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"Food Co-op" at New Filmmakers Fest
June 24, 2019
I'm in a new web show pilot created by Willy Appelman, Haley Appelman, and David Bernstein called Food Co-op. It follows the members of a standardly-ridiculous Brooklyn food co-op. Was there ever a thing I looked more right for? The pilot has been selected for NY New Filmmakers Fest and will have a screening on July 7th at 6pm! The episode isn't available online yet but you can watch the trailer and check out the website for more info and sign up for updates.
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New Songs Now at Rattlestick
May 28, 2019
I'm delighted to be a part of this year's New Songs Now series at Rattlestick Theater!
I'll be sharing a short acoustic set of new tunes from various projects on Tuesday 6/4 at 8pm. Also on the bill is singer-songwriter Angela Sclafani, and we'll be having a short convo about songwriting facilitated by creative producer extraordinaire Rachel Sussman.
Tickets are $15 and available here.
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Finn The Fearless at American Music Theatre Project
May 27, 2019
Andrew Farmer and I had a great time working on our Floridian folk musical Finn The Fearless at AMTP at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL this past week. We did a ton of rewrites and made some big changes to the show that we're super excited about. We're on the hunt for the show's first production!
Here's a fun photo of me being emphatic about something in rehearsal, courtesy of Juli Del Prete.
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Rags Parkland Receives Lortel Award For Outstanding Musical
May 6, 2019
I am honored and thrilled to receive the 2019 Lucille Lortel Award for Oustanding Musical!
I... don't have a photograph to post. They take so many photographs OF you, but then you don't actually have any photographs... because those are all on Getty Images or whatever. I guess I should ask around. But anyway, WE WON! Very exciting.
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Rags Parkland Nominated For 9 Drama Desk Awards
April 25, 2019
Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future is the most nominated Off-Broadway show in this year's Drama Desk Awards! Our nominations include:
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Andrew R. Butler
Outstanding Actress in a Musical - Stacey Sargeant
Outstanding Set Design for a Musical - Laura Jellinek
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical - Barbara Samuels
Outstanding Sound Design in for a Musical - Mikaal Sulaiman
Outstanding Music - Andrew R. Butler
Outstanding Lyrics - Andrew R. Butler
Outstanding Book of a Musical - Andrew R. Butler
Very cool!
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Rags Parkland Nominated For Drama League Award
April 18, 2019
Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future has been nominated for a Drama League Award for Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-Broadway Musical! We're sharing that category with mostly Broadway shows, like Hadestown, King Kong, and Ain't Too Proud, and many brilliant writers and directors.
And Stacey Sargeant was nominated for a Distinguished Performance Award for her portrayal of Beaux Weathers. It's thrilling to see her name among the most beloved and admired performers in the American theatre (which is where her name belongs!!) And I feel extraordinarily proud to have built a show with a role that can garner such prestigious recognition in the right hands.
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Rags Parkland Nominated for 6 Lortel Awards!
April 4, 2019
Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future received 6 Lortel Nominations, tying Carmen Jones for most nominations for this year's awards. I'm delighted to have received nominations for both Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Lead Actor In A Musical. My co-star Stacey Sargeant was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Musical, and our scenic, lighting, and sound designers, Laura Jellinek, Barbara Samuels, and Mikaal Sulaiman were all nominated for their work on the show!
It's a huge honor to be nominated as both a writer and a performer alongside so many brilliant artists. The ceremony will be May 5th at the Skirball Center (and Wayne Brady is hosting!) Ars Nova made these lovely announcement images that I have stolen off Facebook to post here :P
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The Hole Story
March 31, 2019
On The Rocks Theatre Co. (OTR) and I are writing a murder mystery musical about rabbits in Pismo Beach, CA titled The Hole Story. I starting the song-writing process and in January and we have just completed our first full draft. Tomorrow we'll embark on a weeklong workshop culminating in a small reading for some friends and colleagues. Ars Nova just made OTR their new Company In Residence, and they are kindly providing us with rehearsal and presentation space. I'm looking forward to hearing all the music out loud and seeing what we've got!
Check out this concept-trailer that Chris and Dakota (who comprise OTR) made for the show, featuring some of the music I've written for it:
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American Cryptids Sold Out!
February 22, 2019
American Cryptids has sold out Joe's Pub! Some tickets may become available in case of cancellation and there will be a waitlist at the door. We can't wait to share this mind-expanding evening of storytelling, interviews, songs, and ONE VERY SILLY BIGFOOT DANCE.
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American Cryptids at Joe's Pub
February 5, 2019
My frequent co-writer Andrew Farmer and I are excited to bring our show American Cryptids to Joe's Pub later this month. We started the project in The Civilians R&D Group in 2016 and they're presenting this newest draft of the show at The Public. This project is very close to our monster-loving hearts and as people-loving monsters, we can't wait to share it with a wider audience.
Our director Portia Krieger and I have an interview up on The Civilians' blog, and my demos of the Cryptids music are up on my SoundCloud. Check it out, and come see us on February 25th!
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Best Theatre Of 2018
December 4, 2018
Rags Parkland made the New York Times' Best Theatre of 2018 list!
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EDELWEISS is BACK
December 3, 2018
Come see me in the Christmas show I wrote with On The Rocks Theatre Co!
We're returning to the bar at Dixon Place with Edelweiss, and I couldn't be jollier about it. I'm looking forward to mourning Santa, playing guitar while wearing white gloves, drinking ridiculous themed cocktails post-show, getting in an F-YOU shouting match with Berry the elf (part of the show), and getting in a LOVE-YOU shouting match with all the good folks who I know will be there every night. Join them and us and take a 40-minute sleigh ride through a weird combination of Xmas mythology, the stages of grief, holiday specials, and the best attempt at a memorial the North Pole Botanical Society can muster.
12/19-12/22 at 7:30pm in the Dixon Place Lounge. FREE!
Edelweiss takes place on Christmas Eve when news of Santa Claus’ sudden death throws the North Pole into chaos. Elves and reindeer riot in the streets, the Gingerbread House of Commons crumbles, and Mrs. Claus boards a southbound Polar Express leaving the denizens of the North Pole shell shocked. Amidst the turmoil the only institution with the fortitude to hold a makeshift memorial for their beloved Santa is the North Pole Botany Society. And the only building in the North Pole with electricity and a fully stocked bar is Dixon’s Place. Join the members of the North Pole Botany Society as they come together to sing, dance, eulogize, and perhaps find the true meaning of Christmas.
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Singing Rags Parkland On Playbill.com
October 27, 2018
Playbill invited me and Stacey Sargeant to come down to their offices and record a video of a tune from Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future. It's live on their website, and I think it turned out great! You can check it out at this link:
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Rags Parkland Extends!
October 23, 2018
Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future is extending through November 10th! We're super excited to get to the share the show with more audiences and to get to spend some extra nights in the world we've created together on 54th street. Come to the Future with us!
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Rags Parkland Teaser Video
October 20, 2018
Ars Nova produced this super slick teaser video about Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future! We even made it to a (very fancy) studio to record a little chunk of We Are And We Are for it.
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New York Times and Time Out NY Critics Pick
October 14, 2018
Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future has been getting great reviews from audience members and critics alike! Check out some of the pulls from those articles, or give them a read in full at the links. Then get tickets to see us!
THE NEW YORK TIMES - CRITICS PICK
Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future is a little musical with big, sad, beautiful ideas. It packs so much story into so little space that physicists will quail. This fusion of folk and science fiction is niftily sui generis. Mr. Butler’s music, a plangent folk style that broadens into roots rock, makes just about every syllable count. The show’s construction is so deft and its narrative so tantalizing that breathers — a whistled bridge, a harmonica breakdown — are almost unbearable. This hush testifies to Mr. Butler’s success in enmeshing us in his story. It also pushes us to think of other groups that have been interdicted, demonized, in America’s past and also in America’s right now. Still, the show holds out hope for a nation that tries to take care of its people.”TIME OUT NEW YORK - 4 STARS – CRITICS PICK
“Butler is a master at fusing futuristic concepts like the civil rights of cyborgs with anthems that spark righteous anger and empathy, and he knows his stuff.”
THEATERMANIA
“One of the most surprisingly delightful and imaginative musicals of 2018.”
TDF Stages
“Even though Rags Parkland is set centuries from now, like all insightful sci-fi, it addresses contemporary issues, asking provocative questions about what it means to be human, and how that label has been used to oppress different groups throughout history.”
New York Theatre Review
“If you are craving hope in these politically dark times, or simply an exciting concert story through folk and rock, run to Ars Nova.”
Stage Biz
“While Broadway plays it safe with jukebox musicals and movies-into-musicals Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future sings for its life – and wins.”
Interludes
“Since The Great Comet, Ars Nova, in its intimate black box space, has kept pushing the boundaries of what theater can be (KPOP, Small Mouth Sounds, and Underground Railroad Game being a few prime recent examples). Rest assured, that trend continues on.”
Theater Reviews from my Seat
“Wholly unique and effortlessly satisfying, this new musical is a winner on any theatrical planet.”Lullavie
“A victorious, musically-gorgeous achievement”American Theatre: Token Theatre Friends Podcast
“The most beautiful moment of that show for me was seeing Stacey Sargeant and she’s just singing with Debbie Christine Tjong who’s on the bass and they’re just playing together and I’m just like “Oh my God I’ve never seen this on stage. This is amazing; this is like a friggin’ Beyonce concert! I want this all time!! And I would like that cast album, now. Please.” – Diep Tran
“If someone out there wants to do the Hunger Games musical, hire Andrew R. Butler to do the score.” – Jose Solis -
Rags Parkland Music Video!
September 20, 2018
In anticipation of their upcoming production of my show Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future, Ars Nova produced a music video of one of the songs in the show, featuring me and my co-star Stacey Sargeant! Check it out:
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Tickets On Sale For Rags Parkland
August 13, 2018
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Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future at Ars Nova
May 24, 2018
I'm excited to share that Ars Nova is going to produce my show Rags Parkland Sings The Songs Of The Future this fall!
It'll be the first show of their 2018/19 season. I've been working on this show since 2009, and I first shared it in 2010 at Ars Nova in their All New Talent (ANT) Festival. That was the beginning of making an artistic home at Ars Nova, where I've been in residence twice, have performed many times in workshop productions and one-nighters, where I got my equity card performing in Futurity, and now where I'll receive my first production!
More details soon!
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Rhinebeck Writers Retreat
May 17, 2018
Exciting news! Andrew Farmer and I have received a week at the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat this summer to work on our Southern Gothic musical Blessing.
We did Rhinebeck in 2014 with our Floridian folk-musical Finn The Fearless. It was a profoundly productive and inspired week in the woods, and we can't wait to have the time and support to get to work on rewriting Blessing. We recently put in some work on the show at Guild Hall in East Hampton, and we left there with big dreams for a next draft. This is the perfect opportunity to put those dreams on paper.
You can read more about the other 8 projects receiving residencies and the brilliant writers creating those shows on Rhinbeck's website!
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Composing for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
April 21, 2018
I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be the composer for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's production of David Farr's The Heart Of Robin Hood! It's romp of a show, reimagining the Robin Hood myth. The play is ridiculous and exciting, funny and heartfelt, and I'm delighted to be crafting a few tunes for the company to perform.
Past productions have employed an onstage band in addition to an acting company, but in this production, all the music will be provided by the actors themselves, and in particular the festival's incredibly talented Conservatory Company. The show is helmed by director Suzie Agins, who I met in the Civilian's R&D group a couple years ago. I'm excited to get to collaborate with Suzie and be a part of HVSF's 31st season!
The show will be in performance from June 8th through August 25th (in rep with Taming Of The Shrew and Richard II) in HVSF's gorgeous tent theatre overlooking the Hudson River.
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On The Story Pirates Podcast
March 29, 2018
I wrote a song for The Story Pirates Podcast, and it's now available for all to hear!
The song is an adaptation of a story written by a 1st grader named Max from Colorado. It's about a Grizzly Bear named Ruffle who really wants to be a Polar Bear! I had a blast writing the song, and the Story Pirates production team did a bang up job arranging and recording it. I also performed the role of the Ruffle!
You can find it on iTunes here, or wherever you get your podcasts!
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Larson Grant Performance Video
March 22, 2018
Andrew Farmer and I performed "Travelin' Song" from our musical Finn The Fearless at the Jonathan Larson Grant award ceremony and you can watch the video of the live stream here! The entire ceremony is joyous and the songs played by the other recipients absolutely blew us away.
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2018 Jonathan Larson Grant
March 7, 2018
The American Theatre Wing has selected me and my writing partner Andrew Farmer (along with four other incredible writers) as 2018 recipients of the prestigious Jonathan Larson Grant for emerging musical theatre creators!
Here's the official announcement from the ATW:
The American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President & CEO) announced today that the 2018 Jonathan Larson® Grants recipients are Jay Adana (music and lyrics), Andrew R. Butler & Andrew Farmer (music, lyrics, and book), Emily Kaczmarek & Zoe Sarnak (music, lyrics, and book), and Mark Sonnenblick (music and lyrics). Four prestigious, unrestricted grants of $10,000 each, as well as additional support in the form of residencies, concerts, and recording grants, totaling over $48,000, will be presented on Monday, March 19, 2018 at a private event at the WNYC Greene Space. The event will feature special performances of the recipients’ work.
This year’s recipients were selected by an expert panel consisting of two-time Tony Award®-winning actor/artist Patti LuPone, HERE Arts Center Artistic Director Kristin Marting, and two-time Tony Award®-winning producer Scott Sanders.
“Nothing in this world thrills me so much as new music. When that music is as accomplished, relatable, enjoyable, and eminently singable as what these composers and lyricists have delivered, well — let’s just say the future of the American musical is secure in the hands of such exemplary young artists,” said Patti LuPone, 2018 Jonathan Larson Grants selection panelist.
“The Jonathan Larson Grants are an integral part in the early development of some of Broadway’s youngest and brightest theatre makers – from Tom Kitt to Dave Malloy to Benj Pasek & Justin Paul. The enhanced wrap-around support these grants offer — including residencies, concerts, and additional recording grants — ensure these artists’ work will continue to enrich the lives of theatre lovers for years to come,” said Heather Hitchens, President & CEO of the American Theatre Wing.
The Jonathan Larson Grants, given annually to honor emerging composers, lyricists and book writers, help to continue Tony Award®-winning composer Jonathan Larson’s dream of infusing musical theatre with a contemporary, joyful, urban vitality. Dedicated to celebrating excellence and supporting theatre, the American Theatre Wing awards the Larson Grants to artists to recognize and showcase their work with no strings attached – except to put it to the best use possible to help further the artists’ creative endeavors.
The American Theatre Wing is dedicated to also offering Jonathan Larson Grant artists industry resources to advance their work.
All four 2018 Jonathan Larson® Grants recipients will also receive a $2,000 Saw Island Foundation Recording Grant. The Saw Island Foundation seeks to empower innovative and high-impact institutions to improve existing programs; it has created this enhancement to provide artists with additional support to help arrange for the production of new demo recordings to more fully represent the musical theater writer’s vision.
The American Theatre Wing, in partnership with Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, is awarding both Jay Adana and Emily Kaczmarek & Zoe Sarnak with an evening of performance featuring their work as part of their Larson Legacy Concert Series, which celebrates the next generation of creative artists at the college home of Jonathan Larson, class of ’82, to carry on his legacy. Additionally, Andrew R. Butler & Andrew Farmer will be receiving a fully produced reading of their show via the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University.
Past recipients of the Larson Grants include Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen), Dave Malloy (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal), Chad Beguelin & Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer), Daniel Messe & Nathan Tysen (Amelie), Michael Korie (War Paint, Grey Gardens), Amanda Green (Hands on a Hardbody), Shaina Taub (Twelfth Night), and Max Vernon (The View Upstairs).
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Featured On Playbill
March 2, 2018
The cast of Folk Wandering was invited to play a couple of tunes at Playbill for a feature on their website!
We played a song I composed for the show, "Tomorrow/Sometimes," and another tune that I sing on, "Maybe," both of which you can see here.
Instagram Photos
