NWPC Winner Workshop | The Giver – A Musical
The Giver – A Musical
July 12 and 13, 2019 | Friday and Saturday at 8 pm
Book adapted by Nathan Christensen | Score by Scott Murphy
Directed by Ashton Botts | Music Directed by Cassandra Pettigrew
Join us for the full-length stage reading of the 2019 New Works Playwright Competition winner, The Giver – A Musical.
Talkback Saturday, July 13th | Audience members will be treated to a talkback with playwright Nathan Christensen after the Saturday performance.
The Giver – A Musical (adapted from the popular young adult science fiction novel by Lois Lowry) is set in a world with no pain, sorrow, or conflict, but also without weather, color, or deep emotion of any kind. The story follows Jonas, a 12-year-old boy who is given the assignment of holding the collective memory of what life was like before Sameness, so that he can guide the community’s leaders with his wisdom. He is trained by the previous holder of that assignment—a mysterious man Jonas comes to call the Giver. As Jonas comes to understand both pain and love, the idea of supporting Sameness becomes increasingly intolerable, and he and the Giver decide the time has come to change everything.
SPECIAL EVENT PRICING
$10 – General Admission
$5 – Season Ticket Holders (At the door)
Season Ticket Holders can reserve a ticket by emailing tickets@olathetheatre.org or by calling 913-782-2990. There is no reserved seating for special events.
CAST
The Giver – Doug Jones
Jonas – Zach Kujath
Rosemary – Rachel Reese
Asher – Ashton Botts
Fiona – Mella Kays
Father – Michael Golliher
Mother – Halley Hale
Lily – Lauren Taylor
Speaker/Chief Elder – Casey McCord
CREATIVE TEAM
Director – Ashton Botts
Music Director/Keyboard – Cassandra Pettigrew
Lighting Designer – Chuck Cline
HOW DID THE GIVER BECOME A MUSICAL?
A note from playwright, Nathan Christensen, on how the well-known Newberry Award-winning novel became a musical:
If you are familiar with Lois Lowry’s young adult novel The Giver, then there is a good chance you have never thought to yourself, “This would make a good musical.” In fact, the story takes place in a world without music. How do you take a setting without deep emotion, or even color, and make it sing?
That was the challenge given to composer Scott Murphy and myself. We were initially commissioned by a New York-based theatre for young audiences to write the adaptation, with a few limitations to suit their specific needs: sixty minutes long, a cast of five, and no special lighting. Wow. That was tough.
For better or for worse, that company wasn’t able to move forward with their production, but they allowed Scott and me to acquire the rights for ourselves. That freed us up to expand the material into the full-length version that the story deserves. Our adaptation takes a very different approach than the movie version, and the music heightens the heart and the heartbreak of the book.
So how did we put music in a world with no music? I guess you’ll just have to come see for yourself.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Nathan Christensen earned a Master of Fine Arts in musical theatre writing from New York University. His musical adaptation of The Giver, written with composer Scott Murphy, was featured at the NAMT Festival of New Musical in 2010. Their musical Broadcast, about the history of radio, was performed as a reading at Playwrights Horizons in New York City, and developed at the National Music Theatre Conference at the prestigious Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. Spittoonia on the Erie, a comic adaptation of Cinderella written with composer David Mallamud, was performed in 2017 by the Albany Symphony Orchestra as part of the Erie Canal bicentennial. Nathan’s work has been performed at University of Nebraska at Lincoln, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Wesleyan University in Connecticut, as well as in new musical festivals and developmental programs at TheatreWorksUSA, Penn State, Village Theatre (Issaquah, WA), TheatreWorks (Palo Alto, CA), and the New American Musical Festival (Santa Clarita, CA). Nathan is a recipient of a Richard Rogers Award, a Jonathan Larson Award, a Daryl Roth Award, a Dramatists Guild Fellowship, and a residency at the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. In addition to writing plays and musicals, Nathan has been a blogger for NewMusicalTheatre.com, and a theatre critic for Tucson Weekly. He moved to Olathe in 2018 with his wife and six children.
Learn More
Read a recent blog post about NWPC and The Giver.
ABOUT THE NEW WORKS PLAYWRIGHT COMPETITION
Established in 2016, the New Works Playwright Competition is a unique opportunity for local playwrights to get their name out in the community and have a chance to workshop their production on the OCTA stage. OCTA continues to seek ways to provide aspiring artists opportunities to grow. We feel our unique space and collaborative spirit can provide a safe environment for aspiring playwrights to be heard. CLICK HERE to learn more about the New Works Playwright competition.
PLAN YOUR VISIT TO OCTA
Tickets may be purchased with credit card, check, or cash. Free parking is available in the OCTA lot and on the street. Concessions are available for cash or credit donation and may be taken into the theater. Accessible seating and assistance are available.