“mysterious, original, daring” (The New York Times)

“aesthetically accomplished work” (Variety)

“first-rate, eclectic” (Back Stage)

HISTORY

In March 2004, AWOL launched the Musicals in Development (MID) Series, a program designed specifically to support emerging writers during the development process by selecting and presenting works of particular promise.  In six weeks, nearly 150 new musicals by 250 writers arrived from 7 different countries.

In November 2004, AWOL presented its inaugural MID Series piece, The Mistress Cycle by Beth Blatt and Jenny Giering, in a series of high-profile, standing-room-only readings, with a cast of five stellar Broadway actresses including Tony Award Nominee Rebecca Luker (The Music Man), Mary Bond Davis (Hairspray), Julia Murney (Wild Party), Stephanie Bast (Nine), and Sally Wilfert (Assassins).

In May 2005, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) selected AWOL’s first two MID Series works for its prestigious Next Link Project.  In addition to presenting the World Premiere production of The Mistress Cycle, AWOL introduced its second MID Series piece, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World by Joy Gregory, Gunnar Madsen and John Langs, both co-produced with PenneySeal Productions.

The Mistress Cycle won the 2005 Directors’ Choice Award, a prize from the National Music Theatre Network.

The New York Times resoundingly affirmed AWOL’s mission in its rave review of our NYMF production of The Shaggs: “an antidote… for anyone who accidentally stumbled into a pop-loitation musical... and has been feeling sugar-saturated ever since.”

The Shaggs starred Tony Award nominee Peter Friedman and was hailed as “unsettling, disturbing, challenging, even a little awe-inspiring” (New York Times); “a very good musical [with] a first-rate, eclectic score [and] splendid libretto” (Back Stage); and “a frightening look at a family in crisis [with] wonderfully bizarre characters” (Broadway.com).

The Mistress Cycle got an outstanding notice in Variety: “The most positive buzz seems to center on The Mistress Cycle [whose] powerful NYMF production feels ready for a transfer. Plus it’s the kind of morally challenging, aesthetically accomplished work that could thrive with auds who don’t need to feel good to enjoy musical theatre.”

Other Mistress Cycle reviews included: “an Assassins for the Ya-Ya Sisterhood set (Broadway.com); “mysterious, original, daring women” (New York Times); and “If the mind is truly the sexiest part of the body, The Mistress Cycle has got to be one of the hottest shows in town” (Broadway World).

Financial support for AWOL has been provided through private donations from more than 300 people across the country in addition to generous corporate support from The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, AWOL’s second MID Series project, will appear Off-Broadway this season at Playwrights’ Horizons!  Congratulations to Joy Gregory, Gunnar Madsen, and John Langs, the shows creators, and to all the lucky people who get to see this terrific show!

What’s next for AWOL?  We’re working with Masi Asare, Jane Abramson, and Laura Penney Shamir to launch our newest program this fall, 8Minute Musicals, an experiment in creation and collaboration where 8 new 8-minute musicals by 8 composers and 8 writers will be written, rehearsed, and performed in just over a week.

Jeff Blumenkrantz and Sally Wilfert

sing at an AWOL benefit concert

Mary Bond Davis, Sally Wilfert, and Stephanie Bast

in The Mistress Cycle at NYMF