Blog Filter By Posts by David Brush

If we are being honest, we didn't expect to receive any responses at all to our blog post calling for stories. After all, we were asking strangers to share intimate details of their struggles with mental illness—specifically anxiety and depression—in a world that still holds a firm grip on stigma towards those who suffer. We had no idea, really, what we were going to do with these stories. 

We are not doctors. We are not psychiatrists. We are musical theatre writers.

The post When You Feel It's Too Dark to See: Lessons Learned from Three Years of Writing a New Musical About Anxiety and Depression first appeared on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

“Why would I spend $100 to see a Broadway show, when I can see it on YouTube for free?” “Yes, I have seen WICKED.” “Oh – where did you see it?” “On YouTube.” These are conversations and comments I have heard more times that I can count. Let’s be honest – most of us have. […]

The post The YouTube Effect: How Digital Access to Musical Theatre is Changing the Industry appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

With all of the well-publicized work and study towards a wider representation of women writers and writers of color in the theater (which I fully support), and in light of the recent record-breaking all-female Tony win for Fun Home and the all-female creative team behind the upcoming Waitress, I thought it was a good time to […]

The post The FUN HOME Test: A Personal Resume Self-Check appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

The buzz surrounding Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Hamilton is deservedly not quieting down anytime soon, yet the spring season of new musicals is upon us – and there aren’t any slackers among them. Here’s a look at just a few of the most anticipated titles for the latter half of the season. 1. DISASTER! (Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick) […]

The post After HAMILTON: New Musicals for Spring 2016 appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

This final installment of “Finishing the Hat” is personal. I met Rachel Dean a few years ago when we wrote our first song together and have been enamored of her ever since. This series has been a joy in my life, and being able to give NMT readers a glimpse into the processes of a […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “Monsters In My Closet” – A Conversation with Rachel Dean appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

I often hear the argument that too much new musical theatre sounds the same: the same chord structure – the same lyrics of longing – without a nod to the songwriters who have come before. I have enough arguments to the contrary to fill 10 TED talks, but for the sake of this series, you […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “The Ocean” – A Conversation with Rachel Griffin appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

Of all the discussion about the writing of musicals – the “to-do”s and “to-don’t”s, what IS and what ISN’T musical theatre, what rhymes and what doesn’t – it’s good to get back to basics: musical theatre is first and foremost about storytelling. A great musical has a story ARC, but each individual song should reveal […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “Vietnam” – A Conversation with Alexander Sage Oyen appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

Georgia Stitt is superwoman. Not only is she among the most honest writers working today, she wears more hats in one year than most of us do in a lifetime. There are two simple reasons. First, Ms. Stitt is smart and incredibly gifted. That combination has yielded much-lauded projects like The Water, Big Red Sun, and […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “My Lifelong Love” – A Conversation with Georgia Stitt appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

Modern musical theatre has become a master class in honest dialogue – and what a welcome and amazing thing that is. When I first heard the songs of Kerrigan-Lowdermilk many years ago, that is what struck me most – the honesty. Kerrigan’s lyrical prowess lies in her ability to balance honest awkwardness with poetic metaphor. […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “Anyway” – A Conversation with Kait Kerrigan appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

Sweeping romantic epics have been a part of the American musical theater pantheon since its inception. Show Boat may have launched that ship (pun very much intended), and since then they’ve come to be defined by Les Miserables. Rarely can a writer create epic works like Les Miz and also intimate musicals with equal sweep […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “The Secret of Happiness” – A Conversation with Paul Gordon appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

All of the great lyricists have said (in one way or another) that lyric writing is about concision and character. When those two things collide, musical moments achieve an organic level that can only breed honesty. Lyrics where not one word is wasted are amazing to behold. Drew Gasparini represents a rare form of honesty […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “Kindergarten Love Song” – A Conversation with Drew Gasparini appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

Note from David: For Fall 2015, I am launching a new series taking a specific look at the craft of lyric writing. As a librettist and lyricist myself, this is a particular passion for me and I wanted to explore what went into the new musical theatre lyrics that we all know and love. So […]

The post FINISHING THE HAT: “Just Not Now” – A Conversation with Lyricist Ryan Cunningham appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

It’s back to school season and The Green Room is looking out for you. All this month, the NMT Countdown series is bringing you a guide to the best-selling songs on NMT from the last year. Are you planning a cabaret and looking for the perfect stand-alone song? Are you a soprano looking for audition […]

The post NMT COUNTDOWN: Top 10 NMT Stand-Alone Songs to Sing at Cabarets and Concerts appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

Over the course of the first three parts of this series, new musical theatre writers have offered advice on everything from finding directors to getting your songs sung and into voices as soon as possible. Sometimes the SECOND step is the hardest. Too many musicals collect dust after a first reading – so I asked […]

The post FIRST STEPS, Part 4: Avoiding The Sophomore Slump appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

In the first two parts of this series, writers discussed some first-step-options for your newly completed musical as well as the pros and cons of attaching a solid director to the piece. This week, I wanted to talk with writers about the importance and time frame for getting your songs heard with great singers. How […]

The post FIRST STEPS, Part 3: Getting Your Songs Into Voices appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.

In part one of FIRST STEPS: Things To Consider Once You’ve Written Your First Musical, some of my great writer friends shared their thoughts on first steps in development of that new musical you have sitting on your shelf and some tips on making those first parts of the process take shape. This week we […]

The post FIRST STEPS, Part 2: Finding A Director appeared first on The NewMusicalTheatre.com Green Room.