The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat will host 24 musical theatre writers this summer as they develop nine new musicals for nine consecutive weeklong residencies between June 23 and August 25.
Each writing team will live in a private home in the Hudson Valley for one week to focus solely on writing their musical. The Rhinebeck Writers Retreat also provides each writing team with a flexible $1000 Writer's Choice grant, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts.
This years writers include Oscar-nominated playwright Peter Hedges, 2024 Richard Rodgers and Larson Award winner Veronica Mansour, Emmy-winning creative team the Q Brothers Collective, Playbill Songwriter Series' spotlight Jacinth Greywoode, and more.
The nine musicals were selected from a record 219 applicants, representing 474 musical theatre writers. This years development schedule will be as follows.
Jackson Doran, Gregory Qaiyum, Jeffrey Qaiyum, and Postell Pringle (The Q Brothers Collective) will develop their musical Rami and Jaliyah June 23-30. Truth Bachman will develop their musical Skyward: An Endling Elegy June 30-July 7. Sydney Shepherd, Peter Hedges, Regina Strayhorn, Adrian Blake Enscoe, and Christopher Sears will develop their musical adaptation of What's Eating Gilbert Grape July 7-14. Brandy Collier, Erika Ji, and Clare Bierman musical Yoko's Husband's Killer's Japanese Wife, Gloria will be developed July 14-21. Derek Gregor and Selda Sahin's Off Season will be developed July 21-28. Abs Wilson and Veronica Mansour's Lighthouse will be developed July 28-August 4. Andy Roninson and Sean McVerry's Untitled Dead Friend Musical will be developed August 4-11. AriDy Nox and Jacinth Greywoode's Black Girl in Paris will be developed August 11-18. Lastly, Ken Savage, Jessia Hoffman, and Kyle Ewalt's Someone Over The Rainbow will be developed August 18-25
Since its creation in 2011, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat has supported over 200 musical theatre writers. In the past three years, eight musicals developed at Rhinebeck had world premieres including A.D. 16 by Bekah Brunstetter and Cinco Paul, Bhangra Nation by Mike Lew, Rehana Lew Mirza, and Sam Willmott, Mexodus by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, TL;DR: Thelma Louise Dyke Remix by Brandon James Gwinn and EllaRose Chary, and Operation Mincemeat by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts, which just won the Olivier award for Best New Musical.
For more information, visit RhinebeckWriters.org.
