[NoHo Arts District, CA] – Don’t miss the limited engagement of Perfect World, the new mystery musical telling the true-life story of Barbara Follett, at El Portal Theatre November 1-9.
About Perfect World
A new, mystery musical set in the twenties Perfect World tells the true-life story of Barbara Follett, a celebrated, prodigy author. From the age of four, she wrote prolifically, mostly about the fictional Farksolia, her own utopia complete with its own language – the Perfect World where happiness reigns and people live in harmony with nature.
Wanting nothing more than for people to read her books, Knopf published two full-length acclaimed novels by Follett by age 14. However, life and love conspired against her as she struggled to continue to write, be published, and find an audience. At age 25, she succumbed to life’s many pressures and simply disappeared, leaving her brilliance unfulfilled.
Two compelling stories are told concurrently – the events of Follett’s life leading to her mysterious disappearance and the police hunt to find her. The story is driven by three women who would never give up: Young Barbara, Barbara, and her mother Helen, and by Captain Stahl, the lead investigator into Barbara’s disappearance.
Follett’s story included a supportive father, an editor at Knopf, the rise to fame and critical acclaim, the life-long support of the imaginary friend who sustained her, a shipboard romance ended by circumstance, a husband felled by the depression, the duplicitous childhood acquaintance who abandons her, and the earnest and heartfelt investigators, all abetted by Barbara’s narcissistic mother who, in the second story, is desperate to find the daughter that gave the only meaning to her life.
Perfect World captures the verve of classic golden age composers, think Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, Bob Merrill and Cy Coleman, who all created a musical language that used tuneful songs to tell stories that flow to their emotional conclusions. Thus, Perfect World serves to introduce new talents to the stage: Librettist and Co-Lyricist Alan Edmunds and Composer and Co-Lyricist Richard Winzeler, who have written a score that illuminates a unique story that came from Edmunds’ own long fascination with the real Barbra Follett.
Alan Edmunds said, “Barbara Follett’s conceptions of how people should care about nature are prescient given today’s concerns about climate and moral culture. As the audience watches Barbara’s transformation from young hopeful idealist to skeptical downtrodden adult, her resilience and resolve are often tested and it is Barbara’s deep love for others that ultimately betrays her. Her redemption, however, is that she touched and moved those closest to her.”
Richard Winzeler said, “Having been schooled in classic musical theater scores, I chose to incorporate a traditional song-based approach. So rather than musicalized dialogue, I created a score that is hopefully tuneful and memorable, honors the time period, and allows each song to rise up organically from both character and dramatic moment.”
Producer Conwell Worthington said, “They say you never write a musical, you simply rewrite it until it works. The creative process continues with this third set of performances, and include a moment for the Los Angeles critical theatre press to participate in the development of the property, as well the participation of 1,000 area theatre-goers. Cody Lassen and Associates have been instrumental in moving this project to the next level of production and continue to support Perfect World.”
Perfect World began as a research project to document the incredible writings of Barbara Follett and the mystery that befell her. As a professional psychologist, Alan Edmunds had been curious about precocious child writers for more than a decade. Children who write like adults are incredibly rare and Barbara’s prolific work certainly fit the bill. Being an avid musical theatre fan and performer, he instinctively envisioned Barbara’s compelling life story as a musical and the archives at Columbia University were a treasure trove of detail.
Richard Winzeler joined the project as composer/co-lyricist, the score was created, and the journey to hone and refine this original musical theater piece began. The initial book and lyrics evolved over a few years and two table readings were held. The third table reading included demo recordings of all songs.
The theatre-going public will have ten opportunities to be part of its path to Broadway.
The Team
Perfect World is directed and choreographed by Kay Cole; the music supervisor is Darryl Archibald. The creative team include Production Consultant Cody Lassen, Scenic Designer Stephen Gifford. Costume Designer Jennifer Lynn Deck, Assistant Choreographer Hector Guerrero, and Music Assistant Zev Burrows.
The Cast
The cast is Gabbie Adner, Dia Day, Michael Deni, Maggie Ek, Adam Hollick, Catherine Last, Elizabeth Last, Sammy Linkowski, Charley Rowan McCain, Guy Noland, Brent Schindele, Erika Schindele, and Michael Wells.
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