Riverside's 30th year begins with unique musical

Riverside - Iowa City’s resident professional theatre company, will present [title of show] September 10 through October 3. With music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and book by Hunter Bell, [title of show] is directed by Ron Clark. The musical director is Maggie Grosvenor Mowery. Tickets are available at the Riverside Theatre Box Office at (319) 338-7672.

Nominated for a Tony Award® for Best Book of a Musical in 2009, [title of show] is a funny and melodic romp that chronicles the three-week journey of two struggling writers, Jeff and Hunter, who decide to write a completely original musical starring themselves and their two best friends for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. In the span of 90 minutes, four performers and a pianist hilariously depict the creative process of collaboration for the audience.

The musical’s unconventional title comes from the blank to be filled in on the festival application form. Musical numbers include songs such as "Two Nobodies in New York," "Die Vampire, Die," "Monkeys and Playbills," and "Change It, Don’t Change It." "They’re catchy and clever,” director Ron Clark said, "but they also honestly and charmingly reflect the moments of elation, frustration, and heartbreak that are part of any creative journey." He says the score "contains references to more than 50 other musicals, which die-hard theatre fans will have fun listening for, and an eclectic range of styles everyone will enjoy—from hip-hop to Lerner and Loewe, and everything in between."

Eddie Skaggs, who appeared in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at Riverside in 2007 and Patrick DuLaney, who appeared in both Love’s Labour’s Lost and Romeo and Juliet at this summer’s Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival, play Jeff and Hunter (respectively.) Friends Heidi and Susan are played by Riverside musical favorite Kristen Behrendt and Jessica Flood, who also appeared in Love’s Labour’s Lost as Jaquenetta the Wench.

Jason Sifford appears on stage as the pianist. The production also features choreography by Patrick DuLaney, scenography by Scott Olinger and costume design by Laura Ambrose.

Tickets range from $12-$28 with a $12 student rush 20 minutes before the performance. Tickets may be ordered through the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 213 N. Gilbert Street, (319) 338-7672.