I join the first play of this NYC summer tradition as rehearsal pianist and vocal coach for a star-studded cast, including Anne Hathaway as Viola, Audra McDonald as Olivia, Raúl Esparza as Orsino, and David Pittu as dear Feste.

Daniel Sullivan directs and music is by NYC folk-rock band Hem.

I join composer Mark Bennett (Coast of Utopia, The Bridge Project) as associate composer and co-arranger on Christopher Durang’s new comedy, Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them, premiering at The Public Theater on April 6.

Nicholas Martin directs, sound design by Drew Levy, scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Gabriel Berry, and lighting design by Ben Stanton.

UPDATE: Extended thru May 3rd!

This is a first for me - costumes, props, spoken lines, acting.  It’s fabulous fun, and icing on the cake after the intense rehearsal and prep period.

The show is getting great reviews & looks to be in the running for several Tonys.  Kathie Edmonds took my score and generated the most beautiful parts I’ve ever seen.  Meanwhile we continue to rehearse understudies & subs and prepare for the awards season.

If you’re in town, come see our Rock Show at the Belasco!

Founded by CSO bassist Michael Hovnanian and David Cardon (aka my better half), Discordia is taking its bestsellers into second editions and relaunching its website soon.

Of course, music is no longer engraved on waxed metal plates with a stylus - software like Score and Finale changed all that for the better.  But we still aim for the highest levels of quality, clarity, and practicality.

Book & lyrics are by Stew, music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald.  Onstage with the fabulous cast are Christian Cassan on drums, Jon Spurney (Hedwig, The Daily Show) on keys and guitar, and Christian Gibbs (Lucinda Black Bear) on guitar.

While preparing a full score and recreating the orchestration, I’ll also facilitate the rehearsal process and work with individual musicians, actors, coaches as a general consultant for matters musical.

Katharine Edmonds at Emily Grishman Music Preparation will be copyist.  Everything I know about skilled music prep I learned by reading their charts over the years.  And now we’re working together.

This is a new kind of show.  I’m so excited to be a part of it.

My friend Curtis Moore and I are doing synth programming for The Nutcracker, December 18-23 at the Kennedy Center.

Just when I thought it was safe to sell my SCSI CD-ROM drives…

How to be a Kid is a children’s series created by and starring fellow DePauw alum Jack Stahlmann, who asked me to write and produce music for the pilot episode.

Aimed at the underserved 8- to 11-year-old demographic, HTBAK teaches problem-solving skills in real-life situations like schoolyard bullies and test-taking.

Joe Raposo is one of my heroes, and Raposo himself was a big fan of Spike Jones. This score is a nod to both. When the series gets picked up I’ll break out the kazoo & player piano!  A clip:

Jack Stahlmann - Creator
Andrew Putscheogl - Producer/Director
Brian Goad - Producer/Editor
Heather Hogan - Writer

Ron Howard’s film adaptation of Peter Morgan’s fascinating play will open sometime in 2008.  I was brought in as a piano coach for Frank Langella here in New York.

President Nixon was a piano player.  And composer.  Oh yes.

I saw the show earlier this summer (the night of the Tony Awards) and enjoyed it thoroughly.  It’s a most unusual show, and now I get to write it down!

These are musical ideas which have never needed paper for transmission.  There are no charts, just a script.  I haven’t even met Stew or Heidi Rodewald.

Daunting, but an extremely cool challenge.