“I HAVE SEEN THE AFTER” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (2 of 8)
Performed by ETHAN CARLSON, CORY JEACOMA with IAN FAIRLEE, MARY CLAIRE MISKELL, DAVID PARK and DANIEL YEARWOOD
America, during the Civil War, 1864. They are an unlikely pair: Clay, a gang-thief determined to find life’s fortune alone; and Szajda (“Shy”), a ghostly Jew with an Irish accent, blind but possessing a remarkable power. Yet they become tied at the waist with a length of rope, stuck together on a desperate quest through a Civil war-torn America. As their journey begins, each boy struggles to understand the stranger beside him.
“THE ROAD EVERLASTING” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 1 of 8)
Performed by F. MICHAEL HAYNIE, KERSTIN ANDERSON, KATIE THOMPSON
And WILL ERAT, CORY JEACOMA, JOHN-MICHAL LYLES, ANDI ALHADEFF, VICTORIA HUSTON-ELM
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
“MY LASS, SHE TIED HER LACE TO ME” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (4 of 8)
Performed by CORY JEACOMA, IAN FAIRLEE, DAVID PARK and DANIEL YEARWOOD
The pivotal moment when Clay chooses to tie to Shy, giving his friend sight. The onstage band of storytellers, The Daybreak Boys, blesses their union with a song.
“WE FOXES” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 8 of 8)
Performed by KERSTIN ANDERSON and NIC ROULEAU
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
“I GO ON WITH YOU” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (5 of 8)
Performed by CHARLIE FRANKLIN and MATTHEW MCFARLAND
Clay vows to get Shy home to Virginia, escaping the vicious gangs of New York and pushing a path into the heart of the Civil War. Yet with all the danger ahead of them, Clay and Shy vow to journey together come what may.
“MAP OF SCARS” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 4 of 8)
Performed by KERSTIN ANDERSON
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
“ALL MEN ARE TIED TOGETHER” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (3 of 8)
Performed by MAURICE MURPHY with IAN FAIRLEE, MARY CLAIRE MISKELL, DAVID PARK and DANIEL YEARWOOD
Along the journey, Daniel, the man who practically raised Shy, offers Shy and Clay a final sermon that despite their differences, in this life all men must bond together, for only then, may true brotherhood be found.
“THE STRANGER” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (1 of 8)
Performed by ETHAN CARLSON, CORY JEACOMA with IAN FAIRLEE, MARY CLAIRE MISKELL, DAVID PARK and DANIEL YEARWOOD
America, during the Civil War, 1864. They are an unlikely pair: Clay, a gang-thief determined to find life’s fortune alone; and Szajda (“Shy”), a ghostly Jew with an Irish accent, blind but possessing a remarkable power. Yet they become tied at the waist with a length of rope, stuck together on a desperate quest through a Civil war-torn America. As their journey begins, each boy struggles to understand the stranger beside him.
“DARKNESS” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (8 of 8)
Performed by CLAYBOURNE ELDER
The conclusion of the story sees one of the boys sacrificing his own life for the other. The surviving boy must take the broken, frayed rope, and understand how to move on, alone. He takes the rope in hand and ties it around himself, the two souls becoming one in an eternal embrace.
“THERE’S A TRAIN A-COMIN” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 5 of 8)
Performed by F. MICHAEL HAYNIE, KERSTIN ANDERSON, KATIE THOMPSON
And WILL ERAT, CORY JEACOMA, JOHN-MICHAL LYLES, ANDI ALHADEFF, VICTORIA HUSTON-ELM
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
“CITY OF ANGELS” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 6 of 8)
Performed by NIC ROULEAU
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
On Tuesday, October 27th 2015, RSO performed the premiere of a new song at Lincoln Center Originals: Songwriters. Check out the full video over on Broadway World and read the lyrics below:
“NEW PICTURES”
Matthew always dreamed of dancing with ABT…
That is, of course, American Ballet Theatre.
(Which I thought it was a college because I’m dumb.)
He’d studied since a kid, and worked his ass off,
And then it happened. It ALL happened.
He had this picture in his head
Of dancing at the Met.
And by seventeen he’d joined that scene
In tights and T-shirt stained with sweat.
Building stacks of broken shoes,
Every day a brand new bruise,
A life’s goal attained so fast!
But what’s a dream to do
When it’s finished coming true?
The picture of his life didn’t — couldn’t last.
Cuz the picture in your head
Never ends like you expect.
And four years in, room starts to spin,
He stayed home sick, his body wrecked.
Sure, he thought, a minor bug,
But after weeks, and still a slug,
The docs called it Epstein-Barre.
Goodbye the dreams of ballet star…
Goodbye … goodbye …
He was lost. Everything he worked for,
Gone!
All the pieces smashed asunder,
Left eighteen months to wonder
What would he do now?
What would he do now?
With his picture just a shred,
He was jobless, with no hope.
But that wasn’t him, and so on a whim
He bought a camera, just to cope.
Slow at first, but then some speed —
He knew the passion it took to feed
A skill, whether dance or art —
He knew how much time, how much heart —
He was found. Suddenly the work came
Fast!
Putting pieces in position,
Reigniting old ambition,
He was an artist once again and how!
And now —
We have a picture by our bed
Of him dancing at the Met.
Now he shoots the shows, and Broadway knows
He’s the go-to-guy, good as they get.
He taught me life may change your art,
But it can never change your heart.
The real test, he came to see:
The picture of a dream can fade…
But the point is, new pictures get made.
He made new art
With his new life with me.
“THEM BEASTS” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 3 of 8)
Performed by KATIE THOMPSON
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
“ALWAYS LOVE” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (7 of 8)
Performed by ALEX WYSE & ALEX BONIELLO
At the climax of their journey, loyalties are tested and sacrifices must be made. In a cold world where brother must fight brother, Clay and Shy dream of a future together, lifelong companions and brothers forever.
“WHAT YA CALL FREEDOM” from ROPE
From Rope in Concert at 54 Below (6 of 8)
Performed by MARY CLAIRE MISKELL
Later in the story, Shy meets his long lost sister, Stefa, who has an affinity for dressing up in boys clothes. Stefa’s best friend is the slave Reggie, and she dreams of a world where her mother will free Reggie and all the slaves, and maybe even Stefa can find her own sort of freedom.
“SORROW DONE” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 2 of 8)
Performed by KERSTIN ANDERSON
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
“THE MAD DOG” from WE FOXES
From We Foxes in Concert at 54 Below (Video 7 of 8)
Performed by KERSTIN ANDERSON
Sheriff Quimby and his beloved wife Vesta are dead. The town learns that their adopted daughter, Willa, is responsible. One tramp, Mr. Sallow, is asked to tell what he knows about the orphan girl Willa. Four years earlier, Willa, a young teenager, lives the tramp life on the road with her brother, George. But George is hauled away to war, leaving Willa without a soul in this world to guide her. Vesta Quimby adopts Willa, indoctrinating her into a glamorous world of privilege and class. Yet that isn’t Willa; Willa comes from road people, and once her brother returns from the war, she’ll have her real family again.
Have you heard? RSO and Lindsay Mendez wrote a book!
For the last thirteen years, Actor Therapy co-founders Lindsay Mendez and RSO have dedicated their careers to guiding actors, sharpening their craft, and supporting them not only as artists but as human beings. In that time, Actor Therapy has grown far beyond “just a class.” Together, they’ve built a philosophy. What began with eight students at Ripley-Grier has blossomed into year-round classes, transformative intensives, hundreds of new students each year, and a thriving alumni community thousands strong.
Now, Lindsay and Ryan are sharing that philosophy with the world in a brand-new book: How to Succeed in Musical Theatre Without Really Dying, arriving March 3, 2026.
Nearly 450 pages of insight, humor, and hard-won wisdom are packed into this essential guide—full of the same big tips, hot takes, and “knowledge bombs” that have made Actor Therapy a mainstay in the New York theatre community. From building your brand to polishing your audition package, booking the job, and—most importantly—sustaining a long, joyful career in musical theatre.
The foreword is written by Jonathan Groff, and readers can expect the same blend of honesty, humor, and heart that defines everything Lindsay and Ryan do.
“Lindsay Mendez and Ryan Scott Oliver run a great class in auditioning and performing for musical theatre, and beyond that, they have a ton of experience, both happy and not-so-happy, in the business of making a career in musical theatre. If I were a performer looking for tips, information, and advice, I’d certainly turn to them!”
—Stephen Schwartz, Tony Award–nominated composer for Wicked
“An essential road map for actors . . . Required reading for anyone looking to embark on a professional career in musical theatre.”
Very Intense Productions is pleased to present RSO: MONDAY THE 13TH, an intimate evening of songs by multi-award-winning composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Show time will be 7:00pm on Monday, September 13, 2021. The show will also be livestreamed.
Rounding out the cast is Kerstin Anderson, Heath Saunders, Bandits on the Run, and Arielle Jacobs, with Kathryn Allison, Kae Bragg, Ethan Carlson, Lillian Andrea De León, Nicole DeLuca, Caitlin Doak, Alina Fontanilla, Jessie Hooker-Bailey, Michael Lowney, Miranda Luze, Adam Magnacca, Milo Marami, Kim Onah, The acoustic stylings of Eleri Ward, Donté Wilder, and Daniel Yearwood
It’ll be a scary good time.
Joshua Zecher-Ross music directs Allison Seidner on cello, Hiroko Taguchi on Violin, Yuka Tadano on basses, and Andrew Zinsmeister on guitars. Orchestrations are by Ryan Scott Oliver.
Audience members can expect to hear tunes from the prolific list of Oliver’s work, from Mrs. Sharp; Darling; 35mm: A Musical Exhibition; Jasper in Deadland;We Foxes; Rope; Otherbody, a brief musical allegory; Three Points of Contact, and world premieres from Oliver’s latest work from Heart and Souls, Hugo, and Shirley Jackson’s Demons.
RSO: MONDAY THE 13TH plays Feinstein’s/54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on September 13, 2021 at 7:00pm. Seats for the show are currently sold out, but seats may come available closer to the show date. A live stream is available for $15 plus fees. Tickets and information for both are available at www.54Below.com. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.
John Johnson and Very Intensive Productions are pleased to announce the release of 35MM: A Musical Exhibition in Focus, an album of commentary, original cast interviews, and track-by-track song breakdowns. The album is available now (March 9) via Spotify, Apple Music, and all streaming platforms.
Did you know that the song “Crazytown” is structured around the 20 most common nightmares of college students?
Or that “The Ballad of Sara Berry” was written in 2 days before its world premiere?
Hear how the guitar riff of “Good Lady” was pulled straight out of “Giants in the Sky,”
The first line of “Party Goes with You” was recorded with the wrong lyric … and no one caught it,
And learn the tragically true story that inspired “Cut You a Piece.”
Plus so much more.
35MM: A Musical Exhibition is a cult-hit musical written by Ryan Scott Oliver that has been performed hundreds of times all over the world, including Japan, Australia, Scotland, England, Canada and across the US. With a cast recording (by Ghostlight Records) that has been experienced more than 20 million times, the show is song cycle based on photographs by world-renowned Broadway photographer Matthew Murphy (Murphymade.com).
The podcast-style album is narrated by Ryan Scott Oliver and features interviews with original cast members Alex Brightman, Ben Crawford, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Lindsay Mendez and Betsy Wolfe, with additional commentary by Murphy. Every song (including transitions) receives a track-by-track breakdown, analyzing music and lyrics and digging deep into their origins and inspirations.
A comprehensive deep dive perfect for actors, directors, writers, and creatives of any kind, 35MM: A Musical Exhibition in Focus also includes Oliver and Murphy reflecting on the decade-old songs and photographs respectively (“Matt and Ryan Grade 35MM”), a discussion with the original cast about the show’s legacy (“Parting Shots”), and a TedTalk-style tutorial guiding young creatives on how to develop and produce their own work by the writer himself (“RSO’s Thoughts on Making Stuff Happen”).
Tony Award-winners Nikki M. James, Lindsay Mendez, and Ruthie Ann Miles star in RSO AT F/54, an evening retrospective of musicals by multi-award-winning composer-lyricist Ryan Scott Oliver at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Show time will be 7:00pm on March 31, 2020.
The evening will also feature Tony nominee Kate Baldwin, plus Christy Altomare, Kerstin Anderson, Katie Rose Clarke, Ben Fankhauser, Drew Gehling, Jason Gotay, Troy Iwata, Jay Armstrong Johnson, John-Michael Lyles, Katie Thompson, and Natalie Walker.
Also featured during the evening are Ethan Carlson, Caitlin Doak,
Ian Fairlee, Mary Claire Miskell, David Park, Bethany Perkins, and Donté
Wilder.
Joshua Zecher-Ross music directs Max Grossman on Keyboard 2, Allison Seidner on cello, Coco Taguchi on Violin, Joseph Wallace on basses, Jeremy Yaddaw on drums, and Andrew Zinsmeister on guitars. Orchestrations are by Ryan Scott Oliver.
Audience members can expect to hear tunes from the prolific list of Oliver’s work, from Mrs. Sharp; Darling; 35mm: A Musical Exhibition; Jasper in Deadland;We Foxes; Rope; Otherbody, a brief musical allegory; Three Points of Contact, and world premieres from Oliver’s latest work.
On March 31, 2020 — after two years away — RSO returns to Feinstein’s/54 Below for his most awesome evening of song to date. With a cast of Broadway stars and fan favorites (to be announced), audiences can expect to hear some of RSO’s best-loved songs from 35MM: A Musical Exhibition, Jasper in Deadland, We Foxes, Darling, Mrs. Sharp, and more — plus a few brand-new tunes!
