Songs for a New World
By Jason Robert Brown
It’s about one moment. It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice… or take a stand… or turn around and go back. These are the stories and characters of today, the Songs for a New World.
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The first musical from Tony Award winner, Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years), this moving collection of powerful songs examines life, love and the choices that we make. Brown takes audiences from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge, 57 stories above Fifth Avenue, to meet a startling array of characters that range from a defiant young man who proclaims to be unstoppable to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams… and a soulless marriage.
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Songs for a New World was performed August 8th-17th, with New Stage Theatreworks at Young Actor’s Theatre.
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Performance Video available upon request.
Stigmata a new horror play
Written and Directed by Maddie Rainer
At an extremely competitive all-girls Catholic boarding school, all is going not-so-well…as usual. That is until a quiet, unassuming student suddenly gains prophetic abilities after saving her classmate from a medical crisis mid-class. As the word spreads around the school of her “miracle”, she attracts a cult like following, many of whom think she is saintly, or even the second coming of Jesus himself. The group continues to grow larger and expands further than the school, and those on the outside of the following find themselves in a sticky position—Do they speak out and face social execution? Or lay low and play along? I mean, what’s the worst a group of high school girls could do?
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Stigmata is a horror play that ruminates on the intricacies and consequences of groupthink and blind faith. Through a dynamic female-ensemble cast, this show examines effects of religion in one of the scariest groups of people alive…teenage girls.
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Performed at Florida State University on February 14th-16th, 2025.
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Performance Video Available upon request.
Five Seconds Flat: A Lizzy McAlpine Jukebox Fan Musical
Written and Directed by Maddie Rainer and Ava Podewitz
Music by Lizzy McAlpine
A group of college students return back to their hometown after their first year away.
Face to face with the realities of the lives they escaped when they went to college, they now must confront the situations and people that they left behind.
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Featuring the music of Lizzy McAlpine and a memorable ensemble cast, Five Seconds Flat captures the growing pains that we face as we transition between being a child, and what it means to be an adult.
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Performed at Florida State University on October 4th-6th, 2024
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Performance Video Available upon request.
ECHOES & WANDER immersive theater experiences
Written and Directed by Maddie Rainer and Alexa Schoffel
An immersive theater duology about grief, loss and moving on. With chance based audiene interaction, every performance of the show lends itself to a unique viewing experience.
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ECHOES follows Noa, a clairvoyant teenager, and a friendly ghost, Oliver, as they venture through a graveyard. As Noa interacts with the different ghosts, she finally arrives at her best friend, Sofia's, grave. Sofia moves on from her purgatory-like state in the graveyard, and goes "up".
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WANDER follows Sofia, after her choice to move on. She finds herself in an office, with a not-so-friendly office worker, Peter. Peter guides Sofia through the 5 most impactful moments in her life to confirm that she is finally ready to move on. After looking back on her life, she decides she is ready for the next stage of the after life.
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ECHOES and WANDER were performed as part of the Florida State University Fringe Festival, in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Pierglass Park a new folk rock musical
Book and Music by Maddie Rainer and Keira Ballan
​​​After a chain of rumors spark tension at the town's skating rink, a diverse group of seven teenage ice skaters are sent on a wilderness retreat to solve their problems. However the skaters soon realize that this park contains a far more sinister spirit than its quaint appearance leads on. An unexpected loss, vengeful visitors and their own strife are only a few of the roadblocks to escape -- will they make it out alive? Featuring an original folk rock score, Pierglass Park is a coming of age story about moving forward, changing and becoming a better person.
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Performed and Workshopped at The Gateway, July 2021 and May 2021.
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Script, Tracks and Performance Video available upon request.
