Our Time: The Influence of Sondheim

“We’re the movers and we’re the shapers. We’re the names in tomorrow’s papers.”

– “Our Time,” Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim

Sep 01, 2022

Clockwise from left: Joriah Kwamé, Khiyon Hursey, Madeline Myers, Jay Adana, Max Vernon, Daniel and Patrick Lazour

Khiyon Hursey: I’m so happy to have all of you here. I would love for us to briefly go around – because I don’t think all of us know each other – [and] share our names, pronouns, and what we do in musical theatre. I’m Khiyon. I’m a composer/lyricist/bookwriter, he/him/his.

Max Vernon: Hi, I’m Max. They/them preferably, and I am a composer/lyricist/playwright and occasional costume designer.

Jay Adana: Hi. I’m Jay. She/her. I’m a composer/lyricist/book writer and performer.

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Jay Adana

is loud and shy. Her work has been seen at New World Stages, The Public Theater, Eugene O’Neill NMTC, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Ars Nova, and 59E59. 2020 Richard Rodgers Award, 2021 Vivace Award, 2018 Jonathan Larson Award, 2019 Dramatist Guild Foundation Fellow. www.jayadana.com

Madeline Myers

is a musical theatre composer, lyricist, and dramatist in New York City. Her musicals include Double Helix, a show being developed about the discovery of the structure of DNA and the scientist Rosalind Franklin. @madelinesmyers www.madelinemyers.com

Joriah Kwamé

is most known for writing the viral musical theatre tune “Little Miss Perfect.” He is a recipient of the 2020 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award. He participated in the 2020 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project. He contributed to SFGMC’s premiere song cycle Songs Of The Phoenix, alongside the likes of Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lippa.

Daniel Lazour & Patrick Lazour

are brothers and music theatre writers. Their musical We Live in Cairo premiered at the American Repertory Theatre in May 2019. Other work includes Night Side Songs, an adaptation of Ritesh Batra's film The Lunchbox, a movie musical Challenger: An American Dream; and they are developing a 60-minute song titled “Romulus & Remus, or How We Came to Live in the Festering Wound of the West.” They were 2015-16 Dramatists Guild Fellows, MacDowell Fellows and are New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspects. They were artists-in-residence at the American University in Cairo and are teaching artists at Lincoln Center Theater. @frereslazour

Max Vernon

is a Tony-nominated playwright and songwriter whose musicals include The View UpStairs, KPOP, The Tattooed Lady, and Show & Tell. They are an Out100 Honoree, three-time Drama Desk nominee, two-time MacDowell Fellow, Dramatist Guild Fellow, and recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, Richard Rodgers Award, and Jonathan Larson Grant, among others. maxvernon.com. IG: @frauleinsallybowels

Khiyon Hursey

is a writer and composer based in Los Angeles and New York working to bridge the worlds of contemporary pop music and musical theatre. He has commissions with Ars Nova, Manhattan Theatre Club, TheatreWorks USA, and David Stone.

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