“THE CHARM” by Shenton & Cole available for license by MTI
Posted on November 16, 2020 Leave a Comment
via Broadway world, Playbill, and more:
Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) announced an agreement with Theatre Now New York, an artist service organization dedicated to the development of new works, to represent and license 25 short musicals from its collection beginning in early 2021. Included in the collection is “The Charm” by Christiana Cole (book/lyrics) and David Shenton (music.)
The 25 musicals that will join the MTI catalog all began as part of Theatre Now’s annual SOUND BITES Festival of 10-Minute Musicals. Now in its seventh year, the Festival showcases eight new musicals by up-and-coming musical theatre writing teams. The licensable versions of the shows will all be around 10-20 minutes in length and will be available for streaming and remote performances. The list of the 10-minute musicals includes:
- A MOST AVERAGE MUSICAL Book & Lyrics by Jonathan Keebler, Music by Bob Kelly, Based on a Screenplay by Talia Berger
- A RELATIVE RELATIONSHIP Book, Music, & Lyrics by Timothy Huang
- ANT AND GRASSHOPPER Book & Lyrics by A.J. Freeman, Music by Dimitri Landrain
- BITTERSWEET LULLABY Book by Will Lacker, Music & Lyrics by Dylan Glatthorn
- BOOK LOVERS Book & Lyrics by Talaura Harms, Music by Jonathan Bauerfeld
- BYSTANDER Book & Lyrics by Ed Levy, Music by Eric Grunin
- COOKIE SOIREE Book & Lyrics by Justin Anthony Long, Music by Ge Enrique, Concept by Jonny Lee Jr.
- COOKING FOR TWO Book & Lyrics by Charlie O’Leary, Music by Karl Hinze
- DEAD FLOWERS Book, Music, & Lyrics by Michael Finke
- DINOSAUR Book, Music, & Lyrics by Zach Spound
- END OF THE LINE Book by Howard Ho, Lyrics by Chris Edgar, Music by Kristen Rea
- FINDING THE WORDS Book & Lyrics by Andy Roninson and Chris Critelli, Music by Andy Roninson
- FRANKLIN PIERCE: DRAGON SLAYER Book & Lyrics by Preston Max Allen, Music by Will Buck
- ON YOUR MARK! Book & Lyrics by Danny K. Bernstein, Music by Aaron Kenny
- PELLETS, CHERRIES, AND LIES: THE PAC MAN STORY Book, Music, & Lyrics by Erik Przytulski
- RUN THIS TOWN Book & Lyrics by Cindy Sideris, Music by Assaf Gleizner
- SUPERHOTS! Book & Lyrics by Blair Bodine, Book & Music by Joel Esher
- THE ALMOST IN-LAWS Book & Lyrics by Greg Edwards, Music by Andy Roninson
- THE ANSWERING MACHINE Book & Lyrics by Kevin Hammonds, Music by Andy Roninson
- THE CHARM Book & Lyrics by Christiana Cole, Music by David Shenton
- THE FACEBOOK FIGHTER Book, Music, & Lyrics by Chris Kerrigan
- THE HIPSTER SISTER Book, Music, & Lyrics by Andy Roninson
- THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS Book, Music, & Lyrics by Chris Kerrigan
- WELCOME TO RIDGINGTON Book & Lyrics by Jordan Silver, Music by Luke Steinhauer
- WHAT’S YOUR WISH? Book, Music, & Lyrics by Thicket & Thistle
MTI’s President and CEO, Drew Cohen said, “We are very excited to partner with our friends at Theatre Now to license their collection of 10-minute musicals, all of which premiered at the SOUND BITES Festival. These new works allow us the opportunity to highlight burgeoning writers, particularly at a time when their shows’ abbreviated running times and ability to be performed remotely are perfect for the age of social-distancing and beyond.”
Read more here.
Click here to get a copy of the Anthology here for $25.
Christiana Cole is a Dramatists Guild Fellow 2020-2021
Posted on September 16, 2020
Via Broadway World:
Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF) has announced the 2020-2021 class of Fellows. The 20-year-old program propels the most promising creative talents to their full potential to help shape the future of theater. This season’s class includes six musical theater writers and four playwrights, who were selected from more than 500 applicants.
The Fellows program is a selective, year-long intensive for playwrights, composers, lyricists, and bookwriters. The program provides these writers access to accomplished professionals who help them hone their process and find their unique voice.
The 2020-2021 DGF Fellows are:
Calley N. Anderson, Playwriting
Aya Aziz, Musical Theater
Christiana Cole, Musical Theater
David Gomez, Musical Theater
John-Michael Lyles, Musical Theater
Dylan MarcAurele, Musical Theater
Eliana Pipes, Playwriting
Juan Ramirez, Jr., Playwriting
Mike Ross, Musical Theater
Regina Valázquez, Playwriting
The Fellows program, currently Chaired by Migdalia Cruz (Fur), Michael Korie (Grey Gardens), Laurence O’Keefe (Legally Blonde), and Lucy Thurber (The Hill Town Plays), is highly sought after for its uniquely successful format of partnering playwrights and musical theater writers together in the learning process.
Dramatists selected for the program meet with Program Chairs, guest artists, and industry professionals twice a month for feedback on their works in progress. In addition, Fellows receive a stipend and the opportunity to partner with several arts organizations for Fellows-specific development opportunities. At the end of the season, Fellows have the opportunity to present their new work for theater industry professionals and esteemed writers, along with their family and friends.
Former Fellows include Michael R. Jackson (Pulitzer Prize Winner, A Strange Loop), Antoinette Nwandu (Pass Over), Lauren Yee (Cambodian Rock Band), Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Academy Award winner, Frozen), Rajiv Joseph (Pulitzer Prize finalist, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), and Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Tony winners for Best Score, Dear Evan Hansen).
DGF Fellows is supported through the generosity of the Seller-Lehrer Family Foundation.
Christiana will be developing their original musical comedy Tribe Without a God in the program. You can hear excerpts from the show on the Watch and Listen page.
For more information on the DGF Fellows program, visit https://dgf.org/programs/fellows/.
What has Christiana been up to in quarantine?
Posted on August 27, 2020
Christiana Cole (right) and Lauren Kleinbaum (left) have been busy writing their original musical comedy Puritan/Lesbian/Witch. The song “Neighborly” (sung by time-traveling Puritan girl, Mary May Obedience Higginbottom Brown) premiered on the McGuire & Simon Virtual Salon on May 21st. You can learn more about the show at kleinbaumandcole.com.
Christiana has been busy recording demos from their home studio, including all the treble vocals for a new opera by legendary composer Philip Glass.
Christiana’s short musical “The Charm” (with composer David Shenton) is being published by Theater Now New York.
Christiana continues teaching voice lessons and writing coaching over Zoom.
Christiana continues to stand with their Black friends in solidarity, and always welcomes feedback on how they can be a better friend, artist, and teacher. Black Lives Matter.
Christiana Cole sings with Joanna Gleason at Renberg Theatre in Los Angeles
Posted on February 13, 2020 1 Comment
From BroadwayWorld:
The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center will present Tony Award-winner Joanna Gleason in the West Coast premiere of her acclaimed solo show Out of the Eclipse for two shows only on February 15 and 16, 2020. Gleason wrote Out of the Eclipse after a dark period in her life – the loss of both parents within a four-month period in 2017. As she emerged from the darkness and back into the light, the idea for this show came to fruition. Although inspired by loss, it’s an evening as funny, charming, and playful as it is revealing.
In a deeply funny and moving musical journey through life’s mysteries, Gleason digs into life as a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and Tony Award-winning actress. Said Gleason, “This is a story, a personal memoir … not a memorial and not a traditional cabaret show. It’s a theatre piece – I’m talking directly to the audience, talking about what I went through, what my parents went through, and how the stories they told took on new meaning.”
For these performances, Gleason will be accompanied by the Moontones, a group of three exceptional singers (Michael Protacio, Christine Cornell, and Christiana Cole), and musicians Jeffrey Klitz on piano, Katherine Spingarn on cello, Justin Rothberg on a variety of stringed instruments, and Shane Del Robles on percussion.
Joanna Gleason has appeared in 15 Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-off Broadway shows. She won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. She has three Drama Desk Awards, along with two Outer Critics’ Circle Award nominations and wins. She received Tony Award nominations for her performances in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Joe Egg. Off-Broadway shows include The Normal Heart (Public Theater), Sons of the Prophet (Roundabout), and It’s Only a Play and Eleemosynary (Manhattan Theatre Club). Film work includes Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors and Hannah and Her Sisters, Boogie Nights, Last Vegas, and The Skeleton Twins. Television appearances include The Affair, The West Wing, The Newsroom, Friends, Bette, Murphy Brown, and Love and War, among many others. For more, visit www.joannagleason.com.
Curtain time is 8pm on Saturday, February 15, and 7pm on Sunday February 16. General admission tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatreor by calling (323) 860-7300. Net proceeds from all ticket sales will support the full range of free and low-cost programs and services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre is located at 1125 N. McCadden Place (one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard), in Hollywood, 90038.
Christiana Cole sings “Let it Go” and “Into the Unknown” with special guests Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters of Frozen & Frozen 2
Posted on November 26, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole joins the songwriters of mega-hits Frozen & Frozen 2, Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, for an intimate evening of song and storytelling on Friday December 13. Christiana will be Elsa for the evening, singing “Let it Go” (Frozen) and “Into the Unknown” (Frozen 2). Seating is limited for the special event, so get tickets now!
Friday Dec. 13 at 7pm
The Church of the Holy Apostles
612 Greenwood Avenue
Tickets are $60 and available at www.holyapostlesbrooklyn.com.
Christiana Cole stars in AN ENCHANTED APRIL Off-Broadway
Posted on October 2, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole stars as Rose Arbuthnot in AN ENCHANTED APRIL, Off-Broadway at Theatre Row starting November 1, 2019.
An exciting new musical based on the classic book – An Enchanted April casts its spell as four women escape their lives only to find themselves.
London…a particularly dreary February in 1922. Four world-weary women, desperate to escape their memories of WWI and the repression of London, dare to rent a villa in Italy for a month. Miraculously, in just one short Enchanted April, the lives and hearts of these women are transformed by wisteria, sunshine, a small medieval castle…and each other.
Enchanted April is by Elizabeth Hansen and C. Michael Perry, with direction by Alice Jankell.
Christiana Cole sings on the soundtrack of The Farewell
Posted on July 17, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole sings on the soundtrack of The Farewell, starring actor and rapper Awkwafina. Alex Weston composed the music for the soundtrack. Christiana can be heard on the songs “Come Healing,” “Hotel Best,” and “Family.”
The Farewell is a 2019 American biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Lulu Wang. It stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, and Jiang Yongbo and follows a family who, upon learning their grandmother in China has only a short while left to live, decide not to tell her and schedule a family gathering before she passes.
The film was screened in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2019, by A24.
The full soundtrack, including the tracks featuring Christiana, can be streamed on Spotify here.
Christiana Cole narrates In Dreams: Debussy and Fiday at the Arete Gallery in Brooklyn
Posted on June 12, 2019 Leave a Comment
Sunday, June 16, 8pm: Christiana Cole joins flutist Alice Jones and pianist Derin Oge at the Arete Gallery for an evening of chamber music.
In Dreams dives into the hope and discomfort of the subconscious. Christiana narrates 12 sensual poems (originally attributed to Sappho) in Claude Debussy’s “Bilitis.” Michael Fiday‘s “Nine Haiku” (2007) sets works by 8th century poet Basho with flashes of powerful images, dreams that come into focus for only a moment before they vanish. The program also features Houtaf Khoury‘s “Apres un reve” (2008), a modern nightmare reacting to the terror of relentless war in the Middle East: a dream of hope amidst the fatigue of fear. Hasan Ucarsu‘s “…the city of anachronistic nostalgia, Istanbul…” (2003) celebrates his and Derin’s hometown of Istanbul, a city rich in contradictions and layers.
In Dreams
Alice Jones, flute
Derin Oge, piano
Christiana Cole, narrator
At the Arete Gallery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
67 West Street #103, Brooklyn, NY
Sunday June 16, 8pm
$15 entry at the door
Directions: G train to Greenpoint Ave or B46, B62, B43, B24
Areté is located in the rear of the building, through the main lobby and into the outdoor courtyard.
Christiana Cole sings on the BMI Showcase April 1
Posted on March 15, 2019 Leave a Comment
Christiana Cole sings the work of up-and-coming musical theatre writing teams on the BMI Showcase on April 1. Christiana will be singing three solo songs for three very different roles that she has had the pleasure of developing:
“What Even” from The Average-Sized Mermaid by Jessica Fleitman and Rick Bassett
“Every Day” from Uncivil Ones by Christian Duhamel and Ayumi Okada
“Back to My Arms” from #Mars by Laura Kleinbaum and Willem Oosthuysen
The Drama League-, Drama Desk- and Tony®-honored
BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop
presents
THE BMI WORKSHOP SHOWCASE
New Theatre Songs by Members of the Workshop
The BMI Workshop Showcase will feature performances of new songs written and developed by recent members of the Workshop. Admission to this showcase is FREE.
The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater
10 W 64th St
[between Lincoln Center Plaza and Central Park West at the West Side YMCA]
New York, NY 10023
Monday, April 1 at 3 pm
Monday, April 1 at 6 pm
Running time: 75 minutes
To reserve a ticket, please RSVP. Include the following information when sending your RSVP: Preferred Show Time, Name, Affiliation, and # of Tickets.
BMIMusicalTheatre@bmi.com or Sylvia at 212 220-3177
FEATURED WRITERS
Benjamin Velez
Christian Duhamel & Ayumi Okada
Erin Murray Quinlan
Jack Coen
Jae Broderick & Andre McRae
Jae Broderick & Dylan MarcAurele
Janine McGuire & Arri Lawton Simon
Jessica Fleitman & Rick Bassett
Laura Kleinbaum & Willem Oosthuysen
Oliver Houser
Phoebe Kreutz & Dan Israel
Sam Wessels & Marc Chan
Sami Horneff & Ben Diskant
Tia DeShazor & Andy Roninson
Christiana backs up Tony-winner Joanna Gleason at 54 Below
Posted on February 19, 2019
Tony Award winner Joanna Gleason returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below with her new show, Out Of The Eclipse. With songs by Kurt Weill, Stephen Sondheim, Brian Wilson, Sam Phillips, Rodgers and Hart, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Van Morrison, Nanci Griffith, Paul Simon, and The Girls of the Golden West, she brings us through the dark time since last we saw her, and into the light. She reunites with her arranger and music director Jeffrey Klitz, and is backed by the Moontones. (Guitar, banjo, autoharp, cello, percussion, piano, and the close harmony vocals of Christiana Cole, Christine Cornell and Michael Protacio.) A revival for the spirit!
Revered by Broadway audiences for her unforgettable (and award-winning) portrayal of The Baker’s Wife in the original company of Into the Woods, New York has also embraced Joanna in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nick and Nora, and Sons of The Prophet among others, racking up all of the major theatre awards along the way. This is to say nothing of her film and TV work, which includes Boogie Nights, Crimes & Misdemeanors, The Wedding Planner, and a whole host of other projects.
Click here for more info and to buy tickets.
Joanna Gleason at 54 Below
254 W 54th St. Cellar level, NYC 10019
TIMES (show/doors)
Fri, Mar 1: 7:00 pm / 5:00 pm
Sat, Mar 2: 7:00 pm / 5:00 pm
Fri, Mar 22: 7:00 pm / 5:00 pm
Click here to buy tickets.
$55 – $75
VIP Seating: $75 – $85
Premiums: $95 – $105
Additional $6 If Purchased At Venue
$25 Food & Beverage Minimum
Christiana Cole 