing musical theater and pop/rock songs, and this story, while a bit personal, was a joy to tell.

I wrote five new songs for this show with five different composers: Gaby Alter, Eric Day, Rob Hartmann, Julia Meinwald, and Russell Stern. The show also includes songs from the musicals The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, The Ballad of Little Jo, She Loves Me, The Apple Tree, and Here’s Love, as well as songs by Smokey Robinson, Gary White, and Leonard Cohen.

The title comes from an Eve Ensler quote by that has particular meaning for me both in my life and when telling this story.

“Go so far away that you stop being afraid of not coming back.”

Description: Have you ever asked out someone you really liked? Did you do that for the first time in your mid-30s? Writer and singer Shoshana Greenberg took this leap and lived to tell the tale. Her new cabaret, “Not Coming Back,” combines her own songs with her favorites and explores what happens when we have the courage to go after what we want and leave our old selves behind.

I’m looking forward to developing the show further and performing it again.

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DAYS OF RAGE WORKSHOP AT TOWN STAGES

As part of our Sokoloff Fellowship at Town Stages, Hyeyoung Kim and I are doing two mini-workshop presentations of our new musical Days of Rage on Wednesday, October 17th at 7pm and Thursday, October 18th at 4pm at Town Stages in Tribeca.
Days of Rage has book and music by Hyeyoung Kim and lyrics and additional material by Shoshana Greenberg.
This workshop is directed by Jaclyn Biskup (assistant director of Straight White Men on Broadway) and choreographed by Glenn Giron (Ragtime National Tour). Music direction is by Hyeyoung Kim. It also features sound design by Sun Hee Kil (Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea, Bernhardt/Hamlet), projection design by Hyunsoo Woo, and lighting design by Ethan Olsen. Casting is by Eisenberg/Beans Casting.
Days of Rage is inspired by the activities of The Weathermen/Weather Underground Organization and The Black Panther Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It tells the story of Jean Avery, who leads the militant protest group The Weathermen after her brother leaves for Vietnam, and Fred Hayward, the leader of the Chicago chapter of The Black Panther Party, who tries to keep his fellow Party members from descending into violence. As Fred and Jean’s paths intertwine, they grow closer and apart in a turbulent time of war, civil rights, and rage. You can listen to some of the music here.
The cast includes Shanice Williams (Dorothy in The Wiz Live on NBC) Alex Joseph Grayson (A Bronx Tale), Taylor PearlsteinZachary SchanneIan Ward, Keith White, Michael Mahany, Aaron Ramey, Forest van DykeAmelia DeMiloGlenn DevarSamantha DuvalJarred BedgoodAvery Royal, and Corinne Scott.
More info on Days of Rage
Press release on Broadwayworld.com

 

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Shoshana Interviewed!

I was interviewed for both a podcast and a blog this summer!

In June, I was a guest on Julia Meinwald and Sam Heldt’s podcast, The 29-Hour Podcast: Conversations with theater actors, writers, and directors. I talk to Julia and Sam about the strange experience of seeing childhood favorite shows as adults, gender differences in what characters get to sing about, and the difference between writing for pleasure and building a career.

Listen here or download it from iTunes.

In July, I was featured in an interview on Strip it Down, a blog by Jenna Glazier that focuses on Jewish women in theater. Full interview here.Thank you to Julia, Sam, and Jenna for including me!

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The Third International Thornton Wilder Conference

From July 11 – 14, I attended the Third International Thornton Wilder Conference given by the Thornton Wilder Society, the Wilder family, and the Monadnock Center for History and Culture. The conference was in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the town which is said to be the inspiration for Grover’s Corners, the town in Wilder’s famous play Our Town. I consider myself a die-hard Thornton Wilder fan and had been looking forward to attending a Thornton Wilder conference for quite some time. After a very long train ride and taxi, I arrived at the opening reception at Keene State College. Then it was off to Peterborough for an amazing few days. Check out the article in the local paper about the conference. Here are some of my highlights:

  • Giving my presentation titled “New Audiences: Bringing Thornton Wilder into New Spaces”

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Musical Theater Today Volume 2 Launch!

This year I have been a contributing editor for Musical Theater Today, an annual print publication consisting of interviews, work excerpts, and essays from some of the most prominent and influential musical theater artists of our time, including Michael John LaChiusa, Max Vernon, Rachel Bloom, David Henry Hwuang, and more.

Volume 2 launched on Monday night, July 16th at our launch party! You can order the book for $25 from this site and get Volume 1 for a discounted rate as well. 

I wrote an essay for the new volume, as well as conducted interviews with songwriter Julie Gold and the leaders of Pipeline Theatre Company. There’s so much great content in this volume you’ll be reading it the entire year until the next volume comes out!

 

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“A Story No One Knows” a Finalist for Live & In Color Retreat and Workshop

Our musical “A Story No One Knows” was a finalist for the 2018 Live & In Color (formerly Bingham Camp Theatre Retreat) two-week retreat and workshop!

“Inspired by decedent property agents, the people who clean up an apartment after a dead body is found with no next of kin or foul play as well as the lonely and unpersonable nature of cities, ‘A Story No One Knows’ is a dark romantic comedy that examines the humanity of people in their final moments on earth seen through the eyes of those who clean up the mess of living. When you live alone and die alone in the city – what do you leave behind? Through this show, the team hopes that people are encouraged to think more about the individuals in their lives and to treasure the time they have with them.”

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Everybody’s Theater Company’s New Works Spring Forth: Performing Two Songs in Hometown Show

This Saturday, May 12th, I am performing two of my songs, “Dark Night” and “The Decay,” in my hometown of Upper Dublin, PA. I’m so excited to bring my work home and to hear what others are working on outside of New York City. If you are in the Philly area this weekend, check out Everybody’s Theater Company’s New Works Spring Forth!

Everybody’s Theater Company and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation present their first evening of original short plays and music compositions introducing local playwrights, composers and performers.

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A Story No One Knows at New York Theatre Barn’s New Works Series

Shoshana Greenberg and Hyeyoung Kim’s
A Story No One Knows Headlines New York Theatre Barn’s
New Works Series

The eleventh season of New York Theatre Barn‘s New Works Series continues on Monday, April 16, 2018 with pre-premieres of two new musicals: Anne of Green Gables and A Story No One Knows. Theatre Barn’s eleventh season will explore “Foreign Cultures and Fractured Fairy Tales.”

The new musical A Story No One Knows has book and music by Hyeyoung Kim and lyrics by Shoshana Greenberg. When you live alone and die alone in the city, what do you leave behind? A Story No One Knows is a dark romantic comedy that examines the humanity of people in their final moments on Earth, as seen through the eyes of those who come to clean up the mess of living. Greenberg and Kim’s musical Days of Rage was featured in New York Theatre Barn’s New Works Series and Choreography Lab.

The April 16 installment includes presentations of both new musicals at 7PM and 9PM at The Cell, located at 338 West 23rd Street in New York City. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and can be purchased on New York Theatre Barn’s website: www.nytheatrebarn.org.

Read the Broadwayworld.com press release.

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Shoshana Greenberg and Hyeyoung Kim Named Inaugural Sokoloff Arts Fellows at Town Stages

Shoshana Greenberg and Hyeyoung Kim Named
Inaugural Sokoloff Arts Fellows at Town StagesTribeca Arts Hub Town Stages has announced the first-year fellows for the program that is part residency, part incubator, and part home base.

TOWN, the female-driven arts institution led by Executive Director Robin Sokoloff, has announced the inaugural slate of artists selected for its 2018 Fellowship Program. The program is a partnership between the Tribeca arts hub Town Stages and the non-profit cultural institution Sokoloff Arts. The application-based program is characterized as part residency, part incubator, and part home base that offers free access to shared spaces, rehearsal/performance/event space subsidies, and more.

The complete list of 2018 Sokoloff Arts Fellows follows: Jessica Anderson (with Stefanie Izzo, Alex Kocheva, Amy Stewart, and the Astoria Music Project); Caps Lock Theatre (Mariah MacCarthy, Melissa Lusk, Leta Tremblay); Joanna Carpenter; Matt Cox (with Kristin McCarthy Parker, Stephen Stout, and Colin Waitt); Ephrat Asherie Dance; Esperance Theater Company (Katie Hartke, Charlie Murphy, Ryan Quinn); Jono Freedrix; Jason Jacobs; Matthew Jellison; Christine Toy Johnson; Hyeyoung Kim and Shoshana Greenberg; Steven Kopp; Yan Li; Made with Sass (Samantha Slater); Jessie Mahon; MAWU, MelimelL Digital Art Design; Rebecca Odorisio; Pocket Universe (Alyssa May Gold); Charlotte Purser; Richard Pictures Presents (David Hilder and Dan McCoy); Ripening (Vanessa Walters, and Brian Gonzalez aka Taxiplasm); Andy Scott; Shallow Graves (Jenny Lester and Juliana Jurenas); Crystal Skillman; The Long Table (David Loewy, Noah Reece, Greg Taubman, Jocelyn Vammer); The Rigano Songbook (David and Paul Rigano); and Jamila Youngstedt.

Read the Playbill.com announcement.

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