Check out the Gayland songs we recorded in November 2017

studio microphone.pngJust click the links below to hear the Gayland songs we recorded on November 20, 2017 at the the Yellow Sound Lab and Log Cabin studios in New York.  This set is a mix of many new numbers that have never before been recorded, as well as new versions of some old favs that have been part of Gayland since the beginning.

Act 1, Scene 1, “Rainbow, Shmainbow”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 2, “Teeniest, Weeniest, Talk Show In America”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 3, “Don’t Forget Your Bible”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 4, “Willow Show – Early Stabs”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 5, “I Want To Sum With You”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 6, “I Kissed A Boy”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 6, “Hero”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 7 “In Eden Fair”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 8, “Willow Show – Breakthrough”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 10, “Mismatch Mercy Mission TV Spot”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 12, “Mismatch Mercy Mission”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 16, “Camera Fantasia”.mp3

Act 1, Scene 20, “Willow Show – Breeder Shock”.mp3

 

Act 2, Scene 1, “Swami of Salami”.mp3

Act 2, Scene 3, “Breeder”.mp3

Act 2, Scene 3, “I’m A Real Man”.mp3

Act 2, Scene 4, “Ding!”.mp3

Act 2, Scene 10, “I Wanna See Your ‘O’ Face”.mp3

Thanks again to our very talented team!

  • Mark Hartman: Music Director
  • Danielle Erin Rhodes: Willow
  • Stephanie Umoh: Boo
  • Tristan Shuler: Zack
  • Sam Given: Gaige
  • Kristin Feeney: Sally, Ensemble
  • Alex Thompson: Harry Tums, Ensemble, Keyboards
  • Joe Choroszewski: Drums
  • Saadi Zain: Bass
  • Yuri Suzuki: Engineer
  • Rich Hill: Engineer

 

Gayland words and music ©2018 Scott R. King and Christopher St. John.

New Gayland recording in New York captures new music and yields high-energy tracks

After a week of rehearsals, the cast, band and music director for Gayland gathered at the Yellow Sound Lab and Log Cabin studios in New York to capture the new music we’ve been working on over the last year. Thanks to our awesome team!

  • Mark Hartman: Music Director
  • Danielle Erin Rhodes: Willow
  • Stephanie Umoh: Boo
  • Tristan Shuler: Zack
  • Sam Given: Gaige
  • Kristin Feeney: Sally, Ensemble
  • Alex Thompson: Harry Tums, Ensemble, Keyboards
  • Joe Choroszewski: Drums
  • Saadi Zain: Bass
  • Yuri Suzuki: Engineer
  • Rich Hill: Engineer

 

Group around piano.jpg
Practicing: Sam Given, Alex Thompson, Tristan Shuler, Danielle Erin Rhodes, Stephanie Umoh
Danielle.jpg
Recording: Danielle Erin Rhodes
Stephanie and Kristen.jpg
Recording: Stephanie Umoh and Kristin Feeney
Tristan.jpg
Recording: Tristan Shuler
Sam.jpg
Recording: Sam Given
Saadi Zain.JPG
Bass: Saadi Zain
Alex Thompson.jpeg
Keyboards, vocals: Alex Thompson
Joe Choroszewski.jpg
Drums: Joe Choroszewski
Music director and engineer.jpg
Music Director Mark Hartman and Engineer Yuri Suzuki at the big board
Late day selfie.jpg
Late in the day selfie. 14 hours in the studio and the last few diehards roll merrily across the finish line: Clockwise from lower left: Scott King, Danielle Erin Rhodes, Mark Hartman, Christopher St. John, Kristin Feeney, Stephanie Umoh

We’ll be making studio recordings of new songs on November 20, 2017

We’ll be going into a New York recording studio on November 20 with the Gayland cast and music director Mark Hartman to make recordings of the new songs. This will be an opportunity for the creative team to hear how the new music is working with the singers. And we’ll also be choosing tracks to include in our presentation to Broadway producers and directors early next year.

Latest Gayland reading delivers fun and insights

The Gayland reading on Wednesday, February 15th in New York delighted the audience of 25 with plenty of laughter. The new “Young Buck/Old Buck” delivered lots of belly laughs by using classic operatic allusions to highlight the competition between Zack and Gaige during Zack’s first day on the job at the Willow Show. The new “#BringBackZack” came across as a bundle of joyful energy. And the audience named the revised “I Wanna See Your O Face” as its favorite song. Creators King and St. John were also able to see spots where new music wasn’t working as well, and in need of revision.

The learning overall was that the Gayland 6.0 revisions solved the earlier structural problems. So now there’s a sturdy scaffolding in place, and the next round of revisions will be fine-tuning particular musical pieces.

New musical comedy flips your world: Interview with Twist Online

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Interview with Twist Online.

We recently had a conversation with Christopher St. John and Scott King about their new project, ‘Gayland’. It’s a musical comedy that will be lots of fun.

Twist Online: So give me the premise for Gayland in a nutshell.
Christopher St. John: It’s a love story set in an alternate universe in which almost everyone is gay. And there are just a few breeders. They’re this marginalized group, struggling for their rights.

Twist Online: So it’s our world, backwards.
Christopher St. John: Exactly.

Twist Online: And what’s the meaning of this rainbow Confederate flag logo? {Editor’s note: This logo was changed later in 2017.}
Scott King: In the recent history of the Gayland version America, there was a group of states that held breeders in subjection. The females were used as breeding stock, and the males were used for labor.

Christopher St. John: That was the Rainbow Confederacy.
Scott King: And in the present, there are some states where lot of people hold anti-breeder views.  For a local politician, anti-breeder rhetoric is the gift that keeps on giving.
Christopher St. John: Sound familiar?

Twist Online: Ouch! A little too familiar. So when you did you first have Gayland on the stage?
Christopher St. John: In the New Orleans Fringe Festival in 2013.

Twist Online: In the south? Was it controversial?
Christopher St. John: There were some rumblings. But a lot of people loved it.  Of course, it was a Fringe audience.
Scott King: We were in the largest Fringe Festival venue, Marigny Opera House. And by the end of the Festival, it was standing room only.
Christopher St. John: One of the local papers, NOLA Defender, called Gayland “the must-see of Fringe Festival.”

Twist Online: So this is about a gay world, but I understand that one of you is gay, and one of you is straight.
Scott King: Correct.

Twist Online: Which is which?
Christopher St. John: You can’t tell by looking?
Scott King: Maybe you need to change the batteries on your gaydar.
Christopher St. John: Here’s something even weirder: One of us is a Republican, and one of us is a Democrat.

Twist Online: Okay, now you’re freaking me out. How did you two meet?
Scott King: We met in a church in San Francisco.

Twist Online: In a church?
Scott King: Yes, an Episcopal church.
Christopher St. John: St. Gregory’s. And there were like tons of composers there. All the music was a capella. We did a lot of chant and modal music.
Scott King: Actually, the first big piece that Christopher and I worked on together was a Passion. We harmonized the gospels. Literally.
Christopher St. John:  And then we did an opera set in the world of pharmaceutical marketing. A comedy, of course.
Scott King: Oomph! it was called.

Twist Online: What’s happening with Gayland now?
Scott King: We’ve been workshopping it in New York. We had a great read on the main stage at the York Theatre.
Christopher St. John: They’re a very forward-thinking company. They were part of the development for Avenue Q.
Scott King: Every time it’s in front of an audience, we learn more.
Christopher St. John: We get a lot of good response to the fact that we have so many strong women characters. There’s still a hunger for that.
Scott King: The whole Gayland world is female-led. Breeder guys are at the bottom of the heap.

Twist Online: Next public performance?
Scott King: We’re having a table read at 224 Studios in Manhattan on February 15th.
Christopher St. John: Our aim is to create a version that can work on Broadway.

Twist Online: Are you having to make a lot of changes to go from edgy to mainstream?
Christopher St. John: Well, one of the songs went from “Don’t Forget Your Cock Ring” to “Don’t Forget Your Bible,” which must be one of the hardest U-turns in the history of theatre.

Twist Online: Okay, readers: Follow the Gayland gala on Facebook, Twitter and WordPress. Ciao!