Aria Entertainment’s Katy Lipson and Adam Lenson of Adam Lenson Productions will showcase the results of the first year of their AriaALP Chamber Project with a concert celebration in London in October.
Featuring the first two newly commissioned shows, The Chamber Musical Sessions at the Garrick Theatre on 4 October 2021 will celebrate the work of UK-based writing teams behind 15 new chamber musicals.
The writers will be joined on stage by some of the West End’s favourite stars, some new faces and a house band to showcase the musicals that caught the imagination of the judging panel.
Commenting on the project, Lipson said: “We are incredibly proud to have launched a new musical theatre writing award over the last year and to be presenting a night showcasing 15 submissions for that award on top of the set for the much-loved American chamber musical The Last 5 Years. We are hugely committed to the future of new British chamber musicals and cannot wait to see this award grow.”
Referring to the writers of the two winning musicals (Eartha, Eddie, and the Upside-Down Tree by Leo Munby and Annabel Mutale Reed, and Echoes by Freya Smith and Jack Williams), Lenson added: “We have been aware of how few opportunities there are for writers to be supported as they develop new musicals and it has been so wonderful to collaborate with Katy to create a little more space for the UK’s writing talent.
“We hope other theatres and producers will follow our lead and commission and stage more new musical theatre. We are so excited to see what Annabel, Leo, Jack and Freya create and can’t wait to celebrate them and the other longlisted writers in the West End in October.”
The concert will also include work from: Christina Bloom (Detached), Cordelia O’Driscoll (Bitter/Sweet), Emelie Odukwe and Lily Vincent-Frankland (At the Centre), Guy Woolf and Isla Van Tricht (How to Save the World), Tommy Antonio and Robert Casey (Harder Baby), Hilmi Jaidin (Clickbait), Jen Green and Caroline Wigmore (Elizabeth Holmes: How to bleed dry in Silicon Valley), Michelle Payne & Craig Webb (Enthusiastically, Yes!), Natalie Pound, Sam Young and Sam Hoppen (Thanks I’m Cured), Jonathan O’Neill and Isaac Savage (Letting Go), Poppy Burton-Morgan and Robin Simões da Silva (Treehouse), Sarah-Louise Young, Richard Link and Paul Chronnell (Escape Room) and Eden Tredwell (Open Mic 1803).
Winning writers (clockwise) Annabel Mutale Reed, Leo Munby, Jack Williams and Freya Smith
Established last year in response to a lack of established British chamber musicals within mainstream publishing and licensing houses, the AriaALP Chamber Project is aimed at discovering and developing innovative new works. The project received over 200 entries.
Founded in 2012 by Lipson, Aria Entertainment was quickly established as a leading independent producer and champion of new British musicals through the prestigious From Page To Stage festival (first staged in 2013 and the platform for over 100 new musicals to date) and the launch of a full-time literary department for new musicals. British writers whose work has been showcased at the festival include: Pippa Cleary, Jake Brunger, Charles Miller, Elliot Davis, James Bourne, Tim Sanders, Tim Connor, Susannah Pearse, Alexander Bermange, Tasha Taylor Johnson, Eamonn O’Dwyer, Andy Collyer, Tamar Broadbent, and Dougal Irvine.
Aria productions include the UK premiere tour of The Addams Family in 2017 and the 5oth anniversary touring production of Hair in 2019.
London-based director and musical theatre specialist Lenson founded ALP musicals in 2018 with the aim to develop artist-driven and non-traditional musical theatre.
Known for the SIGNAL concert series, Lenson has hosted 20 events including live shows, digital performances and hybrid live streams showcasing the work of over 300 writers.
During the pandemic both producers supported revivals of small-scale chamber musicals including Aria Entertainment’s The Last 5 Years and live-streamed productions of new musicals including ALP’s Public Domain, SHIFT+ALT+RIGHT and The Fabulist Fox Sister.
Angela Thomas
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