Felicity works to help her animal cast mold their unique talents. But egos (including her own) threaten to turn their creative process to chaos. Romances flicker, as Royster the Rooster pursues a dubious Gladys the Goat and the local tomcat Colbert (the production’s author) secretly pines for Felicity.
As developers hover, ready to turn the farm into a parking lot, all must band together and find skills they never knew they had (even Reynold). Driven by an infectious Tin-Pan-Alley infused score, Barnyard Follies celebrates our differences, the importantce of teamwork, and the power of dancing--on hooves, paws, or whatever you’ve got.
Production History
Barnyard Follies was originally commissioned by the Children’s Theatre of Maine and was performed in their summer camp, going on to a staged reading at Actor’s Connection in New York City featuring Broadway kids and directed by Broadway Associate David Alpert. Out of hundreds of scripts, it won the Moonlit Wings International Playwriting Festival and was performed by various theatre camps around the DC area in the summer of 2017. It was produced in October by the Perth Youth Theatre in Australia, and 2018 productions are slated in 2018 for the Ohlook Performing Arts Center and PMT Productions in Texas, St. Luke's Performing Arts Academy in Colorado, and more!
Sam Carner (author / composer)
Sam got his start writing children’s musicals as a kid, winning the Children’s Theatre of Maine’s Young Playwrights Contest at age 13 with his show The Rise of FTR. His next musical What a Cat! was performed around Maine, including at CTM, as well as at SUNY Plattsburgh. In recent years, Sam’s work in collaboration with Derek Gregor has been performed Off-Broadway, at dozens of universities around the country, and at thousands of cabaret venues around the world. Sam received the coveted Kleban Prize for “Most Promising Librettist,” the John Wallowitch Award for songwriters under 40, and a Richard Rodgers Award for his musical Unlock’d. Carner and Gregor have a record 10 “Best Song” nominations from the Manhattan Association of Cabaret. They were recently included in Playbill.com’s 12 “Contemporary Musical Theatre Songwriters You Should Know.”
Synopsis
When the Wholesome Acres Farm in Ohio falls on hard times, its animal residents hatch a brilliant plan to save their home: they’ll put on a show. They find the perfect impresario in Felicty, a New York City cat who has made her human Reynold a star director by whispering all “his” best ideas to him. Felicity, eager to get a little credit for once, strong-paws Reynold into taking her to Ohio.
Andy Collopy (arranger)
Andy is a New York City based music director, pianist, conductor, and arranger who has been music directing professionally since the age of 15. He is currently the Associate Music Director of the new Broadway-bound musical Sousatzka. His Off-Broadway credits include Daddy Long Legs, Unlock'd, and Old Jews Telling Jokes. He has music directed a wide assortment of musicals, readings, workshops, festivals, concerts, cabarets, benefits, and award shows. He holds a BM from Ithaca College.
