AMAS MUSICAL THEATRE
ANNOUNCES THE RECIPIENTS OF THE SECOND
ERIC H. WEINBERGER AWARD FOR EMERGING LIBRETTISTS
CHEEYANG NG AND ERIC SORRELS
2019 GRADUATES OF NYU TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
GRADUATE MUSICAL THEATER WRITING PROGRAM
TO RECEIVE GRANT AND DEVELOPMENTAL PRODUCTION
New York, NY (4/22/20) – Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer) today announced the recipients of the second Eric H. Weinberger Award for Emerging Librettists, a juried cash and production grant given annually to support the early work and career of a deserving musical theatre librettist, commemorating the life and work of playwright/librettist Eric H. Weinberger (1950-2017), who was a Drama Desk Award nominee for Best Book of a Musical (Wanda’s World), and the playwright/librettist of Class Mothers ’68, which earned Pricilla Lopez a Drama Desk Award nomination.
Cheeyang Ng and Eric Sorrels, 2019 graduates of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, were selected from over 50 blind submissions for their full-length musical MĀYĀ. In addition to a check for $2,000 to help pay cost-of-living expenses, Mr. Ng and Mr. Sorells receive development assistance from the “New Works Development Program” of Amas Musical Theatre, culminating in the work being rehearsed and performed by New York theatre professionals in an Amas Lab production. Amas was the development home for several of Mr. Weinberger’s musicals, and which produced the World Premiere of Wanda’s World and the New York Premiere of Tea for Three.
MĀYĀ is many things: it’s a philosophy of Hinduism; it’s the idea that the world around us is really an illusion; and it can be a girl’s name, as is in the case of our story. Set in the British Raj in 1930, MĀYĀ is the story of a struggling poet in need of an awakening, not unlike India herself. When Gandhi’s non-violent Independence Movement arrives on Maya’s doorstep in the form of her former servant, our heroine is thrust into one of the most turbulent political climates in history. When she commits herself to the cause, she begins to shatter the illusions (or māyā) that have been deceiving her: illusions about her dreams as a lauded poet, her affair with a British officer, her privilege, and ultimately, the difference she will really make. The story is told with contemporary language and an urgent, rhythmic score that fuses Western pop and Indian classical music.
In an artistic statement for the submission Mr. Ng and Mr. Sorrels said “The initial source of inspiration for MĀYĀ came from the second act of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, where the Fairy King and Queen fight over the Indian changeling child. We took that conflict and its impact on romantic relationships and adapted it for a story set in the the British Raj. Our “changeling child” would be Maya, and her soul would be torn between Britain and India. Our research led us to Sarojini Naidu, the perfect model for Maya. She was a lauded poet who later became an activist for Indian independence. Naidu’s poetry, “The Golden Threshold,” encapsulated a paradox of the British-Indian relationship: gorgeous language evoking a uniquely Indian experience thanks to a topnotch British education. That this art came out of an imperialist system that oppressed millions of people — that she could be both a British poet and Indian freedom fighter — was a contradiction we wanted to explore.
This led us to Mahatma Gandhi’s 1930 Salt March, a seminal protest of which Naidu was an active part. Our research took off here as we delved into Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence and civil disobedience, called satyagraha. As we learned more, we realized satyagraha brought a new set of contradictions that we wanted Maya to confront in her journey. The very notion that Truth and Love (satya and ahimsa) have the power to overcome the violent oppressor is difficult enough to swallow. But the real challenge for Maya, and for us, is in the way that change is achieved: not by reforming the enemy, but by reforming the self. “Reform yourself, and you have begun to reform the world; reform the world without violence, and you have reformed yourself.” This impossible task leads us to the message of the show, and Maya’s struggle. She begins as a young and ambitious artist seeking to make waves and achieve success and fame. But our story ends with a call to action that takes that ambition and points it inward: “Let my life be my song. / Let its melody survive when I am gone. / … Let the music and the message carry on.” In the same way Maya takes a journey from chasing the tangible (“outside”) and finds the success she’s been craving in an inward journey of self-reform (“inside”) we as artists have grown in a similar way as we’ve tried to bring this story to life.
“We are thrilled to welcome Cheeyang and Eric to the Amas family, says Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer of Amas Musical Theatre. “We are happy to continue to commemorate Eric’s memory and look forward to developing this unique piece.”
MĀYĀ (formerly The Golden Threshold) was originally conceived at the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. It was developed at “Live & In Color” (Devanand Janki, Artistic Diretor) and then showcased at Millenium State at the Kennedy Center as part of the ASCAP Musical Theatre Week. Upcoming: NMTC Eugene O’Neill Theatre Conference Incubator 2020, Pace New Musicals Lab 2020, Hypokrit Theatre Industry Presentation 2020.
Bios
Born and raised in Singapore, Cheeyang Ng is an award-winning singer-songwriter who has performed around the world, including Lincoln Center with Carole King and Carnegie Hall with a cappella group Vocalosity They are the first Singaporean to headline a concert at Joe’s Pub and Millennium Stage at Kennedy Center showcasing their original music and their songs have been performed around New York, including The Duplex and Feinstein’s/54 Below. They are a graduate of Berklee College of Music (BMus) and NYU (MFA). Musicals in development include Eastbound (Village Theatre Festival of New Musicals, NAMT Writers Grant, NYTB IMPACT Award) with Khiyon Hursey, Only Us (Drama League Residency) and MĀYĀ (Live & In Color) with Eric Sorrels, and an untitled commission for NYMF with Kathy Ng. Select credits: 2019 ASCAP Foundation Lucille & Jack Yellen Award, 2019 Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, 2019 Prospect Musical Theatre Lab, 2018 Front and Center at City Center with Tom Kitt. www.cheeyang.com. @cheeyangmusic
Eric Sorrels is an NYC-based performer, songwriter, and music director. As a singer, he’s performed with professional ensembles at the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Bard Music Festival, as well as sacred spaces throughout Manhattan. As a music director, he’s helmed several cabarets and concerts at The Duplex and Feinstein’s/54 Below. BA: University of TN, Knoxville; MFA: NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing. Recent credits include the 2019 ASCAP Foundation Lucille & Jack Yellen Award, Johnny Mercer Songwriter’s Project and ASCAP Musical Theatre Week at Kennedy Center. Projects in development include MĀYĀ (Live & In Color, O’Neill Incubator) and Only Us(Drama League Residency) with Cheeyang Ng, and the song cycle Yas, Queen! @eric.sorrels
Eric H. Weinberger (1950-2017) was a playwright and musical theatre librettist. His credits include Class Mothers ’68, starring Priscilla Lopez (Off Broadway and Luna Stage – Star Ledger Award for Best New Comedy in NJ), Six Hands (Yale University and Luna Stage), The Nightwatchman (Luna Stage and On the Rock Productions, Key West), Tea for Three, with and starring Elaine Bromka (Amas Musical Theatre and touring the country since 2004, www.teaforthree.com), three children shows at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Peterborough, NH. Musicals: Wanda’s World (Amas Musical Theatre, Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Book of a Musical, Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Musical) and published by Theatrical Rights Worldwide, www.wandasworldmusical.com), …and Then I Wrote A Song About It (Luna Stage and The Diversionary Theatre in San Diego, www.andtheniwroteasongaboutit.com), Brothers, Boyfriends and Other Criminals, (Zach Theatre in Austin, Texas), A Dog Story (Off Broadway and The Waterfront Playhouse, Key West). Workshop production of _Giant Step_s, an “urbean” version of Jack & The Beanstalk (U of Texas in Austin).
Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Artistic Producer) now in its 51st year of continuous operation is New York City’s award-winning pioneer in diversity and multi-ethnic casting in the performing arts since 1968. Amas (“you love” in Latin) is devoted to the creation, development and professional production of new American musicals through the celebration of diversity and minority perspectives, the emergence of new artistic talent, and the training and encouragement of underserved young people in the New York area. In recent years, Amas has emerged as a leading not-for-profit laboratory for new musicals, including Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona & Brooklyn, Broadway and the Bard, starring Len Cariou and Red Eye of Love, which was awarded the Joseph A. Callaway Award for Outstanding Choreography. Its production of The Other Josh Cohen) received six 2013 Drama Desk nominations including Outstanding Musical, a 2013 Lucille Lortel nomination for Outstanding Musical, and a 2013 Off-Broadway Alliance nomination for Best New Musical. Other shows that Amas has developed include A Taste of Chocolate, Triassic Parq, The Countess of Storyville, Distant Thunder, Marry Harry, Me and Miss Monroe, Aesop & Company, Signs of Life, Wanda’s World, Shout! The Mod Musical, Lone Star Love, From My Hometown, Zanna, Don’t!, 4 Guys Named Jose and Stormy Weather: Reimagining Lena Horne_. Amas education programs include the Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy, Lens on Live Theatre and in-school theatre arts residencies designed in partnership with elementary, middle, and high schools.