Blood Drive

I’m currently working on two musical theater projects. The first is Blood Drive, a set of three interconnected one-acts with book and lyrics by Rachel Sheinkin. In “Blood Drive,” a proofreader goes to give blood and finds a nurse he doesn’t expect. In “Temporary,” the nurse goes to a temp agency looking for work with less attachment. And in “Postcards From Another Planet,” the temp-agency worker goes to a psychic to learn if her girlfriend loves her — and meets a proofreader who wants to become a phlebotomist. Each act features a quotidian quest that unearths a deeper longing on the part of the characters, who are looking either to find or to escape from connection and who, despite themselves, keep tripping over the miraculous in the mundane.

Terezin

The second project I’m working on is Terezin, a musical about the Nazi propaganda camp with lyrics by Len Schiff and book by Peter Ullian. The Jews who were deported to the Czech camp Terezin in 1943 are the intellectual and artistic elite of Europe. Even in the camp, many are convinced that what has happened to them is simply a terrible misunderstanding. However, when the Nazis “beautify” the camp in preparation for a visit from the Red Cross (which is completely duped by the sham with which it is presented), the camp inmates are forced to face the reality: they probably will not survive the war. They react by telling the real truth through art and music — and by finally discovering the humanity in each other, and in themselves.

Cabaret

I also write cabaret songs, sometimes with my own lyrics and sometimes working with other lyricists.

If you’re interested in finding out more about any of these projects, hearing more songs or reading a script, or getting sheet music to these or other songs, and I’ll be glad to help you out.