MTI Acquires The Big One-Oh!
MTI Acquires The Big One-Oh!
Music Theatre International has acquired the new musical The Big One-Oh! for its Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) and Broadway Junior® libraries of titles. Based on the novel of the same name by Oscar®-winning screenwriter, songwriter and novelist Dean Pitchford (Fame, Footloose), The Big One-Oh! is a triumphant new musical about a boy who decides to throw himself the "best birthday party in the history of the world" to celebrate the monumental occasion of turning ten.
The show features lyrics by Dean Pitchford, music by Doug Besterman (Tony Award® winning orchestrator for Fosse, The Producers , Thoroughly Modern Millie), and a libretto by Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, Between the Lines). The TYA version of The Big One-Oh! is currently enjoying its world-premiere run off-Broadway through October 20th at the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater, while the Broadway Junior version is being developed.
"As a kid growing up in Honolulu," Dean Pitchford remembers, "I performed in youth theatre there and developed a deep love for that world. Which is why it's so exciting, at this point in my career, to come full-circle and have the chance to join the MTI family with this show, a big-hearted, fun-filled celebration of family, friendship… and birthday cake!"
Charley Maplewood is about to reach a milestone: he's about to turn ten - the big one-oh! He has never been one for parties-that would require friends, which he doesn't have. Well, unless you count his monster friends, but they're only imaginary. Charley's still adjusting to his parents' divorce and his move to a completely new school. Now that he's turning ten, he decides to throw a birthday party for himself, complete with a "House of Horrors" theme. Of course, things don't work out as he plans. Will Charley be able to pull it together before the big one-oh… becomes the big OH-NO!?
"I was thrilled when Dean approached me about writing the score for The Big One-Oh!," says Doug Besterman. "Several years earlier, Dean had made a gift of the novel to my son Lucas (who was just approaching his 10th birthday), and Lucas and I had enjoyed reading about Charley Maplewood's adventures together. Dean and I were inspired by our favorite grown-up musical styles, but always mindful that the music would need to land favorably on the ears of our younger audiences." "I'm incredibly honored to have The Big One-Oh! join my other shows at Music Theatre International and still can't believe that a kid from Northern California has musicals in the same catalogue as Stephen Sondheim, Frank Loesser, and Ahrens and Flaherty," says Timothy Allen McDonald. "Plus, my team at iTheatrics is hard at work on the Broadway Junior® adaptation, and I can't wait to debut it at 2021 Junior Theater Festivals worldwide!"
"The Big One-Oh! is a clever, funny and touching coming-of-age story perfect for the whole family," says Drew Cohen, President and CEO of Music Theatre International. "It is a perfect addition to our Theatre for Young Audiences and Broadway Junior collections because of the way it uniquely--and hilariously--captures the trials and tribulations of young adolescent life with characters who we can all identify with. Doug Besterman, Dean Pitchford and Timothy Allen McDonald have created something truly special that audiences have been responding to in an incredibly positive way. We can't wait to share this show with our customers and their audiences across the country."
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