Making New Musicals
The American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University was created in 2005 to support the development of new musicals, providing artists and their work-in-progress with the resources and dramaturgical support to meet key creative goals along an individualized development journey. By inviting artists and their work to Northwestern’s campus, AMTP enables Northwestern students to engage with new work in rewarding and illuminating ways through performance opportunities, assistantships, and observation. AMTP strives to foster a welcoming environment for artists of all backgrounds to create vibrant new songs and stories that bring original and valuable perspectives to the musical theatre.
YADDA YADDA YADDA: THE LYRICS OF CHERYL COONS
This newly imagined musical revue spotlights the creations of one of Chicago’s foremost musical dramatists—the celebrated lyricist Cheryl Coons! Yadda Yadda Yadda follows Cheryl as she faces off against an IRS investigator to prove she’s a professional musical theatre writer—aided by characters that leap to life from musicals written throughout her career.This revue celebrates new musical theatre and asks the timeless artist’s question: Is passion enough to sustain a lifelong career? here.
CHICAGO MUSICAL THEATRE WRITERS WORKSHOP
AMTP has created a new, weekly writers’ lab for Chicago-based musical theatre composers, lyricists, and bookwriters! The Chicago Musical Theatre Writers Workshop launched in Fall 2025 for a 10-week session, providing selected participants with a forum and feedback to develop their existing work and build essential skills in the craft of writing/composing for the musical stage. Read about AMTP artistic director Masi Asare’s vision for this workshop in a recent article from NEWCITY here.
