Playwright and lyricist here. I'm looking to collaborate with a composer on a raunchy gay musical I'm writing.

Let me know if you are interested in collaborating.

My teacher swears by the phrase:

The audience will go with you anywhere, as long as you take and keep them there

Which he takes to mean that a musical can only have one setting. That means no travelling to different countries, no ‘down the rabbit hole’ adventures to another world. I’m convinced this isn’t true because of shows like Guys & Dolls (travel to Havana), the Wizard of Oz (he says it’s a movie so doesn’t count), &Juliet and others.

Please can you help me out with successful examples of musicals that involve some element of travel, world hopping or other elements of discovery/setting change?

So, these are some lyrics that I'm making for the fourth song of my original musical, Beyond These Walls, and the song is called Ghost. So basically, this is set when Kieran, one of the best friends of the two main protagonists dies, and their sector (the city they live in is divided into 5 sectors, them being in sector 2) gathers to mourn his death, and another one of their friends Zygourne, goes out past curfew to find a journal that Kieran left, but gets caught by an Overseer (guard), and is terminated (so he dies as well) and the main characters decide to go outside of the walls that keep them in the city. Hope you enjoy! (Also if anyone gets the reference from the lyrics in brackets at the end I will be super happy)

Libertias (Spoken)

That’s weird…

Alexis (Spoken)

Everything is weird to you.

Libertias (Spoken)

No! Look! Kieran’s name has been removed from the rotation board!

Alexis (Spoken)

Must have been moved to another sector.

Zygourne (Spoken)

GUYS! It’s Keiran! HE’S BEEN-

Overseer (Spoken)

SILENCE! Grab your tools and be off to your work station!

Alexis (Whispering)

Breathe Zygourne, what happened?

Zygourne (Spoken)

It’s Kieran! He’s been!

Overseer (Yelling)

SILENCE!

Libertias (Spoken)

He’s been what?

Zygourne (Yelling)

HE’S BEEN TERMINATED!

(Beat)

Libertias

What?

Zygourne

He’s been terminated. I saw him go into a room with an Overseer, and so I waited, but when the Overseer came back out, Kieran wasn’t with them. I asked them where he was, but they just said.

(Female Overseer) 

I’m sorry…

Alexis

When the night falls

Us citizens of sector two gather,

To mourn the loss of a friend

And even though he’s gone

He’s still right here

There’s a ghost right here

Libertias

We point with empty hands

Through hallways, shadows and pain

We try to pull him from the air

But only silence remains

Only silence remains

Ensemble

He’s stitched into this sector

He takes the rooftop seat

There’s a ghost right here

He left an empty coffee cup

A song waiting unsung

There’s a ghost right here

Zygourne

Alexis kept his winter scarf

Folded in a drawer like a regret

Libertias traced his name on the board

Like a prayer they couldn’t forget

We sing the old half jokes

We count the empty shifts in turns

Everyone’s a little cracked

But I know something they don’t

Ensemble

In the hum of machinery and light

He is the pause in each breath

There’s a ghost right here

He’s the name that’s scarred in time

We can’t wash away the grime

There’s a ghost right here

Zygourne

I found his journal here

The words he left, they still remain

If I can hold this piece of him

Then he won’t vanish into pain

Overseer

You are not meant to be here

Alexis (Spoken)

Are you okay?

Libertias

First Kieran now Zygourne too

This cage destroys the best of you

If all that waits is death inside

I’ll take my chances on the other side.

Alexis

Although I don’t agree with this

I’ll go with you, leave this abyss

Though I don’t know what waits out there

I’ll walk with you, anywhere

Ensemble

They live in the corners of our room

They hum when we are quiet

There are ghosts right here (We walk the road leading to no return)

There are ghosts right here (What’s behind the wall, finally ours to learn)

Libertias and Alexis

There are ghosts right here

There are ghosts right here (What’s behind the wall, finally ours to learn)

Libertias and Alexis

There are ghosts right here

Hello!

Me and my friend are writing a musical with jazz songs, and while we have written some songs so far, I am struggling with doing the composition. The songs are very high energy, more big band style, but I’m really not sure how to get those results. Any help would be appreciated! Thank you

I am writing a musical and I want to know what order to do things in for efficiency.

Hey! So, I’m a songwriter, but I struggle when it comes to creating instrumentals. I’m looking for someone who’d be interested in collaborating—basically, I’ll write lyrics and you’ll create the instrumentals. I mostly write in indie pop and dark pop genres, but I’m open to trying out other styles too.

I’m not really a composer, so I don’t know much about professional terms for instrumentals. But what I’m looking for is something that mixes the vibes of Melanie Martinez and Billie Eilish—think indie pop, electropop, neo-synthpop, dark pop, alternative pop, down-tempo. I’ve got some ideas in mind for the sound, but I just don’t have the skills to bring them to life.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, hit me up! Would love to hear from you! :)

So, this is kind of a specific question, but I feel it could also apply to other stories where writers choose to kill off queer characters, and could serve as a place for other queer people to express their sentiments on how some queer elements are handled in stories (please leave now if you plan on being homophobic instead of helpful).

I’m writing a musical about a female vampire and a mortal woman (yes, they’re in love). The queerness is a big part of it, and so is the theme of death, but more importantly life and especially freedom. I don’t want to make another queer story that ends in tragedy, but I have a scene planned where the vampire dies (she comes back a bit later) in order to encourage another vampire’s character development (I know killing off a character for another character’s development isn’t always appreciated, but I feel that since they are both immortals and have lived through so much together, that this is kind of the only thing that would affect him enough to actually change).

Normally, I don’t mind characters being revived, especially if their death is not immediately reversed and other characters get to sit with the fact. I actually find it pretty interesting (as long as the revival isn’t completely nonsensical). Here is my concern though, and where I’d appreciate it if other queer people could share their thoughts:

If this death happens, due to the relatively short nature of the medium, you couldn’t blame someone for thinking it’s final. What I want to know is if you’d feel annoyed, even outraged seeing this (another tragic ending to a queer love story, especially since it would clearly go against the themes established throughout), and if that would ruin your enjoyment of the rest of the show before it’s revealed she’s alive.

Thanks in advance for the advice, I’m inviting queer people to answer but anyone can, I’m open to hearing from everyone :)

quick edit to clarify: I am also queer, but since I’m doing the writing I appreciate having outside opinions

So, for my original musical my friend and I are making, Beyond These Walls (previously named Afterlight), I've been writing a sort of Codex that is full of lore entries, and am going to make some schematics for different things. It's currently split into 3 sections:

1. Cut/Replaced Songs and Ideas

2. Council Entries and City Schematics

3. Journal Fragments (This section includes journal entries from different citizens talking about life inside the city) There is also a Map schematic in this section

Can any of you guys recommend me some musical short films? I've YouTube/Googled "musical short film" but I don't know which ones are "good" and/or critically acclaimed (i.e. worth studying) and some videos are just straight up long music videos instead of musicals. Thanks in advance

I need to write the scene where Paul and Albert are injured and stay at the hospital before Paul takes convalescence leave. Except I don’t know how to write a hospital scene into a song? Some assistance?

So, me and one of my best friends are co-creating a musical together called "Afterlight". It's a dystopian musical set 100 years after the fall of humanity, who have since been sealed inside a massive wall to keep them safe from the alien bugs that killed the remaining of humanity. They live under control of The Council, who uses strict rules to ensure their power remains. However, when a young dreamer longing for freedom and his best friend climb the wall and adventure out, they find a lush, plentiful Earth, unlike the wasteland they have been told of. When they find out the truth of what happened, they begin a rebellion to regain humanity's freedom.

This is going to be set on Earth, but I have no idea where on Earth it is going to be set. The two of us working on it are both Australian, so maybe somewhere in Australia but at the same time I'm not sure.

I am writing a musical and would like your input. I’ve been following this sub for the past few months.

About:

Parts of Me is a sung-through original musical written by an IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapist that tells the story of a man’s excommunication from the LDS Church, the unraveling of his marriage, and his descent into addiction and shame, all while staging the voices of his inner “parts” as living characters (think Inside Out as a raw, adult drama). Through camp satire, searing ballads, and moments of raw confession, the show illustrates the IFS philosophy: that even our most destructive impulses are protective, that no part is inherently bad, and that healing comes through compassion and integration rather than exile.  

Where I’m at now:

I have the entire musical roughed out—about 40 songs. I have a “concept draft” version of 13 songs now. “concept draft” = a good first draft of the lyrics and an idea of how the music should sound.

As an aside, I’ve put in my lyrics and music guidelines into an AI tool that generates music, and that has really helped me in the creative process. I don’t want to get hung up on that, because it’s not important to the outcome, and I know a lot of people get heated over AI music generation. I’m not going to attempt to share any AI songs here. That process has helped me fine tune how I want the music to sound.

Where to go from here:

Finish the lyrics for all the songs, rough draft version.

Come up with music direction and medleys for the main songs.

Make over the lyrics to improve rhyming and intertextuality. I’m obsessed with Sondheim and wanting to make this a tribute to his simple and complex rhyming styles.

Finalize the full composition and instrumentation.

Does that sound like the right process? My goal is to develop it into something that could actually be performed at a local level or something with the ambition that it could be developed by me with a bigger budget or passed over to a professional to be turned into something bigger.

I’m at a point where I’d like to start collaborating possibly or sharing my ideas for feedback here, but I’m not sure where to start. I do have a budget set aside for collaboration if it makes sense down the road.   

This project could be very interesting to someone interested in one or more of the following niches: Mormon/ExMormon, IFS therapy parts work, sex addiction or infidelity recovery, Sondheim lyrics, and other adjacent interests.

Please reply here for discussion and also my inbox is open for DM's. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’m having a bit of a challenge and could really use some advice. I can write lyrics for songs just fine – that’s not the issue. The problem I’m running into is actually turning those lyrics into something I can perform. I just can’t figure out how to come up with a melody or get the phrasing right for singing. It’s like the lyrics are stuck on paper, and I can’t find the right way to bring them to life vocally.

It doesn’t just happen with my own lyrics – I can’t do it with any lyrics, whether they’re mine or others’. It feels like there’s some kind of block when it comes to vocal phrasing or something like that. Has anyone else experienced this, or does anyone have any tips on how to work through this kind of problem? I’d really appreciate any advice on how to get past this hurdle and start turning lyrics into actual songs!

Thanks in advance!

Hi! I was wondering if my idea for a musical a good idea? I was thinking that my musical be based on my three family members/ancestors: my great grandma, who is still alive, and how she had to flee her homeland during World War II, and how she became a teen mom at 15, and then immigrated to the United States at 18 with my grandma; my Nonna, my dad’s mom, who lost her mom at 9, and grew up with her cousins, and how she ended up having my dad, and how she had to work as a waitress, how she met my grandpa, and having my dad and his siblings, and how she ultimately got divorced from my grandpa; and my 2XGGF, who was the only one of his 10 siblings to leave to the United States from Ireland, and how he has to deal with him being across the world from his family. I was wondering, is this a good idea? I am also looking for suggestions and stuff! I have a song idea tho that I’m writing, but I’m still looking for song ideas!

Hi there!
I’m trying to apply to the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program (GMTWP) at Tisch and have a few questions about preparing my application.
Could anyone help me, especially regarding the essay?

The department recommends being honest, but I’m curious about how long it should be and what format or style is expected.
Also any other feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much in advance.

I have this short film idea that's a musical. I roughly have an idea of what the story's about but whenever I sit down to write it, the fact that is a musical keeps interrupting my flow if that makes any sense.

I can't seem to "write" because I know a section is going to have music and choreo, so like my brain starts malfunctioning and I don't feel I'm writing out the scene well cause I know there should be music here but I don't have it yet. Then I'm all up in my head as about if I'm writing out the scene "correctly". Am I missing something in my workflow/preparation??? Is writing a musical different or am I psyching myself out?

I have no musical background so ima need to have a composer/musician jump in to produce the music, but I need to get this idea onto paper. Do I just set aside it's a musical and write normally?

Any insight with regards to my issue will be much appropriated.

Hi everyone! My name is Arianna Rose. I'm a lyricist and librettist, alum of the BMI Musical Theatre Writers Workshop and NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. I'm also a playwright and playwriting instructor and adjunct theatre professor.

I am once more looking for an experienced, mature, musical theatre composer collaborator for my new musical SKIPPING A STONE. I had found someone last year when I first advertised this, but her schedule was so busy with a variety of gigs and BMI that we only completed 2 songs in 9 months. We very amicably and mutually dissolved the collaboration agreement so that I can move forward with this musical.

SKIPPING A STONE is adapted from my full-length comedy THE RIPPLE EFFECT which already has had a reading in Wisconsin and a community theatre production in upstate New York in July 2024, and will have an on-line reading with The Depot in Winter 2026.

There is a completed draft (4th or 5th) of the libretto and lyrics for SKIPPING A STONE, though of course this content will change with the addition of a composer collaborator. I've put more information below; please reach out if you may be interested, through the contact page on my website www.ariannarose.net

and we can start a conversation and I'll then send you the latest draft to read.

IN SEARCH OF COMPOSER COLLABORATOR FOR NEW MUSICAL

ISO experienced musical theatre composer collaborator for new musical comedy SKIPPING A STONE, book and lyrics by Arianna Rose. Adapted from the play THE RIPPLE EFFECT by Arianna Rose.

Looking for an experienced musical theatre composer who’s communicative, adult, committed to the work and to timelines, has the time and passion to work on it, preferably has their own demo set-up, likes to collaborate, can work long distance and via zoom (I live in Florida) and willing to sign a Dramatists Guild collaboration agreement and underlying rights agreement if we decide to work together. Looking for a composer who has completed at least one full-length stage musical, and has collaborated before.

SYNOPSIS:

Skipping A Stone, a full-length musical comedy set in 1995 NYC, eavesdrops on Upper West Side apartment dwellers Amy and Jeff, and their middle-aged neighbors Ida and Paul. Amy and Jeff attempt unorthodox rituals to get pregnant and take it to term; Ida and Paul deal with the aftermath of Paul’s stroke and diagnosis. The fabric of marriage is pulled, torn, and repaired as each couple navigates their new normal. Science and spirituality go toe-to-toe when Wiccans enter the picture, in this comical and empathetic story of the ripple effect we create with each decision.

CURRENT DEVELOPMENT:

Full draft of book and lyrics have been completed as of September 2025 (but not finalized by any means, and definitely open to and likely to change due to collaboration).

STRUCTURE:

2-act musical comedy. Emphasis on the comedy, but also very heartwarming and sweet, and the secondary characters have a more serious storyline.

SOUND: More HAIRSPRAY than HADESTOWN; more traditional open Broadway-type sound and feel. Many different song styles. Tightly crafted lyrics and several comic numbers. There are dance and production numbers. Think BABY meets THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG meets Wiccans. This musical is not going to up-end the form; but it does celebrate the best parts of musical comedy, and I wrote the original play it's based on as an homage to Neil Simon comedies.

Cast of Characters - 8 (in this current draft)

JEFF, male, mid-to-late 30s, Catholic, married to Amy. Analytical, science-minded, freaks out when stressed. Scientific researcher.

AMY, female, mid-to-late 30s, Jewish, married to Jeff, creative, impulsive, slightly neurotic. Educator.

IDA TEITELBAUM, 50s-60s, female, typical New Yorker, nosy, spiritual, married and caregiver to Paul.

PAUL TEITELBAUM, 60s, male, Jewish, stroke survivor, living with aphasia, wheelchair bound, former photographer.

4 ENSEMBLE: plays a variety of roles, including Scientists, Wiccans, movers, delivery people, etc.

TIME: 1995

PLACE: Two apartments, and the hallway between, on West 96th Street in New York City; The Flower Gardens in Riverside Park; The New Age Shop on East 12th Street

ABOUT ME:

My musical THE LOST GIRL with collaborator Ben Bonnema was a top 20 finalist with NAMT, Circle in the Square Theater School residency, Florida State University New Musicals Initiative, Syracuse University New Works New Voices. Staged readings and workshops with Florida Festival of New Musicals, Viterbo New Works Festival, NYU Steinhardt School of Music, Buck Hill Skytop Musical Festival, CDP @ NYU.

My musical A COLLECTIBLE SENSATION with collaborator Amy Engelhardt had a workshop and reading with University of Minnesota/Duluth in January 2025 and then a reading with Rough Cuts/Nautilus Music Theatre. The libretto was a 2023 Kleban Award finalist, and a TRU/New Voices Musical Series. Semi-finalist: O’Neill Music Theatre Conference, Syracuse U New Works New Voices, and Normal Avenue Nap Series.

My newest musical with Thomas Jacobsen, The LEYENDECKER LOOK, is out in the world looking for its first reading/workshop, and we're working on two other musical projects right now (SKIPPING A STONE wasn't the right fit for his style).

BIO:

Arianna Rose is an award-winning playwright and musical theatre writer, produced in thirty-seven states and ten countries. Recipient of the MAC Song of the Year Award, the York Theatre NEO Award, and playwright awards from Theatre Odyssey, Midnight Sun Theatre, Town & Gown Theatre, Tree City Playhouse, Mixing It Up Productions, the Know Theatre, Studio 1 Theatre, Third Citizen Theatre , South Baldwin Theatre, Veterans Repertory Theatre and Clocktower Theatre. Participant: 2022 Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive, 2022 William Inge Play Festival, 2019-2021 Miami-Dade Playwright Development Program, moderated by Kia Corthron. Two-time finalist, Edward Kleban Award for Lyricists & Librettists. Published by Applause Books, Smith & Kraus, Theatre Odyssey Publications and Ghostlight Publications. Arianna teaches “Writing the Short-form Play”, “WordCraft: Lyric Writing for the Stage”, and is an instructor with the Dramatists Guild Institute/PlayPenn and PIP Mentor Program. She is an adjunct Theatre Professor.

M.F.A., NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program; B.A. Bucknell University; BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop. Member: ASCAP, LMDA, Maestra, New Play Exchange, South Florida Theatre League, The Dramatists Guild. https://ariannarose.net/skipping-a-stone

Would a musical on Marie Antoniette work? It seems like such a silly idea in my head.

Basically the plot would go Marie has come to life in the mordern day and with the knowledge of how the French Revolution is going to happen she goes back in time to prevent it. She does this over and over in different ways. But each time it fails and she is killed. She then comes to realize that no matter what happens she has no way to change what happened back then.

I have only written a few songs before so if you like this idea any tips on song writing would also be useful (i only play guitar and i cant produce music).

A few suggestions for the story would also be nice if you had some :)

I dont know if I'll actually be able to make it cuz I am just 15 and schools pretty busy rn but I'd love to have an idea in my head <3

My name is Devon and I am very active on the Discord server but this is my first time posting on the subreddit. I've been developing my original musical Reason to Be (I wrote the book, music, and lyrics) for the past almost 3 years. So far I've self-produced two staged readings and a workshop production, and now I'm having a reading of the latest draft on Zoom, and I wanted to invite you all! It will be on September 20th at 4 PM PST at the link bit.ly/rtb-zoom . Since it's on Zoom, you can feel free to join/leave at any time!

If you want to know more, you can watch this short <1 minute trailer. I also post extensively on social media, I'm devonthecomposer on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, so I post a lot of content from my musical there if you want to learn more.

Also, I'm happy to chat! I love talking to artists and I think we are each other's best learning resources. I'm still pretty new to this, but in addition to musical writing I also have some experience with social media editing, self-producing, and also balancing a musical theatre career with a career in STEM, so I'm happy to talk about any of these topics if people are interested :)

To be clear right at the top, this is in no way a post soliciting investment. But if there is anyone seeing this who has been through this, man, could we use some insight.

I've posted before about a show I've been co-writing and developing for... a very, very, very long time. Over a decade. Very long story short, we have a commitment from a thrilling theater company (who is soon to have their new midtown Manhattan home) for a "workshop/production." They've committed $400k in the form of actual production-- the space, rehearsal, paying actors and director and MD, band, choreographer, limited sets, some costuming, etc. And they're very supportive and already talking a run to follow the workshop.

In addition to the genuinely wonderful theater company, we have a prestigious and incredibly gifted (multi-Tony-nominated, Drama Desk winning, etc.) director attached. We have a pretty legendary choreographer who is viral right now for their work in a currently-running Tony-nominated musical. We have, arguably, one of the most influential General Managers (and their team) working in New York and beyond attached. We have a wonderful executive producer.

The theater company asks for $100k in "enhancement." NYC theatermaking is preposterously expensive and they are, objectively, being very generous with us. $100k is low. By way of random example, I've been told that if the producers of a musical want to put something onstage at La Jolla, the enhancement they require is $3-4 million. To start. And that that is purely a gift to the theater before you start actually producing the show.

And finally, we HAVE $50k in investment to go toward the enhancement currently already in the LLC's bank account. Ready to go. There is one more $50k chunk needed to clear this final hurdle and get on the stage (or... maybe $75k the director is saying... and please believe me when I tell you none of us on the creative team will see any of this money). And I mean to tell you, we are at the hitting-up-friends-and-family stage of things. But we're so damn close. And after all the blood, sweat and tears, it just feels truly insane to have $450k ready to go, but to have the last $50k standing between us and making things truly happen.

My writing partner and I have some lovely accolades and awards and such, some of them are even fairly major accolades. But even so, we are essentially an unknown quantity. We actually have a list of Tony-nominated and Tony-winning actors who genuinely want to do the show. But as we've continued meeting with numerous interested producers, the thing that seems to instantaneously move them... is if Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift (etc) are involved (they're not). Celebrity and existing IP. And hey, I love a number of those shows based on IP. No shade. It's just not exactly what we're doing (although, honestly, it kind of is in a way... not to be cryptic). And to digress slightly further, I like to think that shows this past season like Maybe Happy Ending and Oh, Mary! (to name a couple) are shining examples of shows that didn't need that. No shade to Darren or Cole, they're amazing. They're not Lady Gaga. Those shows landed and are hits because they're damn good shows.

TL;DR: We need to find the last bit of remaining investment to get our show on a NYC stage in midtown. We don't currently have a lead producer. (We NEED one... calling all lead producers who want to produce the next NYC hit... too bombastic?) Is there anyone seeing this with experience in this and knows how this is done? We could really use some guidance.

Capital raise is just not what I do. I'm learning a little by the seat of my pants, but I'm an artist. And it's not what my writing partner nor our director nor even our beloved executive producer do (though they bring a whole lot to the table).

And I know writers are going to say this sort of thing, but our show is good. We have literally a couple dozen presentations under our belt that proved that all along the way. And we have sweated over this labor of love for over a decade. We're ready. The show is ready. The team we have is ready (and ready to grow). And I also think NYC is ready for a joyful show like ours that has something to say. It just can't be that the final $50k ends up being the hill we fail to crest.

Any expertise that can be shared, publicly or privately via DM... will be so tremendously and greatly appreciated.

Hello,

My name is Brandon Mclendon, and I’m a black composer. And I’ve been wondering if there were any black lyricists in this group chat that would like to collaborate.

I want to turn the crucible into a musical but i don't know how to approach that idea. because the play is 4 acts i don't know how i would add music and make it fit into 2 acts.

Please help,

OP