Musical theatre Out of the Blue debut set at TWU

Oct. 11, 2024 ― DENTON ― The Texas Woman's University Division of Music is making its musical theatre debut with Out of the Blue, a new musical under development by an Emmy-award-winning creative team.

Inspired by true events, Out of the Blue is the inspiring story of a 17-year-old art student named Sienna who is losing her eyesight during her senior year in high school. The diagnosis ends her dream of getting into her chosen art school, but with the help of her two best friends and an unlikely volunteer tutor, Sienna breaks through her darkness to fulfill her vision of attending college and becoming an artist.

The show will take place Nov. 2-3, at the Margo Jones Performance Hall on the TWU campus.

Out of the Blue's story and book was written by Mark Mazzarella and the music and lyrics are by Sean P. Pallatroni.

Mazzarella is an Emmy-winning writer, a two-time Tony award nominee and founder of Revolutionary Youth Theatre. He created a PBS documentary, Stories of The American Puppet, about the history of American puppetry. He was nominated for a Tony award for Excellence in Theatre Education after creating a nationally renowned high school theatre program. His career has spanned theatre, television and film. He has written, produced and directed hundreds of productions, including educational films, TV, documentaries and stage productions worldwide.

Pallatroni is an Emmy-winning composer, songwriter, director and pianist. Originally from Bedford, New Hampshire, he has written for musical theatre, classical chamber ensembles, jazz, choir and orchestra. His musical Happily premiered in February 2017 in New York City and won Best Score at the NYWinterfest Theatre Festival. He coaches and musically directs shows in Connecticut and New York and has scored programs for Connecticut Public Television.

"We look forward to watching these young aspiring performers bring this thought-provoking and engaging new musical to life," Mazzarella said. "I believe this experience will offer the students and faculty of TWU a valuable first-hand look into the process of developing and rehearsing a new musical from the ground up. Student performers, the technical crew and musicians will all have opportunities to benefit from this collaborative experience with the Out of the Blue creative team. It will be exciting to access the student talent pool, facilities and departmental resources of TWU. It's going to be an amazing project."

Tickets are $10 for general admission, $5 for students/seniors, and free for children under 12, and are available online at commerce.cashnet.com/twu.music

Founded in Denton in 1901 Texas Woman's University is the nation's largest university system focused on women. The School of Arts & Design encompasses the schools of Dance, Fashion & Merchandising, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts.

Page last updated 4:22 PM, October 11, 2024