Helen on 86th Street - The Musical

Yesterday, Julie, Cassie and I had the unique opportunity to travel to New York City to see the first public reading of a new musical, about a middle school girl and her mom. It is probably headed to Broadway in the very near future. The musical is a full-length family production adapted from Wendi Kaufman’s short story of the same name (The New Yorker Magazine -1997, Scribners Best of the Fiction Workshops- 1998, Elements of Literature, Third Course), with book and lyrics by Nicole Kempskie and music by Robby Stamper. (Source: http://www.helenon86th.com/)

Julie, Cassie and I were invited to the reading by Ms. Liu, who is the proud mother of Amanda Yuan. Amanda is one of the cast members of this production. My wife is Amanda's school counselor. Amanda is such a talented performer and she did such a great job yesterday. I want to thank Ms. Liu for inviting us to attend this reading and to see the beginning of something quite special!

I was so impressed and entertained by this delightful and thoughtful musical production about a middle school girl. The actors were incredibly talented and seemed to capture the magic of middle school that I have the privilege of seeing each and everyday. The humor, the awkwardness, the vulnerability, intelligence, honesty and the incredible potential of each child was on full display during this show. I especially thought that Vita, the lead character, did a wonderful job portraying the challenges of being an adolescent in the 21st Century and attempting to understand and deal with the many complex relationships that she has in her life. 

Below is a short video that provides a taste of some of the music in the show. This was taped during the first few weeks of the production. It is so amazing to have the opportunity to see a play coming together at the very beginning. I think this could be a huge hit with middle school educators, families and anyone who has been a 11-14 year old!

I look forward to buying tickets and attending this production when it makes its way to Broadway. Congratulations to Nicole Kempskie, Robby Stamper and the entire cast and supporters! For more information about this special show, click here: http://www.helenon86th.com/