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THE COMMUTERS and OTHER CAUTIONARY TALES OF TRANSIT

Book by Gil Varod, Music by Caleb Damschroder,

Lyrics by Kit Goldstein Grant

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Three 30-minute One Acts, Musical Comedy

Small Cast: 3m, 2f

Running Time: 90 minutes

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THE COMMUTERS is a triptych of three comedic tales of the horrors of New York City Public Transportation: 


A CAUTIONARY TALE ABOUT THE PORT AUTHORITY: This twilight zone-esque nightmare follows Ernie, an arrogant MTA executive wandering through the living purgatory of the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  With his gate to Ho-Ho-Kus nowhere in sight, the statues lurch to life to let him know that he has some horrible subway sins to pay for, which means he’s about to become one of them...


DUTCHMAN!: On the day before her retirement, the Captain of the Staten Island Ferry’s oldest ship suffers a crash with the cursed immortal pirate known as The Flying Dutchman, who intends to commandeer the ship and crew so he can search the Staten Island landfill for buried treasure.  Will the Captain escape being killed, her soul haunting the vessel she is killed on for eternity?  Or will she have to forfeit her security deposit on the ship?


THE JAVITZ SERVER: In a post-apocalyptic New York where self-driving taxis are the norm and pizza no longer exists, the human race has been taken over by “Koreazon", a North Korea-South Korea-Amazon.com conglomeration.  Now, a rebel faction must find their way into Koreazon’s center core to shut it down, but there’s only one way to get inside: find the last living taxi driver.


When it comes to New York Transit, you’d better behave… or better be brave

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The show can be performed as a full-evening of one-acts, or each act can be performed individually.

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Click HERE to request a perusal script & demos.

Artwork for Act 1 by Christopher Michaels

ABOUT THE SHOW

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Lizzie Miller as Helen in the 2016 production of The Commuters...; her performance earned her the award for Best Actress at the Strawberry Theatre Festival.

The Commuters... was originally written as a 20 minute musical for the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts' and Lincoln Center's "Across A Crowded Room" musical theatre writing workshop in the summer of 2015, playing to uproarious laughter and high praise from a panel of theatrical luminaries.

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A revised version of the first act, The Commuters or A Cautionary Tale About The Port Authority, was voted the audience favorite and was nominated for five awards, including best musical, at the Riant Theatre’s 2016 Strawberry One Act Festival, presented by Calendar Boys Productions.

 

Gil, Caleb, and Kit then expanded the show by completing two companion one-acts, creating a full 90-minute evening of theater.  The full series of shows received a staged reading at The Dramatist's Guild in NYC in 2019

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AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

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The Commuters...  was nominated across the board in every award category at the 2016 Strawberry Theatre Festival including Best Musical, Best Actor, and Best Costumes. The show won the awards for Best Actress (Lizzie Miller as Helen) and Best Director (Christopher Michaels).

SELECTED SONGS

Demos Coming Soon!

Joe Chisholm as Ernie and Christopher Michaels as Terry in the first reading of The Commuters... at the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in NYC.

PHOTOS FROM NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS

For more information, a sample script/demos, contact NewClassicMusicals@gmail.com
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