HOW DID “THE GIVER” BECOME A MUSICAL? 2019 New Works Playwright Competition Winner Workshop Notes

07 Jul HOW DID “THE GIVER” BECOME A MUSICAL? 2019 New Works Playwright Competition Winner Workshop Notes

Nathan with the March cast of “The Giver – a Musical” just after winning the 2019 New Works Playwright Competition finals. Photo by Rita Marks.

Earlier this year, playwright Nathan Christensen was selected as one of five to compete in OCTA’s New Works Playwright Competition finals in March. His piece, a musical adaptation of Lois Lowry’s 1993 young adult science fiction novel The Giver with a score by Scott Murphy, was voted by our audiences to receive a week-long Winner Workshop complete with two public full-length staged readings, July 12 and 13.  You may wonder, as we did, how this Newberry Award-winning novel about a dystopian society became the subject of … a musical. As you’ll read from Nathan’s notes below, the journey has been a long one, as is not atypical for new works, which can sometimes take many years to evolve. Additionally, check out notes from director Ashton Botts, who only discovered this story when presented with the opportunity to work on The Giver – A Musical for this year’s Winner Workshop. We’re thrilled to bring this compelling and beautiful adaptation to you, along with so much talent, this weekend. For those attending Saturday night, join us for a post-show talkback with Nathan – take a moment to read his bio below, you’ll see it will be time well-spent. (Photo above: Nathan with the March cast of “The Giver – a Musical” during rehearsals for the 2019 New Works Playwright Competition finals. Photo by Shelly Stewart Banks.)

HOW THE GIVER 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?

Lois Lowry’s 1993 young adult novel, The Giver. Source: Amazon.

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.” – Nathan Christensen

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

“Despite being a voracious reader as a child and as an adult, one story that somehow evaded me – until now – was The Giver. Today, it’s difficult to believe that this

The cast of the upcoming July Winner Workshop performances at the first rehearsal/sing-through. Photo: Ted Collins.

beloved story, which was seemingly universally known by everyone to whom I mentioned it, was utterly foreign to me. Much like Jonas, I’ll never be the same after having been introduced to the Giver.

In a Community without color or music – a world of “Sameness” – twelve-year-old Jonas discovers that he is special. His gift leads him to be chosen as the new Receiver of Memory, the Community member who holds all of history’s memories. As the Receiver, Jonas enjoys pleasure not experienced by the rest of the Community, like the warm sun on his skin or icy snowflakes dancing on his tongue; but Jonas must also endure war and hunger, so the Community can live without pain. He learns what it means to feel joy, sorrow, grief, and love – emotions inaccessible to his family unit and friends. Sometimes the weight of this knowledge is too difficult to bear. Through his training, under the tutelage of the Giver, Jonas discovers the secrets shielded by “Sameness,” and he is faced with a choice – a choice that will forever shape his life, as well as the lives of those he holds most dear.

It has been my greatest creative joy and challenge to bring The Giver to life for you. You may leave tonight with unanswered questions, and, in fact, I hope you do. I hope Jonas’ story challenges you as you’re confronted with your own choices – because, while our world is more vibrant than ever, we, too, live in our own version of ‘Sameness’.” – Ashton Botts

Playwright Nathan Christensen

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.

CAST & CREATIVE TEAM – July 12 and 13, 2019

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

Director – Ashton Botts
Music Director – Cassie Pettigrew
Lighting Designer – Chuck Cline

Photos and bios of the cast and creative team.

ABOUT THE NEW WORKS PLAYWRIGHT COMPETITION

Established in 2016, Olathe Civic Theatre Association’s 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.

TICKET INFO:

The Giver – a Musical will be performed as a full-length staged reading | Friday, July 12 & Saturday July 13* at 8 pm

$10 – General Admission (online and at the door)
$5 – Season Ticket Holders (at the door or by reservation only)
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.

*There will be a talkback with the playwright immediately following the performance on Saturday, July 13.

More information can be found here.

Playwrights, directors, and casts from the March 2019 New Works Playwright Competition finals. Five teams are represented here.