The New Musical Labs at Ferguson Center 2022
The New Musical Lab at Ferguson Center will open its doors for the 2022 season from July 5 to August 15 for six musicals in total. From interstellar history to animal friends, the musicals offer their own take on the ups and downs of life and how humans can make sure not to take for granted the gifts life offers.
The first musical Wake You Up is written by Taylor Pearlstein & Shannon Molly Flynn. Wake You Up is about two friends named Jordon and Avery. After an accident happens that threatens the life of one of them, we follow the characters through their memories and watch how heartbreak and comfort can be found in unexpected places. As the play carries the audience through the different waves of life, it gives the harsh reality but also the tender realization that sometimes collisions happen for a reason.
The second musical is called Collisions and it is a concept album written by Elspeth Collard & Sam Rosenblatt. Collisions explores the boundaries of near-misses and perfect explosions through a small vocal and musical ensemble. The captivating music sweeps the audience off their feet from its starting note and takes the audience into a different and deeper look at the grand details of life and how everyone collides.
The musical Loch Ness takes on a more mystical approach as it tells the story of a 12-year-old girl named Haley who unexpectedly comes face-to-snout with the Loch Ness monster. Haley is in search of her mother who got lost at sea and upon finding out that “Nessie” has also lost her mother, the two set off on a quest to find their lost loved ones that will change their lives forever.
Against Women and Music takes place in 1863 at a New York country estate. Ambitious and driven, Celine prepares her daughter Geneva to marry on her wedding day. When Geneva reveals that she feels reluctant to marry, strange and unexplainable events begin to terrorize the household and threaten the ceremony.
Perfect Summer Evening was written by Brooklynn Baca & Riley Cohen. The musical is about a young boy named Connie who lives on a farm outside of Ann Arbor in 1977. Socially outcast and guarded, Connie navigates through the typical troubles and trials of growing up. As he does so, he begins a not-so-ordinary friendship with a pair of conjoined calves named Charlie Major and Charlie Minor. Inspired by Laura Gilpin’s poem, “The Two-Headed Calf”, this story shows the audience how short a life can be, and how we can make the most of ours.
The last musical is called, The Golden Record and it is a theatricalized concept album written by singer-songwriter Angela Sclafani. Using the buzzing sounds of the 1970s, The Golden Record tells the story of the making of NASA’s Voyager time capsule. Alive with excitement and wonder, Sclafani weaves the tale of how a team of brilliant minds paved the way for earth’s first interstellar message.
Through two-headed cows, rebellious daughters, monsters and 70’s music, this season’s New Musical Lab takes on the summer with creativity and fun. New musicals have a new home, and we are counting down the days until July to kick off the 2022 season!