WINNER: BEST MUSICAL
CreateTheater/ETC New Works Festival 2022
Book & Lyrics by JUDITH ESTRINE
Music by DAVID KURKOWSKI
Direction by ZILLAH GLORY LANGSJOEN
Music Direction by BEN KILEY
Choreography by TATYANA KOT
SEWING THE DREAM was presented as part of the CreateTheater/ETC New Works Festival where it ran at New York City’s Theatre Row’s Theatre Four from April 29 to May 8, 2022.
Awarded BEST MUSICAL of the Festival.
Playwright
Judith Estrine is an author and award-winning playwright. PINOCHLE & ROSES was a Semi-Finalist in the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and was produced at the Vital Theatre in New York. SHE&HE, a short play, won First Prize at the Nantucket Short Play Festival, toured nationally, and became a short film starring Anita Gillette. She co-authored “Raised by the Church” (Fordham University Press) and “Midlife: A Manual” (Element Books). Judith is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.
Composer
David Kurkowski is the Composer & Lyricist for FINDING MADAME CURIE, which won First Place in the Jackie White Memorial National Playwriting Contest 2020. “It’s Midnight,” a CD of 9 original songs, is available on YouTube. He is classically trained in oboe-English horn and plays in the Lower Merion Symphony. David studied jazz piano and theory and is fluent in the classical Broadway canon and the Great American Songbook. Member Dramatists Guild, TRU, and CreateTheater’s Expert Theater Company. He is a regular contributor to the CreateTheater’s Songwriting Workshop. Currently in development, composing and writing lyrics for COLLODI, the Man Behind Pinocchio, with Nino Praticcò; UNMASKED with Barbara Bellman; and OH DEAR, CAMILLE with Rhonda Lageyre.
THE CHARACTERS
With parts doubling, SEWING THE DREAM can be performed with a cast of eight.
[ ANNIE MORAN ] Female identifying. 18+ years old. Our hero, an optimistic, bright-eyed Irish immigrant girl who overcomes all obstacles, fresh off the boat. Soprano. Range: A4-F5 (Bb6 in chorus). Lead.
[ ISAAC MERRITT SINGER ] Male identifying. 30’s-early 40’s. A hunky, bombastic showboat actor turned brilliant inventor. A womanizing ringmaster. Baritenor. Range: A3-G4. Lead.
[ EDWARD CLARK ] Male identifying. 40’s-50’s. The epitome of upper class privilege, a respected lawyer turned businessman who sees financial success in the new technology of the Industrial Revolution. A Puritan. Baritenor. Range: Bf3 – F4. Supporting.
[ CAROLINE CLARK ] Female identifying. 40’s –50’s. The perfect upper class woman of the time. However, insecure, unfulfilled, and underneath it all, angry with her lot. Ruthless when needed. Proud. Mezzo. Range: C4-F5. Supporting.
[ GEORGE SIEBER ] Male identifying. 50s-60’s. A craftsman-machinist. Not a business man; he ends up cheated out of his share of millions. Bass-Baritone. Range: D3-C4. Supporting.
[ NELLE MORAN ] An offer has been made. Female identifying. 20’s-30’s. A beautiful good girl “gone bad.” Annie’s big sister, and an Irish immigrant surviving as a high-level prostitute. Mezzo. Range: A4-Eb5. Supporting.
[ GRETA SCHMIDT ] Female identifying. 30’s-60’s. A rough-hewn German immigrant cook who ends up being protective of Annie. Alto. G3-Eb5. Supporting.
[ MALE ENSEMBLE ] 30 to 50 years old, all ethnicities male. Casting one male identifying ensemble member to play various chorus roles and understudy selected roles. Baritenor.
[ FEMALE ENSEMBLE ] 25 to 30 years old, all ethnicities female. Casting one female identifying ensemble member to play various chorus roles and understudy selected roles. Soprano with belt.
Additional characters: CORN GIRL, BOSS LOADER, MISS SALLY, WIDOW, THE PHANTOM, MAIDS, DOCKWORKERS
