For info about Sleeping Beauty Wakes In Concert, check our shows page; we’re in the midst of touring the country these days, playing the score live on stage.
In 2006, Deaf West Theatre commissioned Brendan and Val, along with our STRIKING 12 collaborator Rachel Sheinkin, to adapt another fairy tale for the stage. Rachel very wisely turned down our first idea (”how about Rumpelstiltskin? We could call it RUMP! The Musical…”), and suggested a SLEEPING BEAUTY, set in a modern-day sleep disorder clinic. We leapt at this wonderfully wacky idea, and had a fascinating time not only researching sleep disorders like narcolepsy and restless legs, but also learning a little bit of American Sign Language – because this original production was a bilingual one, in the tradition of Deaf West’s acclaimed Broadway version of BIG RIVER.
The show went on in the spring of 2007 in Los Angeles, and was a hit at Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, directed by the wonderful Jeff Calhoun. We were delighted to win the Ovation Award for World Premiere Musical, as well as a Best Musical Direction award for Brendan, and a Best Lead Actress nomination for Val! Check out some info, photos and more here.
Our third PS Classics release (spring 2009) is a collection of songs from SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES. Check it out here; we are incredibly proud of this record, and think it’s our best work to date. GrooveLily continues to do concerts of these songs whenever we can.
On the theatrical side, look for the next production of SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ in Spring, 2011.