Triangle

Triangle is an original romantic drama with music by Curtis Moore, lyrics by Thomas Mizer and book by Mizer, Moore and Joshua Scher. Against the backdrop of an historic New York tragedy, two couples from different eras — in 1911 a Jewish seamstress and her Italian foreman, in 2011 a chemistry grad student and a free-spirited stranger — grapple with what it means to risk everything you have and everything you believe for love.

Triangle was commissioned by the Williamstown Theatre Festival and developed at the Eugene O’Neill Music Theatre Conference, the American Musical Theatre Project at Northwestern University and TheatreWorks, Palo Alto.

“Daughter’s Hand”: Unsure of his feelings for Sarah after a violent encounter with her conservative Jewish father, Vincenzo (Sarah’s Catholic foreman) steps cautiously into a synagogue seeking advice and permission from a different “father”.

“Drive Away”: Attempting to explain himself to a friend he has pushed away, a reclusive chemistry graduate student remembers the last time he saw his sister before she died.

“Safe”: Unable to deal with loss in his own life, Brian tries to prevent Sarah from meeting the man she loves at the Triangle Factory the day of the infamous fire. Reaching across time, she responds with calm certainty that she must go.

Listen to the track “Love” here and additional material from the score at trickybox.com.

The Legend of Stagecoach Mary

The Legend of Stagecoach Mary, by Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore, is an irreverent yet emotional tall tale about the power of diversity, the strength of love and the kick of saloon whiskey. Did we mention it’s based on a too-good-to-be-fiction story? When ex-slave Mary Fields heads to 1880s Montana to find freedom, adventure and her long-lost best friend, she discovers a gaggle of square-dancing nuns and a town full of cowboys in need of a little lesson in the American Dream.

Stagecoach Mary was presented as part of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals.

“You Can’t Tell a Heart What to Do”: Reunited after decades apart, a former slave and her master’s daughter try to explain their friendship — and why they separated all those years before.

“Let It Ride”: Desperate to learn how to drive a stagecoach, Mary turns to Sister Tallfeather (a taciturn Native-American nun with a less-than-orthodox view of the church) for a little advice.

“Mine”: After proving her driving skills and winning her prized whiskey, Mary expresses what it feels like to finally have something that is truly her own.

Listen to more at trickybox.com.

The Bus to Buenos Aires

Featuring book & lyrics by Thomas Mizer, music by Curtis Moore and based on a short story by Argentinian poet Fernando Sanchez-Sorondo, The Bus to Buenos Aires is a story of laughter, heart-ache and family–all told in one fifteen-minute musical. After five years of self-imposed exile, Paulo returns home for the funeral of one of his three sisters, but unfortunately he doesn’t know which one has died. In the surreal limbo of his long journey through the night, he is visited by visions of his sisters and must play a cruel game to determine their fates.

The Bus to Buenos Aires had its New York premiere as part of the Ensemble Studio Theater’s Marathon of One-Act Plays, with a cast that included Sebastian LaCause (Broadway’s Rocky Horror) and Jennie Eisenhower (Barrymore Award Winner).

“…a touching mini-musical.” New York Times

“The belle of this theatrical ball might just be Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore’s The Bus to Buenos Aires …It’s an evocative piece in which whimsy and woe are deftly balanced by its talented creators.” Broadway World

Listen to the complete 15-minute musical, in three short parts:

For the Love of Tiffany

For the Love of Tiffany, an original musical with a book by Matthew Brookshire and Thomas Mizer, music by Curtis Moore and lyrics by Amanda Green (Bring It On), draws its inspiration from the trash, tragedy and triumph of women’s television movies. Stephanie, lost in a daze of temp jobs and unfulfilled potential, turns to Wifetime movies for comfort — until the day she finds herself living in the middle of one. Framed for embezzlement and on the run with the (possibly gay) man of her dreams, Stephanie’s only hope is the Queen of Wifetime Movies herself, Tiffany Jenkins.

Tiffany had a successful, sold-out run at the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival. The production starred Tony-nominee Nancy Opel (Urinetown) and featured music direction by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal).

“A smartly silly farce…” Wall Street Journal

“An elaborate and cleverly silly plot… Everyone, including the appreciative audience, leaves happy.” Backstage

Listen to selections from Moore & Green’s score at trickybox.com.

Please Sir, Can I Have Some Mizer & Moore?

New ideas, one-offs, old favorites and songs on spec: this is a catch-all category to feature those songs that don’t quite have a home…yet.

“Someone Like Me”: From a newly bubbling idea tentatively titled The Last Prom Queen Ever, an outcast teenager holds the Prom Queen’s tiara in her hands and wonders what it would be like if she were crowned. Lyrics by Thomas Mizer, Music by Curtis Moore and Matthew Brookshire.

“We Are One”: A spec submission for a musical version of Dances with Wolves (yeah, you read that right), producers asked for teams to write a song for the big buffalo hunt scene. We didn’t quite get the job but the song was a hit and we were proud of how we overcame our concerns to produce something theatrical and very different from our other work. Lyrics by Thomas Mizer, Music by Curtis Moore.

“I’m Not Here”: In a song commissioned for an unfilmed screenplay, an outcast teen stalks through a crowded cafeteria and realizes that she is invisible to everyone at her school. Lyrics by Thomas Mizer, Music by Curtis Moore.