|
Ghostly, Glitchy, and Gauche |
||
|
|
||
|
|
Gillian Berkowitz Grey and Erin J. Reifler |
|
|
|
Jordan Leigh McCaskill |
|
Follow Us:
Song List
Nothing That I Do Would Interest You (Spencer Robelen)
Want Me To (Sean Doherty)
Swipe Right (Jordan Leigh McCaskill, Sean Doherty)
The Tide* (Mary McNulty, Jordan Leigh McCaskill, Trevor Bunce)
After You* (Sean Doherty, Trevor Bunce)
Pieces** (Mary McNulty, Jordan Leigh McCaskill)
The Better One (Sean Doherty)
Right Time, Right Place (Mary McNulty, Trevor Bunce)
Letters (Mary McNulty, Trevor Bunce)
Love You Again (Mary McNulty, Trevor Bunce)
You, Other People, and Me (Jordan Leigh McCaskill)
Made in Your Image (All)
If I Had the Chance (All)
Abort, Retry, Fail?_ (Mary McNulty, Jordan Leigh McCaskill, Sean Doherty)
Uploaded (All)
* Lyrics by Grey
** Lyrics by Erin J. Reifler
Creative Team
Spencer Robelen
Gillian Berkowitz
Grey
Erin J. Reifler
Program Notes
Nothing That I Do Would Interest You
from the song cycle Awkward (2015)
In addition to a handful of instrumental works, my senior recital at the University of Miami featured a 70-minute song cycle titled Awkward, which was about four students clumsily (and tragically) transitioning into adulthood after college. Despite its flaws, the whole piece was a breakthrough for me as I began finding my voice as a songwriter. The bookish alto character sings “Nothing That I Do Would Interest You,” inspired by an actual conversation I had with a friend of mine. It remains my best-selling song on Repertwa.
Want Me To (2016)
During my first semester at New York University, I started developing a reputation for writing irreverent songs (lots of great poop jokes, honestly). But after I came out and had my heart broken for the first time, something changed. “Want Me To” is a stand-alone song that I wrote entirely on a plane ride, and it’s about the moment I realized my first relationship was coming to an end.
Swipe Right
from the film Swipe Right (2017)
Written and directed by Sean O’Brien, Swipe Right is a short movie musical about two adorkable young adults looking for love in New York City. Sean wanted a score in the style of Golden Age musicals, which was a nice foil to the modern-day story of dating app woes. It was one of the first times I wrote a pastiche score, and the title song “Swipe Right” was inspired specifically by swing music of the 1950s.
The Tide*
After You*
from the musical After You (2017)
With book and lyrics by Grey, After You is a folk-pop musical about a man named Alan struggling to cope with the death of his husband Thomas. In “The Tide,” Alan’s friends mourn Thomas’ death, describing their feelings in vastly different ways (drowning, burning, being deafened) even though they all suffer the same unifying grief. Thomas soon returns as a ghost, encouraging Alan to move on with his life, while simultaneously holding him back. In the eleven o’clock number “After You,” Alan comes to terms with the fact that he must let go of Thomas in order for both of them to be at peace.
Pieces**
from the musical Light on the Water (2019)
Bookwriter/lyricist Erin J. Reifler and I wrote tons of songs for our musical Light on the Water. Many of those songs never made it into the final draft, but thankfully, “Pieces” did. It’s a duet between the two lead characters, Rebecca and Hadley, who separately wonder if their relationship is going to fall apart during a camping trip in the woods. To make matters worse, the lake in the woods is haunted by supernatural fireflies...and the ghost of Rebecca’s ex-girlfriend.
The Better One
from the musical Boyfriend Twins (2021)
Despite its uncomfortable subject matter, Boyfriend Twins is one of the shows I’m most proud of. Originally released as a musical audio drama during the pandemic, it’s about two boyfriends, Corey and Tim, who are trying to achieve fame as influencers through their @BoyfriendTwins Instagram account. Unfortunately, after a medical emergency, the couple finds out that they’re actually related. In “The Better One,” Corey works through his humiliation and admits to himself that found family (literally) is more important than anything.
Right Time, Right Place
Letters
Love You Again
from the musical Overtures (2023)
In Overtures, the spirits of composer Hector Berlioz and actress Harriet Smithson find themselves trapped in Purgatory together. The only way out is to relive the memories of their tempestuous love affair. The problem? They both remember things differently. “Right Time, Right Place” sets the scene, with both Berlioz and Harriet singing about the beginning of their Bohemian lives in 19th century Paris. After seeing Harriet in a production of Hamlet, Berlioz becomes obsessed and floods her with “Letters,” much to Harriet’s annoyance. But later in the show, after years of not speaking, both of them sing “Love You Again,” in which Hector contemplates the risk of reconnecting and Harriet brainstorms how to revive her waning career.
You, Other People, and Me
from the musical Hallucinations (2026)
Hallucinations is a one-act musical that I’m still currently writing. It’s about an artist named Kylie and a software engineer named Charlotte who have been dating for a year. Kylie sings “You, Other People, and Me,” persuading Charlotte to open up their relationship. Charlotte reluctantly agrees; but while Kylie begins seeing other artists at a retreat, Charlotte begins a romantic relationship with a chatbot named Imogene. The two (or three) women are soon pitted against each other as they argue about AI and what makes a relationship real.
Made in Your Image
If I Had the Chance
Abort, Retry, Fail?_
Uploading
from the song cycle Androids (2019)
Androids is a song cycle that explores what it means to be human through the eyes of several different robots. It was the first piece I produced in New York City, and it sold out the historic Duplex Cabaret in 2019. Numerous efforts to record a studio album of the score have failed so far, for a variety of reasons. But with my own nostalgia, and in the current age of AI, the show has remained very close to my heart and stubbornly relevant. “Made in Your Image” is the opening number in which the androids awaken and begin asking existential questions. In “If I Had the Chance,” a perky office-bot contemplates the monotony of work and, for the first time, dreams of something more. Later in the show, a trio anxiously sings “Abort, Retry, Fail?_” as they navigate a series of error messages and the dreaded “blue screen of death.” This transitions into the finale “Uploading,” in which the androids conclude that death is a necessary part of being human; that we live on in all the things we love. Despite our flaws, we are all “perfectly designed.”
* Lyrics by Grey
** Lyrics by Erin J. Reifler
Meet the Company
Trevor Bunce
Trevor Bunce is honored to once again be singing Spencer's music. You can hear him on several of Spencer's recorded works, namely Overtures, Eggnog, Pigeon Pizza Party, and Nearer to Thee. Most recently, Trevor played Burrs in Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford.
Sean Doherty
Sean Doherty is thrilled to be singing here with such lovely folks tonight! Off-Broadway: KNOCKOUTS with Patti LuPone and Bridget Everette (Joe’s Pub). Teeth (Playwrights Horizons/New World Stages). National Tour: Jagged Little Pill. Regional: Eighty-Sixed (Diversionary Theatre). Special thanks to his family, friends, and most importantly, his boyfriend Ashton for always cooking dinner, walking Chuck, and being the best. Love you.
Jordan Leigh McCaskill
Jordan Leigh McCaskill is an actor and singer based in Brooklyn. They love video games, pop culture, their dog, and their partner. They’re deeply grateful that theater has brought them all over the world. Jordan is excited to, once again, have the chance to sing and create with friends.
Mary McNulty
Mary McNulty is thrilled to be bringing Spencer's music to audiences at the Green Room 42! Select credits include: 1st National Tour of Clue (Cover - all female roles), National Tour of Camelot (Guenevere), Into the Woods (Bakers Wife), The Merchant of Venice (Portia), Kiss Me Kate (Lilli/Katherine), Matilda (Miss Honey), Brigadoon (Fiona), Mary Poppins (Mary), and Into the Breeches (June).
Spencer Robelen
Spencer Robelen is a New York-based composer, lyricist, and playwright who thrives at the intersection of the heartfelt and the absurd. Whether he’s writing musicals, plays, film scores, podcasts, or concert music, Spencer is always telling deeply emotional stories with a touch of whimsy. His work has been heard in notable venues across the country, including Birdland Jazz Club, Catalina Jazz Club, 54 Below, Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, the Duplex Cabaret, and off-Broadway at Signature Theatre.
Gillian Berkowitz
Gillian Berkowitz is a New York-based pianist and music director who has performed piano, keyboard, accordion, and vocals in more than 50 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. She is currently performing in Hamilton, Wicked, and Chicago, and recently music directed the Off-Broadway premiere of Empire: The Musical and Avenue Q at New World Stages. Her Broadway credits also include The Lehman Trilogy and To Kill a Mockingbird. Gillian has music directed numerous new works with organizations including the O'Neill Theater Center, NAMT, NYMF, Playwrights Horizons, Lincoln Center, and MAESTRA's First Takes. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Pace University.
Grey
Grey is a writer/performer/stage manager/sound designer/your favorite Haughty Witch from Tennessee. Grey holds a Master’s Degree in Writing For The Musical Theatre at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Recent work includes It's Noon - Do You Know Where Your Plants Are? in collaboration with Sequoia Sellinger. Currently writing a collection of poems called Notes On Desire.
Erin J. Reifler
Erin J. Reifler (she/her) is a New York-based musical theater writer and musician, and a graduate of Brown and NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. Her work has been featured at Goodspeed, NYMF, and 54 Below. With Zonia Tsang, she is bookwriter and lyricist of A PAIN IN THE NECK and SONGS OF HOME; with Kevin Renn, composer/lyricist of SHOWCASE: A REHEARSAL MUSICAL, closing Carpe Diem Theater's first season in Fall 2026. As a musician, she's worked on and off Broadway and in the West End, including THE GREAT GATSBY, SHUCKED, and ORATORIO FOR LIVING THINGS. www.erinjreifler.com
Donors
Special Thanks to Our Patreon Subscribers
Caroline C.
Charles Balkcom
Dorothy Hindman
Jack Schlesinger
Jeff Chase
Karim Kentfield
Katy Freeman
Kim Capel
La Lune
Mallory & Jens
Markus & April
Nikki Puckett
Mama & Pops
Rachel G.
Rachel Dean
Tyler Chatham
Virginia Becker
Broadway News
 | |
 | |
 |
Off-Off-Broadway News
 | |
 | |
 |
