MICHAEL COLLINS
Music by Joshua Salzman
Book & Lyrics by Ryan Cunningham
Directed by Ryan Cunnigham
Music Directed by Ryan T. Nelson
FREE Reading Presentation
Saturday, February 25
7:00pm
Pick Staiger Rehearsal Hall
50 Arts Circle Drive | Evanston, IL 60208
Click here for photos of Michael Collins
ABOUT THE SHOW
MICHAEL COLLINS follows the true story of the Irish Rebel of the same name. Beginning in 1916 during the failed Easter Rising against the British, a young soldier, Michael Collins, sees the flawed methods that continually lead the Irish people to lose in uprising after uprising. Upon being released from prison, he joins with other rebels to start a new kind of revolution: one that would eventually bring the British to the negotiating table for the first time in history. Through it all, Michael Collins’ strength is fortified by a formidable young woman, Kitty Kiernan, as it’s his undying love for her that keeps him fighting – even through his very last days.
**This project is supported in part by the National Fund for New Musicals, a program of National Alliance for Musical Theatre – www.namt.org.
THE TEAM
RYAN CUNNINGHAM (Book and Lyrics) is a Jonathan Larson Award-winning lyricist and bookwriter, and a Drama Desk and MAC Award nominee. His Off-Broadway musical written with composer Joshua Salzman, I Love You Because, was in the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and went on to be produced all over the world in five languages. His next musical also with Salzman, Next Thing You Know, has been produced at CAP 21 in New York, across America and in Europe, and was called “Rent for this generation,” by The New York Times. He also wrote the book and lyrics to The Legend of New York, currently in development with Salzman. With award-winning writer Charles Antin he wrote the comedies Half-Married and Television’s Greatest Playwright. When he is not writing his own work, he is helping to sell tickets to other people’s as a Creative Director at the Broadway advertising agency AKA. Ryan is a graduate of the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and is a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild. He lives in Chicago with his wife and son.
JOSHUA SALZMAN (Music) is a Jonathan Larson Award-winning composer and MAC Award nominee. His Off-Broadway musical written with bookwriter/lyricist Ryan Cunningham, I Love You Because, was in the NAMT Festival of New Musicals and went on to be produced all over the world in five languages. His next musical also with Cunningham, Next Thing You Know, has been produced at CAP 21 in New York, across America and in Europe, and was called “Rent for this generation,” by The New York Times. He is also the composer of The Legend of New York, currently in development with Cunningham. Joshua is a graduate of the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and is a member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild. When not composing his own work, Joshua spends his days as a high school choral director. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and two daughters.