Students in the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program (PMTP) will premiere award-winning lyricist and composer Ryan Scott Oliver’s new pop/rock musical Jasper in Deadland at Pasadena High School, 2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena on August 5 at 7 PM and August 6 at 2 PM and 7 PM. It’s a featured event in 2011 Festival of New American Musicals.
Jasper in Deadland tells the story of 16-year-old Jasper, who loses his best friend, Agnes, and travels into the afterlife to retrieve her. But this afterlife, “Deadland,” is a hybrid of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse and Judeo-Christian mythologies, divided into seven “circles.” While there Jasper encounters Cerberus; the demoness Ammut; Loki and his daughter Hel; a psychotic redneck named The Chuckster; and the ever mysterious Mr. Lethe. Will Jasper retrieve his best friend Agnes or will he join the Dead forever? The show features a cast of students in 7th-12th grades from Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre.
Oliver, who is the Artistic Director of PMTP, is also writing the score for Disney Theatrical’s musical Freaky Friday, which is slated for development at the La Jolla Playhouse in Spring 2012. In addition to his work with PMTP and Freaky Friday, Oliver is a Jonathan Larson Grant recipient and Richard Rodgers Award Winner.
Students in the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program (PMTP) will premiere award-winning lyricist and composer Ryan Scott Oliver’s new pop/rock musical Jasper in Deadland at Pasadena High School, 2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena on August 5 at 7 PM and August 6 at 2 PM and 7 PM. It’s a featured event in 2011 Festival of New American Musicals.
Jasper in Deadland tells the story of 16-year-old Jasper, who loses his best friend, Agnes, and travels into the afterlife to retrieve her. But this afterlife, “Deadland,” is a hybrid of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse and Judeo-Christian mythologies, divided into seven “circles.” While there Jasper encounters Cerberus; the demoness Ammut; Loki and his daughter Hel; a psychotic redneck named The Chuckster; and the ever mysterious Mr. Lethe. Will Jasper retrieve his best friend Agnes or will he join the Dead forever? The show features a cast of students in 7th-12th grades from Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre.
Oliver, who is the Artistic Director of PMTP, is also writing the score for Disney Theatrical’s musical Freaky Friday, which is slated for development at the La Jolla Playhouse in Spring 2012. In addition to his work with PMTP and Freaky Friday, Oliver is a Jonathan Larson Grant recipient and Richard Rodgers Award Winner.