The great Norman Berman and I have released another new song from our epic musical “The Burning of the White House” – the true story of the 1814 invasion of Washington DC by the British, as seen through the eyes of a young slave to President and Dolley Madison.
In this song, Dolley Madison, the flamboyant wife of President James Madison, is trying to liven the spirits of her husband, who is about to go off to war and fight the British in Maryland.
The situation appears dire, but Dolley refuses to think negatively and insists on planning a magnificent feast for her husband when he returns from what she believes will be a decisive victory.
…but then, Dolley may not be quite as sure of this victory as it seems.
“The Burning of the White House” is the true story of Paul Jennings, a young slave to President and Mrs. Madison, and his growth from boy to man while living through the British invasion of the nation’s capital and the subsequent burning of the White House in the War of 1812 – a seminal even in the nation’s history (and now quite topical).
In this song (the final musical number), young Paul, James and Dolley Madison, and various other servants and politicians have returned to the smoking hull of the White House after the British leave the city and now face the enormous task of rebuilding the structure that served for so many people as a symbol of the nation.
The song traces the emotional highs and lows of all present as they cope with the enormity of the task before them – first with pessimism, then with hope, then with humble reality.
I am happy to release a new recording of the song “I Look Behind Me” from the musical “The Burning of the White House”, which I am almost finished writing (after four years) with the great composer Norman Berman.
Set against the backdrop of the War of 1812 and the British invasion of Washington DC, the play charts the young slave Paul Jennings and his growth from boy to man during the trauma of the nation’s invasion and the burning of the White House by the British.
The song “I Look Behind Me” is sung by President Madison (pictured above) after he lost the Battle of Bladensburg in Maryland, which enabled the British to lay waste to the capital, prompting the deeply shamed Madison to reflect on his responsibility for the tragedy.
Some more exciting song releases are on their way!
Briefly, “The Burning of the White House” is about Paul Jennings, the 15-year-old house slave to President and Mrs. Madison, who discovers his true heroism, strength, and purpose, living through one of the most momentous event in the nation’s history – the burning of the White House by the British in 1814.
The song “Here I Is” is an ironic duet sung by the young slave (and a 50-year-old version of himself) to Dolley Madison, as the younger Paul becomes evermore conscious of his desire for freedom, while also trying to balance the mother-son relationship he has with Dolley with the painful reality of his enslavement.
You can visit this website for more details about the show!
My contemporary drama “Margo Asher Died Here” was chosen as a semifinalist for the New American Voices Festival sponsored by The Landing Theatre Company of Houston.
The Landing sets as its goal to explore the diversity of American playwriting and invention, facilitate the development of new American works, and develop a highly respected season of new, contemporary and classic American plays – all while enriching the local artistic community.
I have admired Landing from afar for some time and am grateful that my play made the penultimate round.
I wanted to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Scranton Shakespeare Festival for recognizing my tragedy “Harriman-Baines”, which was one of their finalists for consideration in their annual Scranton Scratch Night series of new play premieres!
The Scranton Shakespeare Festival is a theater group organized back in 2011 by Michael Bradshw Flynn to provide free professional theater to the public in Northeast Pennsylavania and, sinc ethen, works to develop new work through hosts numerous new play premieres.
Their “Scranton Scratch Night” is an annual event for developing new works for the theater and I’m thrilled that “Harriman-Baines” was one of only 20 finalists out of 317 scripts, which puts the play in the top 6.3% of total submissions.
Briefly, “Harriman-Baines” is a full-length, two-act drama about a reclusive and brilliant composer – Carter Harriman – who is haunted by his eerie relationship with the mysterious poet Melody Baines. The play takes place over a single night, during which the lies and truths surrounding Melody Baines and her meek, psychic sister, Minnie, are exposed with brutal and unbearable honesty by an information-hungry journalist.
Above all, I am grateful to SSF for their very kind words about the play – which I shall quote here:
“It’s a pleasure to read a piece that embraces originality. Your ideas definitely feel fresh and unique… The reading team finds (also) your style to be wonderfully crafted. Our panel is very impressed by your use of character. They feel distinct and lively. You should be proud of your dialogue. It is well crafted to your characters and makes for very engaging storytelling. Our panel was impressed by how you created a distinct voice in your dialogue.”
~Scranton Shakespeare Festival
Many thanks to SSF for the consideration, and I wish them well in their final festival!
As we exit 2020 (and hopefully enter a year where theater lives again, post-COVID!), I wanted to thank play publisher Eldridge Plays and Musicals for promoting my historical farce “Philosophus” among some top plays to be performed by theaters in 2021.
Let’s face it – 2020 was a pretty gloomy time in a lot of different ways, so there’s nothing better to melt all the gloominess than for a theater to perform a fun, completely bonkers, Monty Python- and Carry-On-esque comedy to warm the human heart.
What do the critics say??
“A delightful romp”
Peter Hall of BuffaloRising
“A thinking-person’s farce, Philosophus is a perfect fit for the area and a fun way to start the year… a farce to remedy our times… an up and coming work.”
Debbie Minter Jackson of DC Theatre Scene
“Mr. Crowley’s script is chock-a-block with witty dialogue, broad comedy, and is very, very funny. He expertly melds what appears to be complex thought with farce… Philosophus is great fun. I enjoyed it thoroughly.”
Ann Marie Cusella of BuffaloVibe
“A rib-tickling farce… For those familiar with British comedy, it resembles Benny Hill meets the Enlightenment, or Carry On Philosopher… a very entertaining evening of theater.”
Jennifer Georgia of DC Metro Theater Arts
“The script is a cross between Mel Brooks (“Young Frankenstein”) and the Marx Brothers (“Duck’s Soup”). If you love the ridiculous and lots of double entendres, you will have a good time at this production.”
Susan Brall, MD Theatre Guide
“An all-around funny show and fun time at the theatre… great wit and humor.”
Colin Fleming-Stumpf of BuffaloTheatreGuide.com
“Ripping a page out of “The Book of Mormon” school of comedy… Alleyway’s commitment to presenting new plays and musicals pays off with “Philosophus.””
I’m very happy to announce the release of a Christmas single by Brotsh actor, singer, and composer Luke Simnett, with whom I wrote a super fun Christmas jingle for a most unusual holiday season.
Entitled “Merry Covid Christmas,” the song pokes fun at how the current pandemic intersects with the (normally joyous) holidays, but ultimately concludes that the holiday will still be as merry as ever.
It’s all good fun… check out the song below!
MERRY COVID CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR. KEEP THE FAMILY CLOSE, BUT NOT NEAR. THERE’S STILL A TREE AND THANKFULLY THERE’S HOLLY STILL TO DECK AND IN-BETWEEN THINGS EVERGREEN SOME TEMP’RATURES WE’LL CHECK…
“I and the Emperor” is a recent play of mine from earlier this year concerning Napoleon Bonaparte and his unlikely relationship with a young girl while on exile in the South Atlantic at the end of his life.
This is the third time a play of mine has been recognized by AACT as they’ve navigated through a mountain of (hundreds of) new scripts every year. (My other plays “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” and “The Footsteps of God” were also given a nice nod by the group in 2013 and 2018, respectively – with “Fifteen Men” being recognized within the top 20 scripts.)
Many thanks to AACT again for their kind consideration!
I don’t often cross my artistic life and my work life, but thought I would share the follow podcast on which I appeared with the great Andrea Joy Wenburg.
I joined Andrea recently and discussed all things customer experience, but specifically spent some time relating how the theatrical arts and customer experience are linked together.
Earlier this year, I had a great conversation with Colin Crowley and I’m excited to have him back on the show today to talk about the value of bringing your diverse experience and talents into your work.
Colin is the VP of Customer Experience at Freshly, where he directs a two-hundred-person department across five locations in the United States and beyond. He specializes in building customer service departments from the ground up with a focus on scalability, infrastructure agility, technological innovation, and gold-standard quality and efficiency.
Something you wouldn’t know from Colin’s professional biography is that he’s also a playwright and he brings that experience into his work at Freshly and this aspect left me feeling like I just had to have him back on the show.
In this episode, Colin shares how customer experience really sits at the intersection of arts and operations, the importance of both strategy and empathy for customer experience, his personal experience becoming a playwright, how his self-driven learning and curiosity have played a role in his success, the parallels between producing a play and how the corporate environment should be in order to help people understand where they fit in the corporate vision, and more!
